Contents
Stephen Fry, Alexander Chudakov and Mikhail Zhvanetsky — existential therapist Svetlana Krivtsova on current literary preferences.
Stephen Fry «An Incomplete But Definitive History of Classical Music»
Free association: fascinating, biased, ironic, brilliant, sometimes poignantly personal. Each musical event is presented against the backdrop of an era. And then — the remark of Fry himself: without snobbery, funny and to the point. “Listening to Rachmaninov is like pouring a full bath of chocolate, eating everything and then licking the walls.” It turns out that our tastes often coincide. It is a pity that this book was not in my childhood, tormented by music school. I re-read it when I need to sweeten my life a little.
Translation from English by Sergei Ilyin. Phantom Press, 512 p.
Mikhail Zhvanetsky «Love (short)»
Free associations: the impression is the same as 30 years ago: funny and very sad. The best existential Russian writer (no one else has such accurate illustrations of the theoretical provisions of existential psychology). It turns out that a deep and psychologically accurate romance can be something like this: “My wife and I have two. The common daughter is 15 years old and the wife’s son is 10 years old. Re-reading on Skype to my 19-year-old daughter living in Canada to cheer her up or talk about what is in her heart.
Eksmo, 176 p.
Donald Rayfield «The Life of Anton Chekhov»
Free associations: truthfully, humanely, phenomenologically accurate. Delight and surprise: how did the author manage to reconstruct reality so clearly from fragments of life events? I have not yet read such biographies, despite my favorite ZhZL series since childhood. It turns out that the life of Anton Pavlovich in Soviet publications was pretty distorted. Russia’s most modern existential writer, Chekhov is still full of secrets. Rayfield reveals them with such tact and honesty that elevate the author to the level of his hero. I re-read it when I need to get back on the ground of reality, and also just for enjoyment.
Translation from English by Olga Makarova. B.S.G.-Press, 784 p.
Alexander Chudakov «Darkness falls on the old steps»
Free associations: mine and about me, about several generations of Russians, the deepest sadness, pride, a lump in the throat. The best prose I’ve read in years. The story of the life (survival) of a family of migrants of nobles and the main character, whose childhood fell on the post-war years in Northern Kazakhstan. It turns out that the provincial everyday life, familiar from my Crimean childhood, is described surprisingly accurately. The quality of life was created thanks to the culture of creative and even reckless creation of tasty, solid, beautiful things from almost nothing, which was not yet lost in those days. Starch a collar with a couple of potatoes, cook soap for a newborn from a glass of butter, make molasses from beets — an encyclopedia of survival, recipes (the book is full of them) are priceless. These skills have become the basis of dignity and our generation: when there is no fear of losing a comfortable life, you can not be afraid and be yourself. I reread it when I need to remember what is really important in this life.
Time, 648 s.