Classics of Russian Literature

By: The Great Courses, Irwin Weil

Narrated by: Irwin Weil

Length: 17 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Russian literature famously probes the depths of the human soul, and in this series of 36 insightful lectures prepared by a frequently honored teacher legendary among educators in both the United States and Russia - you probe just as deeply into the extraordinary legacy that is Russian Literature itself.

Professor Weil introduces you to masterpieces such as Tolstoy's War and Peace, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, Gogol's Dead Souls, Chekhov's The Seagull, Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, and many other great novels, stories, plays, and poems.

In all, you plunge into more than 40 works by a dozen writers, from Aleksandr Pushkin in the 19th century to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the 20th century. You also investigate the origin of Russian literature itself, which traces its lineage back to powerful epic poetry and beautiful renderings of the Bible into Slavic during the Middle Ages.

All of these works are treated in translation, but Professor Weil does something very unusual in the literature-in-translation arena. For almost every passage that he quotes in English, he reads an extract in the original Russian, with a fluent accent and an actor's sense of drama.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

The professors passion for the topic is very tender

It’s basically a non-exhaustive survey of Russian literature, including the personal and historical contexts of the authors. I’m a Russian speaker so not new to this topic but still found this interesting. And the delivery was excellent - he’s so passionate about the topic! Amazing Russian pronunciation as well.

Great literature classes

I love this book, there is so much information to be learn. I will definitely listen to it again. Great history

Brings subject to life beautifully

Great mental images while listening, although I wish he had spelled out a lot of the names. That's basically my only complaint, overall I have learned a lot and been inspired by this lecture series.

Excellent!

I studied Russian History in college and have read most of the writers he discusses before. This is an excellent overview for newcomers to Russian Lit or veteran readers alike. I especially enjoyed his delivery. First off, his Russian pronunciation is excellent. He even sings a bit. This is a course I’ll probably listen to a second time.

The whole jingbang, box and dice

Prof. Weil's 36 idiomatic and often personal lectures delight in many ways. It's a broad literary sweep, with a bouncing-off-the-walls plot summary of each work. Listening to select prose and poem passages in the original Russian provided additional texture and context - it's a beautiful language. The occasional Russian song thrown in was a bonus, although like me, Irwin's a singer best suited to shower-time! I'm nicely motivated to read the works I wasn't already familiar with, esp. Mikhail Sholokhov's 'And Quiet Flows the Don'. This course series goes straight into my top 10.

Newbie

I was intimidated for a long time to take a dive into the great Russian authors and this was a perfect introduction to me, half biography and half book reviews, I listened to this through my work shifts and enjoyed every minute. The narrator has plenty of energy and was a pleasure to listen which by itself is rare enough.

Russian Lit Lovers' Enrichment

Great lecture series if you love Russian lit and can't take a college course. Rich stories of the writers and there historical times. Excellent.

Classics of Russian Literature

In these 36 lectures of Classics of Russian Literature delivered by Prof Irwin Weil of Northwestern University, he presented the great Russian authors with remarkable clarity. Prof Weil connected the dots regarding Russian history and famous works in Russian Literature. Personally, I have read the great Russian authors and appreciated the way he presented both in English and in Russian. He covered the following Russian authors: Pushkin (1799-1837), Gogol (1809-1852), Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), Tolstoy (1828-1910), Turgenev (1860-1904), Peshkov (1868-1936), Maiakovsky (1893-1930), Sholokhov (1905-1984), Zoshchenko (1895-1958), Pasternak (1890-1960), and Solzenitzyn (1918-2008).

Thoroughly enjoyable

This was a great introduction to Russian literature.
I have read bits and pieces, here and there, but hearing from someone as well-spoken and knowledgeable was a pleasure.

Amazingly Good

I loved everything about this course, the Russian (good that I understand it), the singing, the info and review, but most importantly the passion and love towards Russian literature that was felt through all the course!