read a Russian
Monday, February 12, 2007 at 11:15PM 
"There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it.
It is like falling in love."
Christopher Morley
I love books, not just the reading of them, but the looking and the touching and the smelling. Give me a musty, old book any day. Half of the journey is in imagining who held its spine before. What secrets did it whisper into other ears? What actions did it spur? What distresses did it drown? I have some books of my grandma's who passed away a few years ago. She was a somewhat emotionally distant woman, and I can’t say that I knew her well. But, I thrill when I come across her underlining or margin-writing – a window to a distant soul.
I've done some underlining of my own...I wonder what the scribbles reveal about my word journeys. Some of the margin-note-worthy books that have moved me the most are by Russian authors. These haven't been the quick or easy reads. Usually they make me cringe or face some demons of my own. BUT, that is what I love. I want a book to change me, to prod my tender places, to bid me beyond what is merely comfortable or nice.
I thought about this Russian factor the other day when I was at a book club friend’s house. Anna Karenina was sitting on her shelf. I gasped and declared my love. She said she hadn’t read it yet because a friend warned that the subject matter was rather unsavory. I gasped and declared my horror. Anna Karenina was incredibly enlightening to me. On the surface it is the story of a woman who leaves her family for another man, yes, but that is honestly a subplot. And I don’t even mean that in a “there’s only 3 bad words” or “there’s one part where you should close your eyes”, excusing way. The story of Anna serves to highlight what is truly Good & Right in life…The main Good & Right is presented by a man named Levin in an extraordinarily moving way.
Tolstoy begins the book with the famous words, “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The commonality of the Happy clearly comes down to…or Up to, I should say, God. Belief in God, turning to Him. Definitely a worthwhile read.
The Brothers Karamazov is another. Dostoevsky powerfully focuses on the eternal Truth of change. Those enslaved to sin need only make one step God-ward to feel the beautiful cascade of love from Above. Any small step to Good will bring beauty into one’s life…whether it comes in the form of other humans who serve God or directly from God himself. A few thoughts from the book:
“. . . his whole heart blazed up and turned towards some kind of light, and he wanted to live and live, to go on and on along some path, towards the new, beckoning light, and to hurry, hurry, right now, at once!”
“. . . I know that heart, it is a wild but noble heart . . . It will bow down before your deed, it thirsts for a great act of love, it will catch fire and resurrect forever. There are souls that in their narrowness blame the whole world. But overwhelm such a soul with mercy, give it love, and it will curse what it has done, for there are so many germs of good in it. The soul will expand and behold how merciful God is, and how beautiful and just people are. He will be horrified, he will be overwhelmed with repentance and the countless debt he must henceforth repay. And then he will not say, ‘I am quits,’ but will say, ‘I am guilty before all people and am the least worthy of all people.’”
“All this exile to hard labor, and formerly with floggings, does not reform anyone, and above all does not even frighten almost any criminal, and the number of crimes not only does not diminish but increases all the more. Surely you will admit that. And it turns out that society, thus, is not protected at all, for although the harmful member is mechanically cut off and sent away far out of sight, another criminal appears at once to take his place, perhaps even two others. If anything protects society even in our time, and even reforms the criminal himself and transforms him into a different person, again it is Christ’s law alone, which manifests itself in the acknowledgement of one’s own conscience.”
Huge ideas, huge impact. Buy a copy with large margins.
My latest Russian venture has been The Story of a Life by Konstantin Paustovsky. I highlighted it in my “Recent Reads”, but will echo my thoughts here.
I'm not sure there is a plot. It's really his memoirs...a compilation of small stories & scenes, but the descriptions had me mesmerized...so poetic & lovely, leaving me to wonder how this man who lived & died in Russia 50 years ago has captured on paper snippets of my own experience. He describes feelings for people & places & seasons & times in ways so akin to what I feel but haven't been able to adequately translate into words.
He also jumps in to describe both the Ugly and the Beautiful of mankind. True to my Russian experiences, it has definitely made me think.
Right now I’m trudging through a book club selection, 1000 White Women. I’ve been so frustrated reading this book. I seldom “quit” on a book, but the first 2/3 of this one have left me empty, and sometimes appalled, so perhaps I should just put it down. I want a book to uplift me, to make me want to Be & Do more. It drives me crazy that so many modern writers unnecessarily rely on sexuality, pop psychology, sensationalism to push their plots forward. I felt the same frustration when I read Wicked. Huge potential for an amazing novel. Equally huge disappointment...so much sensationalistic side *stuff* that simply didn't matter.
Perhaps I should stick to classics for a while…look for another Russian. Pregnant with Davyn, I tried to tackle War and Peace. Failed. I think I’m ready for a Do Over. Does anyone want to join me? I just can’t face the rest of this other book. I honestly don’t care if the heroine (vapid, flat, non-deserving of that title) lives or dies. With Tolstoy I may not ever be precisely sure of the heroine’s name, but I will care. I Need to Care.
Reader Comments (16)
One more thing, I do realize your ardent love of books, but I still don't know if I've fully forgiven you after you borrowed my Mother Teresa book of quotes. It was like eight years ago, but you folded over every page that you liked a quote on, so when I retrieved it from your bedroom one day the book was almost unrecognizable from it's side, because you liked almost every quote, so you seriously folded over almost every page! Shame on you Amy! Although I'm not as mad eight years later, in fact I can't wipe the grin off my face thinking of my altered Mother Teresa laying in my bookshelf right now.
i just get excited that you used the word "vapid" in your post!!
What a rich literary heritage you have, and are creating; one that you will pass on to your children. I can't remember who wrote this poem, but it fits these thoughts.
RICHER THAN GOLD
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a mother who read to me.
THE BOOK OUR MOTHERS READ -John G. Whittier
We search the world for truth; we cull
The good, the pure, the beautiful,
From graven stone and written
scoll,
And all old flower-fields of
the soul;
And, weary seekers of the best,
We come back laden from
the quest,
To find thall the sages said
Is in the Book our mothers read.
Read to your babies, all you young mothers. Heaven awaits you in those moments.
I've been such a chicken about tackling WAR AND PEACE, but I'll take the challenge with you. Do you remember the essay I wrote on "Tutorial on the Classics?" The first reason for reading the classics is that they teach of human nature. There are six reasons that follow, but I won't take your space for them. I know, I'll put them on my blog and anyone who is interested can read them there.
Honestly, you are so a part of my heart. I love all of you, JoDee, Tyler, Mandi, Megan, Cyndee, and of course my brother, but you and I have had the opportunity to share enough of life and literature in our little office that the bond is of a different degree.
I can't tell you how much I love that you love what I love.
All of your posts are amazing. I swell with pride at your writing ability each time I read, but today I had to comment. This post really touched me. I'm in with War and Peace with you. I've been feeling a need to read something new. I love you.
Kay
He ate and drank the precious words.
His spirit grew robust.
He knew no more that he was poor nor
That his fram was dust.
He danced along the dingy days and
This bequest of wings was but a book,
What liberty a loosened spirit brings.
Books give us wings. Let's fly!