11 days to write, 3 years on the best-seller list
Kerri Miller's Must-Read
Russian readingIt’s interesting how often big-time American writers list Russian authors when they’re asked to name their influences.
George Saunders put “War and Peace” by Tolstoy on his list. So did Jonathan Franzen. Vendela Vida named “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky as a transformative novel, and Ann Patchett chose “Lolita” by Nabokov for her top 10. (I know this thanks to J. Peder Zane of “The Top Ten.”)
It made me wonder: When Russian writers name their influences, do American writers end up on their top 10 lists? And what books are average Russian readers stacking on their nightstands these days, given the current political climate?
I turned to one our show producers, Elizabeth Shockman. She speaks fluent Russian and worked for Reuters in Moscow for six years.
Here’s Elizabeth:
When you ride the metro in Moscow, you’ll get a pretty good sample of what Russians are reading. Everything from self-help books, to “Harry Potter,” to “Eat Pray Love.” Here are a few contemporary Russian favorites:
• “Night Watch” by Sergei Lukyanenko – A fantasy set in a modern day Moscow filled with an ancient race of supernatural humans known as “Others.”
• Boris Akunin’s mystery novels – They’re centered on the adventures of a fictional 19th-century Russian detective named Erast Fandorin.
• “Metro 2033” by Dmitry Glukhovsky – The first in a trilogy of dark, post-apocalyptic Moscow survival stories.
But the classics also get a deep and abiding appreciation in Russia. And many of the books people read on the metro are the perennial favorites: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev. That’s not to say Western classics in translation aren’t also popular. Sherlock Holmes, Mary Poppins, Tom Sawyer, Jules Verne and Shakespeare have an established and passionate fan base in Russia.
-Kerri Miller and Elizabeth Shockman
P.S. Tell us what you're reading on Twitter @TheThreadMPR.
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