The Portable Twentieth-Century Russian Reader

Author Various
Introduction by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown's marvelous collection introduces readers to the most resonant voices of twentieth-century Russia. It includes stories by Chekhov, Gorky, Bunin, Zamyatin, Babel, Nabokov, Solzhenitsyn, and Voinovich; excerpts from Andrei Bely's Petersburg, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, and Sasha Solokov's A School for Fools; the complete text of Yuri Olesha's 1927 masterpiece Envy; and poetry by Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova, and Osip Mandelstam.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Portable Twentieth-Century Russian ReaderIntroduction by Clarence Brown

Leo Tolstoy
Alyosha the Pot (Clarence Brown)

Anton Chekhov
The Bishop (Marion Fell)

Maxim Gorky
Recollections of Leo Tolstoy (Clarence Brown)

Ivan Bunin
Light Breathing (Clarence Brown)

Nadezhda Teffi
Time (Edythe C. Haber)

Alexander Blok
A Girl Was Singing
The Stranger (both by Jon Stallworthy and Peter France)

Andrei Bely
From Petersburg (Robert A. Maguire and John E. Malmstad)

Evgeni Zamyatin
The Cave (Avrahm Yarmolinsky)

Velimir Khlebnikov
Nikolai (Clarence Brown)

Anna Akhmatova
Three things in this world he loved
We're no good at saying good-bye
Dante
When a man dies
Courage (all by Clarence Brown)

Andrei Platonov
The Potudan River (Joseph Barnes)

Boris Pasternak
Varykino (from Dr. Zhivago)
Hamlet (from Dr. Zhivago)
March (from Dr. Zhivago)
(Max Hayward and Manya Harari)

Osip Mandelstam
Theodosia (Clarence Brown)
The Admiralty
The thread of gold cordial flowed
Leningrad
O Lord, help me to live through this night
The Last Supper
(all except "Theodosia" by Clarence Brown and W. S. Merwin)

Mikhail Bulgakov
From The Master and Margarita (Michael Glenny)

Isaac Babel
My First Goose (Andrew R. MacAndrew)
How it Was Done in Odessa (Andrew R. MacAndrew)
My First Fee (Max Hayward)

Mikhail Zoshchenko
Bees and People
From Before Sunrise (both by Clarence Brown)

Yuri Olesha
Envy (Clarence Brown)

Vladimir Nabokov
The Return of the Chorb (Dimitri Nabokov)
The Visit to the Museum (Dimitri Nabokov and Simon Karlinsky)

Nadezhda Mandlestam
A May Night (from Hope against Hope)
Last Letter (from Hope Abandoned)
(both by Max Hayward)

Daniil Kharms
Anecdotes About Pushkin's Life
The Connection (both by George Gibian)

Varlam Shalamov
Prosthetic Appliances (from Kolyma Tales)
A Child's Drawings (from Kolyma Tales)
Lend-Lease (from Kolyma Tales)
(John Glad)

Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Matryona's Home (H. T. Willets)

Yuri Kazakov
Adam and Eve (H. T. Willetts)

Georgi Vladimov
From Faithful Ruslan (Michael Glenny)

Vladimir Voinovich
A Circle of Friends (Richard Lourie)

Sasha Sokolov
From A School for Fools (Carl R. Proffer)

About

Clarence Brown's marvelous collection introduces readers to the most resonant voices of twentieth-century Russia. It includes stories by Chekhov, Gorky, Bunin, Zamyatin, Babel, Nabokov, Solzhenitsyn, and Voinovich; excerpts from Andrei Bely's Petersburg, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, and Sasha Solokov's A School for Fools; the complete text of Yuri Olesha's 1927 masterpiece Envy; and poetry by Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova, and Osip Mandelstam.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Author

Table of Contents

The Portable Twentieth-Century Russian ReaderIntroduction by Clarence Brown

Leo Tolstoy
Alyosha the Pot (Clarence Brown)

Anton Chekhov
The Bishop (Marion Fell)

Maxim Gorky
Recollections of Leo Tolstoy (Clarence Brown)

Ivan Bunin
Light Breathing (Clarence Brown)

Nadezhda Teffi
Time (Edythe C. Haber)

Alexander Blok
A Girl Was Singing
The Stranger (both by Jon Stallworthy and Peter France)

Andrei Bely
From Petersburg (Robert A. Maguire and John E. Malmstad)

Evgeni Zamyatin
The Cave (Avrahm Yarmolinsky)

Velimir Khlebnikov
Nikolai (Clarence Brown)

Anna Akhmatova
Three things in this world he loved
We're no good at saying good-bye
Dante
When a man dies
Courage (all by Clarence Brown)

Andrei Platonov
The Potudan River (Joseph Barnes)

Boris Pasternak
Varykino (from Dr. Zhivago)
Hamlet (from Dr. Zhivago)
March (from Dr. Zhivago)
(Max Hayward and Manya Harari)

Osip Mandelstam
Theodosia (Clarence Brown)
The Admiralty
The thread of gold cordial flowed
Leningrad
O Lord, help me to live through this night
The Last Supper
(all except "Theodosia" by Clarence Brown and W. S. Merwin)

Mikhail Bulgakov
From The Master and Margarita (Michael Glenny)

Isaac Babel
My First Goose (Andrew R. MacAndrew)
How it Was Done in Odessa (Andrew R. MacAndrew)
My First Fee (Max Hayward)

Mikhail Zoshchenko
Bees and People
From Before Sunrise (both by Clarence Brown)

Yuri Olesha
Envy (Clarence Brown)

Vladimir Nabokov
The Return of the Chorb (Dimitri Nabokov)
The Visit to the Museum (Dimitri Nabokov and Simon Karlinsky)

Nadezhda Mandlestam
A May Night (from Hope against Hope)
Last Letter (from Hope Abandoned)
(both by Max Hayward)

Daniil Kharms
Anecdotes About Pushkin's Life
The Connection (both by George Gibian)

Varlam Shalamov
Prosthetic Appliances (from Kolyma Tales)
A Child's Drawings (from Kolyma Tales)
Lend-Lease (from Kolyma Tales)
(John Glad)

Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Matryona's Home (H. T. Willets)

Yuri Kazakov
Adam and Eve (H. T. Willetts)

Georgi Vladimov
From Faithful Ruslan (Michael Glenny)

Vladimir Voinovich
A Circle of Friends (Richard Lourie)

Sasha Sokolov
From A School for Fools (Carl R. Proffer)

Books for Native American Heritage Month

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month this November, Penguin Random House Education is highlighting books that detail the history of Native Americans, and stories that explore Native American culture and experiences. Browse our collections here: Native American Creators Native American History & Culture

Read more

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more