Kip Potapych Reads

[KipPotapych]

Nothing to do with the theme of this forum, but I thought some people may be interested.

I am not an audiobook guy by any measure, though prefer podcasts, lectures, intellectual discussions/debates, etc to music more often than not. However, I randomly stumbled upon this reading of Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita and it is superb. Like really, great stuff. I have had the privilege to read it in the original language (twice) and tried for kicks to read it in English previously, but it never took. This reading though (and translation as well) is top notch. Wish I found it earlier.

One thing to note, the book, while being, arguably, my favourite, is not for everyone. Having some general ideas of Russian and Soviet history (especially of the time when the book was written) helps quite a bit. Most people, of course, have no such knowledge and still enjoy it a lot (a world classic for a reason). Maybe it can be an inspiration to do some further reading and familiarize oneself with the country’s history (this is a lame attempt to tie this to the thread’s topic, haha). Anyway, without further ado,

There are 33 parts and I would recommend listening to the last, 33rd, part first, which talks a bit about Bulgakov himself. Since this forum automatically converts Youtube links to embedded videos, if you copy the following address and paste it to your browser, it will take you to the playlist if all the parts of the book, beginning with the first.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBhZ-KknEQ&list=PL-lY2fdb59Of61NGdOmXUagd0f1B_RUXC&ra=m

Edit: my current (re)reading:



I am fairly certain the probability of me finding a worthy audiobook or a hardcopy of this in English is virtually zero (I tried with printed books). But if someone has a lead, I would greatly appreciate it.

Edit 2: apologies, that is Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

 

[Feanor]

Moved to correct forum into a new thread.

I think Soviet literature in general is poorly known in the west Leo Tolstoy is extremely well know for War and Peace, and among the more educated for Anna Karenina (though his far better Sevastopol' Stories are unheard of). But Aleksey Tolstoy is virtually unknown despite being easily one of the strongest Russian authors of the 20th century. Overall the whole thing seems to be badly colored by the Cold War, with dissidents like Pasternak or Solzhenitsyn being easy to find, but strong Soviet authors being very hard to find. Good luck getting ahold of Yuri Bondarev, or Konstantin Simonov. Bulgakov in particular is a very strong author, probably one of the best. His Deviliad, or The Fatal Eggs is quite good too. And of course The White Guard is fantastic. The movie is great too (The Flight) though I think it's more based on the play Days of the Turbiny (same story in play and novel form).