Someone asked: “Where do I start with Russian literature?”
Where to start with Russian literature.
Don't start with the thousand-page ones. Start short, find the writer whose voice you like, and work your way up. Here's the order we'd suggest.
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The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Leo Tolstoy · 2017
Tolstoy in under a hundred pages. A judge realises, very late, how he should have lived.
- A Hero of Our TimeMikhail LermontovA Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov (no cover image)
A Hero of Our Time
Mikhail Lermontov · 1992
A cynical officer in the Caucasus, told in linked stories. Stylish and surprisingly modern.
Fathers and Sons
Ivan Turgenev · 2014
The generation gap, 1860s edition. Gentle, funny and sadder than it first seems.
The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov · 1967
The devil visits Soviet Moscow with a giant talking cat. If you think Russian novels are grim, start here.
- One Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichAleksandr SolzhenitsynOne Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (no cover image)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn · 1963
One ordinary day in a labour camp. Plain, precise and unforgettable.
Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky · 1956
A psychological thriller before the genre existed. Once you're in Raskolnikov's head, you can't get out.
Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy · 2014
When you're ready for a big one, this is it. Every character feels like someone you've met.
Not quite it?
Tell the bookseller what you've already read and what you're in the mood for. We'll narrow it down.