All the romantic pathos that shrouded the Middle Ages is presented in Ivanhoe. Valiant knights, beautiful ladies, sieges of castles and the political subtleties of vassal relations - all this found a place in Walter Scott’s novel.
In many ways, it was his creation that contributed to the romanticization of the Middle Ages. The author described historical events, which cover the period in English history after the Third Crusade. Of course, there were serious artistic improvisations and fiction, but this only made the story more fascinating and beautiful.
It was impossible not to include in this selection the most famous creation Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol. For many schoolchildren, studying “Dead Souls” is the most a bright event in literature lessons.
Nikolai Gogol is one of the few classics who knew how to write about the problems of bourgeois life and Russia as a whole in such a sarcastic and direct tone. There is neither the epic heaviness of Tolstoy nor the unhealthy psychologism of Dostoevsky. Reading the work is easy and pleasant. However, it is unlikely that anyone will deny him the depth and subtlety of the phenomena he noticed.
The adventure novel “The Headless Horseman” is multi-layered: detective and love motives are intertwined in it. Plot intricacies create intrigue and keep you in suspense until the very last pages of the book. Who is this headless horseman? A ghost, a figment of the heroes’ imagination or someone’s insidious trick? You are unlikely to fall asleep until you get the answer to this question.
Charles Dickens was extremely popular during his lifetime. People were waiting for his next novels in much the same way as we are now waiting for the release of some Transformers. The educated English public loved his books for their inimitable style and plot dynamism.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club is Dickens's funniest work. The adventures of English snobs, who proclaimed themselves explorers of human souls, are full of absurd and comical situations. Social issues, of course, is present here, but it is presented in such a simple form that it is simply impossible not to fall in love with the English classic after reading it.
"Madame Bovary" is rightfully considered one of greatest novels world classics. This title in no way detracts from the fascination of Flaubert’s creation - a challenging story love adventures Emma Bovary is bold and daring. After the publication of the novel, the writer was even brought to justice for insulting morality.
The psychological naturalism that permeates the novel allowed Flaubert to clearly reveal a problem that is relevant in any era - the convertibility of love and money.
The most famous work Oscar Wilde touches a nerve with his deeply nuanced portrayal of the protagonist. Dorian Gray, an esthete and a snob, has extreme beauty, which contrasts with the internal ugliness that develops throughout the plot. You can spend hours reveling in watching Gray's moral decline, allegorically reflected in the visual change in his portrait.
"American Tragedy" - the wrong side American dream. The desire for wealth, respect, position in society, and money is common to all people, but for most, the path to the top is closed by default for various reasons.
Clyde Griffiths is a man from the lower classes who is trying with all his might to break into high society. He is ready to do anything for his dream. But society, with its ideals of success as an absolute life goal, is itself a catalyst for moral violations. Clyde ends up breaking the law to achieve his goals.
To Kill a Mockingbird is an autobiographical novel. Harper Lee described her childhood memories. The result is a story with an anti-racist message, written in simple and accessible language. Reading the book is useful and interesting; it can be called a moral textbook.
Not long ago, a continuation of the novel entitled “Go Set a Watchman” was published. In it, the images of the characters in the writer’s classic work are turned inside out so much that cognitive dissonance cannot be avoided when reading.
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Domestic fiction has always been characterized by a focus on display inner world heroes. This is main feature creativity of Russian writers. The ability to depict the morals of characters in such a way that the reader has a vivid emotional response is admired by many critics of past centuries and today. Description of mental contradictions, overcoming moral obstacles, attempts to find the right decision in situations where personal needs are in confrontation with public ideas about duty and decency, the search for one’s own path - all this the best Russian books hide behind their bindings and covers. This current review contains works that have played a significant role in the personal development of more than one generation. Non-trivial plots, memorable characters who have become symbols of eras, elements of merciless sarcasm and sad irony are perceived by readers in different ways, but even those who are not accustomed to absorbing the meaning of printed lines with every cell of an open heart do not remain indifferent. So, top 10 best Russian books of all times.
10. Two captains, Veniamin Kaverin
Written by the Soviet prose writer Veniamin Kaverin, during the author’s lifetime this novel brought the creator the highest literary award of that time in the USSR - Stalin Prize. Inspired by the spirit of patriotic heroism and adventurous adventures, the work tells the story of the amazing intersection of the destinies of two worthy people era. The dangerous expedition of Captain Tatarinov to the northern shores haunted Sanka Grigoriev with early childhood. Having matured, the young man decides to repeat the route of the brave navigator. On this difficult path Many unexpected meetings and discoveries await him, as well as the opportunity to find love and discover qualities in himself whose presence in other circumstances would be difficult to guess. Some heroes of the story have real prototypes. Expedition to the region eternal ice described with the reliability with which it is possible to interpret the circumstances described in the diaries of members of the team of Arctic explorers Brusilov and Sedov.
9. Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Included in school curriculum, philosophical novel The great Russian classic F. M. Dostoevsky undoubtedly provides much more reasons for reflection than the minds of high school students are able to grasp. However, the work can influence the formation of their internal views and beliefs, become a motivating phenomenon for the desire to form their own opinion and tell others about it. The question of whether a person has the right to dispose of someone else’s life (even in the context of subsequent good deeds) is one of eternal relevance. The main character is a student who has overcome the threshold of poverty and is steadily striving towards the social abyss, towards poverty. Desperation leads him to the idea of getting money by committing murder. Justifying his action, Raskolnikov convinces himself that the future victim is unworthy person, and her funds will help many more noble people improve their lives. Does the hero have any reason to reason in this way when his main opponent is his own conscience? In this inevitable dialogue, there are obviously losers, but the outcome becomes known only after a fatal decision is made.
8. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
The work, conceived by the author in the format of three volumes, has a genre definition that is unusual for a prosaic text. Gogol called his epistolary work a poem and presented it to the world in 1842. Masterfully using the technique of generalization where appropriate, the author was able to create an encyclopedic collection of characters from representatives of various social strata the middle of the last century. At the center of the presentation is the adventurer Chichikov. He accumulates around himself people who embody vivid and eloquent images of landowners, noble or ruined. The task of the visiting guest is to acquire serfs who, according to documents, are listed as deceased. What caused this interest, and which souls are actually long dead? Immortal literary classics and one of the best Russian books appears as a field for limitless knowledge in the ephemeral sphere human passions.
7. Amphibian Man, Alexander Belyaev
“Amphibian Man” is one of the best Russian science fiction books, which gained enormous popularity among readers of Soviet society and remained the standard of the corresponding genre in modern world. It is based on the amazing experiment of Dr. Salvator. With the initially noble goal of saving the life of a dying child, the surgical experience led to the emergence of a man with the unique ability to breathe underwater. The sea has become Ichthyander’s native element, but insidious people decide to use the hero’s capabilities to their advantage. Love line fits organically into the plot and adds sensuality to the narrative, provokes empathy. The struggle for life and love, merged into a single powerful reason to resist evil, prompted talented Soviet directors to create artistic painting, which attracted a record number of viewers for that time.
6. Heart of a Dog, Mikhail Bulgakov
A vivid personification of the essence of socialist society, which was formed in the 20s of the last century. Amazing ability to embody the spirit of the era in characters literary heroes possessed brilliant writer Michael Bulgakov. His hero Professor Preobrazhensky demonstrates unusual revolutionary spirit scientific ideas, constantly performing extraordinary surgical operations. Their action is aimed at obtaining results that mark unprecedented progress in medicine. The next job is to transplant the pituitary gland of a deceased person into a dog. To the surprise of the genius himself, the object not only survives, but also amazingly finds a place in the new society. Taking on the traits of a true activist, new Ball, named according to documents as Poligraf Poligrafovich, has no respect for the creator, tries to oust him from his personal apartments, writes slander, and makes provocative indecent speeches in public. These manifestations of character help the hero obtain the position of chief in the structure for the fight against those to whom Sharikov himself only recently belonged, namely, stray dogs. Only the professor can harness time again and correct the mistake that soon begins to threaten his life and well-being. But how is this possible?
5. Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
In the middle of the ranking of the best Russian books is The Brothers Karamazov. The work can be safely assessed as a successful attempt to reconsider, understand and evaluate moral religious values through the prism of relationships between members separate family. Dostoevsky again staged a provocative experiment on human self-awareness, clearly depicting the serious struggle within the souls of each of the three brothers and their father. The novel is complex, but insane interest in it arises due to the interweaving psychological aspects personality and the external religious instructions to which she is exposed. The final point is self-acceptance and finding God within, and not subconsciously forced humility. But which of the brothers will be able to achieve this knowledge before their sins become irreversible, and how useful will it be to them? An expert in mental torment, Fyodor Mikhailovich created Mitya, Alyosha, Ivan and Fyodor Karamazov on the pages of the novel in such a way that the possibility of their real existence will not raise doubts.
4. White Guard, Mikhail Bulgakov
There is nothing more destructive for a country than war within its borders. An open armed struggle between the inhabitants of a once united state affects the life of every citizen, forcing him to make a choice for which it is impossible to be prepared. Civil War finds the intelligent Turbin family in Kyiv. The heroes witness how familiar reality changes daily, requiring them to take active action at every step. Some people prefer to resign themselves and passively watch as everything that was once of great value turns into dust and dirt underfoot. Others dare to enter into confrontation and defend in any way the right to life, love, the natural manifestation of justice and freedom.
3. War and Peace, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy
A grandiose epic, embodying interesting biographies of entire family clans and chronicles of the events of the war with Napoleon, opens the top three best Russian books. The four volumes are an impressive panorama that sweeps before the reader in a bright whirlwind of extraordinary destinies. Bezukhovs, Kuragins, Rostovs, Bolkonskys - these surnames became household names and excluded oblivion for their representatives, thanks to the novel by Leo Tolstoy. The character of each character is drawn so carefully that it is very difficult to remain indifferent to the events of his life. The circumstances in which the author places the characters remain in the memory and acquire common characteristics. What is worth the scene where Prince Bolkonsky is lost in thought by the old oak tree! Tolstoy masterfully shows the evolution of the human soul against the background of external objective metamorphoses. Total time of the described actions is approaching 15 years. Only the epilogue will make you understand the scale of influence of this period on the heroes, and what you read - on the reader.
2. Quiet Don, Mikhail Sholokhov
The beginning of the last century was marked for Russia by a number of political and social cataclysms, which became fateful trials for people of all faiths and social statuses. The characters in Sholokhov's novel are Don Cossacks. During the war of 1914-1918 and subsequent civil armed conflicts, during the formation of a new government and radical changes in the foundations of the state structure main character epic named Grigory Melekhov is tormented by the need to make a moral and factual choice. The novel contains a sharp political line, created on the basis of Gregory’s definition in relation to the established power structures, and a lyrical one. Melekhov finds himself married to a girl he does not love, and happiness with the desired Aksinya seems to be slipping away. Time passes, the hero is forced to put up with the consequences of his own decisions, the significance of which he failed to properly assess in time. A powerful impact on the reader is due to talented description steppe landscapes, allowing us to better understand the true loneliness and suffering from the losses of the protagonist. A worthy second place on the list best books Russian writers.
1. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
Topping our small list of the best Russian books is The Master and Margarita. Everything is mixed up in this literary masterpiece: past and present, religion and aggressive atheism, the devilish and the sinless, vices and ideals, genius and mediocrity, love and base manifestations of passions. Bulgakov worked on the novel until the end of his life. earthly path. The version of the work available to the public was released due to the efforts and painstaking work the writer's wife. Capital theme Russian state The 30s of the twentieth century exposes catastrophic wormholes in the hearts of its inhabitants. The leitmotif of the confrontation between the worldviews of the Fifth Procurator of Judea and one of those condemned to death by him forces one to mentally touch eternity and feel its frightening constancy. An absorbing story of sensual affection, captivating elements of mysticism, capacious quotes that remain relevant, encourage you to read the novel to the last line and absorb the meaning of every word, chosen with amazing precision.
The best Russian books described are valuable treasures of the epistolary genre. Numerous film adaptations of classic stories are the work of not only Russian directors, but also foreign ones. The popularity of Russian classics among representatives of the foreign cultural community is explained by constant efforts to understand and explain the motives of the secretive and therefore mysterious soul Russian person. Domestic readers can only be proud and admire such a rich, inspiring and amazing literary heritage.
Historically, everything in Russia is not the same as in other countries. Here is a special path of development of literature, the Russian soul is incomprehensible and mysterious to anyone. Russia balances between Asia and Europe. Therefore, the genres of Russian classics are special. Classic literature amazes readers with its spirituality and truthfulness. One of the main characters in classical Russian literature is the soul. Heroes of dramas, novels and poems do not strive for wealth, fame or position, the main thing for them is the search for a place in life, ideals and truth. Distinctive feature Russian literature has become eternal search spiritual and moral ideals.
At the beginning of the 19th century, poets turned to the life of the soul and all its diversity. Mikhail Lermontov and Alexander Pushkin reached the heights of poetry. The poems sound love for the homeland, joy and pain for it, admiration for nature, the desire for freedom, the bitterness of loss, the joy of friendship, love. Poetry reveals images of people who are looking for the use of their strengths, suffering from their imperfections and the imperfections of the world around them. These heroes were called extra people. These two poets took a step towards realism.
Three novelists were very popular in the second half of the 19th century: Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostoevsky. They were different people, had different views, complex characters and talents that were completely different. They created great novels - Russian classics, which can be read online today on many sites. These works greatly affected the life of the Russian people.
Another feature of Russian classics is ridicule of the shortcomings of man and society, a critical look at reality. Satire and humor - character traits works by Saltykov-Shchedrin and Gogol. Critics said that the writers were engaged in slander. Readers understood that behind the humor lies suffering. The characters were both tragic and comic at the same time. Their main task is to excite souls.
Many writers were also talented playwrights. Read books of Russian classics online, it is convenient and relevant in our time. Pay attention to the following works: “Boris Godunov” by Pushkin, “The Inspector General” and “Woe from Wit” by Gogol. At one time, these works were a real event. Alexander Ostrovsky made a real revolution in the theater.
At the end of the 19th century, novellas and short stories became popular. The masters of these genres were Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin. Chekhov created a gallery of sad and comical images, showing the problems of an intellectual who is at odds with himself. Bunin became famous thanks to his stories about love. These works very subtly described all the stages and shades of feelings.
Ancient Greece
Homer "Odyssey" and "Iliad"
Did Homer really write these poems? Was he blind? And did it exist in principle? These and other questions still remain unanswered, but they fade in the face of the eternity and value of the texts themselves. The epic Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan War, for a long time was better known than the Odyssey, and in to a greater extent influenced European literature. But the wanderings of Odysseus, written in simple language, are almost a novel, perhaps the first one that has come down to us.
Great Britain
Charles Dickens "The Adventures of Oliver Twist"
A groundbreaking novel featuring real life without embellishment, Dickens composed it at the age of 26. He didn’t have to strain his imagination much: the main character, who lived in poverty, is the author himself, whose family went bankrupt when the future writer was just a child. And Dickens even took the surname of the main villain Feigin from life, borrowing, however, from his best friend.
The release of Oliver Twist had the effect of a bomb exploding in England: society, in particular, vied with each other to discuss - and condemn - child labor. Thanks to the novel, readers learned that literature can serve as a mirror.
Jane Austen "Pride and Prejudice"
Cornerstone for British literature a text as classic as “Eugene Onegin” in Russia. A quiet, homely young lady, Austen wrote Pride when she was very young, but published it only 15 years later, after the success of Sense and Sensibility. The Austen phenomenon, among other things, is that almost all of her novels are classics, but Pride and Prejudice stands out from the crowd because of the presence of one of the most amazing couples in world literature - Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Darcy is a common noun; without him, Britain is not Britain. In general, “Pride and Prejudice” is the very case when the sign “ women's novel"causes not a grin, but admiration.
Germany
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Faust"
The 82-year-old Goethe finished the last, second part of Faust six months before his death. He began working on the text when he was twenty-five. Goethe put all the meticulousness, efficiency and attention to detail inherited from his pedantic father into this ambitious work. Life, death, world order, good, evil - “Faust,” like “War and Peace,” in its own way is a comprehensive book in which everyone will find answers to any answers.
Erich Maria Remarque "Arc de Triomphe"
“One of the two always leaves the other. The whole question is who will get ahead of whom,” “Love does not tolerate explanations. She needs actions” - Remarque’s novel is one of those books that are divided into quotes. The love story in Paris besieged by the Germans turned the heads of more than one generation of readers, and the author’s romance with Marlene Dietrich, and persistent rumors that it was Dietrich who became the prototype of Joan Madou, only add to the charm of this beautiful book.
Russia
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”
Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote this novel forcedly, due to the need for money: gambling debts, the death of his brother Mikhail, which left his family without funds. The plot of Crime and Punishment was "inspired" by the case of Pierre François Lacière, a French intellectual murderer who believed that society was to blame for his actions. Dostoevsky composed in parts, each of which was published in the magazine “Russian Messenger”. Later, the novel was published as a separate volume, in a new edition, abridged by the author, and began independent life. Today “Crime and Punishment” is part of the world classics, one of the symbols of Russian literature and culture in general, translated into many languages and filmed many times (up to the manga comic of the same name).
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy “War and Peace”
The epic four-volume masterpiece, written over several sessions, ultimately took Tolstoy almost six years to complete. “War and Peace” is inhabited by 559 characters, the names of the main ones - Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Bolkonsky - have become household names. This novel is a large-scale (many believe that it is completely exhaustive) statement about everything in the world - war, love, state, etc. The author himself quickly lost interest in War and Peace, calling the book “wordy” a few years later, and at the end of his life simply “nonsense.”
Colombia
Gabriel Garcia Marquez "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
The saga of the Buendía family is the second most popular text in Spanish throughout the world (the first is Cervantes' Don Quixote). An example of the “magical realism” genre, which has become a kind of brand that unites completely different authors, such as Borges, Coelho and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was written by 38-year-old Marquez in a year and a half; To write this book, the father of two children quit his job and sold his car. The novel was published in 1967, at first it sold poorly, but eventually gained world fame. Total circulation“One Hundred Years” today - 30 million, Marquez is a classic, laureate of everything in the world, including Nobel Prize, a symbolic writer who has done more for his native Colombia than anyone. It is thanks to Marquez that the world knows that in Colombia there are not only drug lords, but also
(Russian) is a broad concept, and everyone puts their own meaning into it. If you ask readers what associations it evokes in them, the answers will be different. For some, this is the basis of the library collection, others will say that works of classical Russian literature are a kind of example of high artistic merit. For schoolchildren, this is everything that is studied at school. And they will all be absolutely right in their own way. So what is it - classic literature? Russian literature, today we will talk only about it. We will talk about foreign classics in another article.
Russian literature
There is a generally accepted periodization of formation and development Russian literature. Its history is divided into the following time periods:
What works are called classics?
Many readers are sure that classical literature (Russian) is Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy - that is, the works of those writers who lived in the 19th century. It's not like that at all. It can be classic from both the Middle Ages and the 20th century. By what canons and principles can one determine whether a novel or story is a classic? Firstly, classic must have high artistic value and be a model for others. Secondly, it must have worldwide recognition, it must be included in the fund of world culture.
And you need to be able to distinguish between the concepts of classical and popular literature. A classic is something that has stood the test of time, and oh popular work They can forget quite quickly. If its relevance remains for decades, perhaps it will also become a classic over time.
The origins of Russian classical literature
IN late XVIII century, only the established nobility of Russia split into two opposing camps: conservatives and reformers. This split was due different attitude to the changes that took place in life: Peter's reforms, understanding of the tasks of the Enlightenment, the painful peasant issue, attitude towards power. This struggle of extremes led to the rise of spirituality and self-awareness, which gave birth to Russian classics. We can say that it was forged during the dramatic processes in the country.
Classical literature (Russian), born in the complex and contradictory 18th century, was finally formed in XIX century. Its main features: national identity, maturity, self-awareness.
Russian classical literature of the 19th century
The growth of national consciousness played a major role in the development of culture at that time. More and more is opening up educational institutions, intensifies public importance literature, writers are beginning to pay a lot of attention native language. It made me think even more about what was happening in the country.
Karamzin's influence on the development of 19th-century literature
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, the greatest Russian historian, writer and journalist, was the most influential figure in Russian culture XVIII-XIX centuries His historical stories and the monumental “History of the Russian State” had a huge influence on the work of subsequent writers and poets: Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Griboedov. He is one of the great reformers of the Russian language. Karamzin introduced a large number of new words into use, without which we cannot imagine modern speech today.
Russian classical literature: list of the best works
Select and list the best literary works- a difficult task, since each reader has his own preferences and tastes. A novel that will be a masterpiece for one may seem boring and uninteresting to another. How to create a list of classic Russian literature that would satisfy the majority of readers? One way is to conduct surveys. Based on them, one can draw conclusions about which work the readers themselves consider the best of the proposed options. These types of information collection methods are conducted regularly, although the data may change slightly over time.
The list of the best creations of Russian classics, according to versions of literary magazines and Internet portals, looks like this:
Under no circumstances should this list be considered a reference. In some ratings and polls, the first place may not be Bulgakov, but Leo Tolstoy or Alexander Pushkin, and some of the listed writers may not be at all. Ratings are an extremely subjective thing. It’s better to make a list of your favorite classics for yourself and focus on it.
The meaning of Russian classical literature
The creators of Russian classics have always had great social responsibility. They never acted as moralizers and did not give ready-made answers in their works. Writers put before the reader difficult task and made him think about her decision. They raised serious social and public problems in their works, which still affect us today. great importance. Therefore, Russian classics remain just as relevant today.
