Slog - Comments on The Last (Russian) Man http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man Not only is there a new translation of the 19th century Russian novel Oblomov, by Ivan Goncharov, but it includes an introduction by the great post-Soviet writer Tatyana Tolstaya, whose collection of short stories On The Golden Porch, which was published in 1989, occupies one of the warmest places in my heart. For those who don't know Oblomov, he is the Russian grandfather of the American couch potato. Tolstaya writes: "[T]here is something deeply Russian in the character of Oblomov, something that strikes a chord in every Russian heart. This something lies in the seductive appeal of laziness and of... Copyright 2008 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:03:23 -0800 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:57:50 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Jameson You gotta love a book where it takes the main character almost 100 pages just to get out of bed.

Tolstaya's On the Golden Porch is incredible as well; I gotta get a copy of this new translation of Oblomov!

I think many Bolsheviks pointed to Oblomov as the epitome of lazy, imperial Russia.

]]> Jameson http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c480871 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c480871 Arts Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:03:46 -0800 Comment by Dilda Looks like you need a "Literature" orange thingy by the heading.

]]> Dilda http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c480964 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c480964 Arts Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:44:54 -0800 Comment by Horace The first time I tried to read Oblomov I was five years old, and I was seduced by the gray pencil sketch on the cover. I didn't finish it.

The second time was when I was twelve, and I was excited about it being Russian. I didn't finish it.

The third time I tried to read Oblomov I was graduating from college and I was depressed and listless and identified a lot with the guy. I didn't finish it.

Now it's this enormous symbol of every book I've never finished, and I kind of like it that way. What better than a novel about a man who can't do anything for that role?

]]> Horace http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c481090 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c481090 Arts Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:35:33 -0800 Comment by jameyb The warmest places in your heart must be getting crowded.

]]> jameyb http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c481274 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/10/the_last_russian_man#c481274 Arts Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:57:50 -0800