It’s Russian Lit! Book Club

“Russian” to a good book! 😉 Winston Churchill once described Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Now is a great time to engage with Russian literature; these works can help us understand the long suffering of the Russian people under their oppressive governments, as well as their culture. Many of the Russian writers the club will read were directly opposed to and persecuted by their government, and they can give us context for our current world as well as a damn good story. If you have even the slightest interest in understanding the complexity or Russia’s culture, this book club is for you.

We will be reading both seminal Golden Age classics (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev) and lesser known works, both old and modern. This club will only be reading fictional works – while Russian history can be equally as compelling, it will not be the focus.

This month we are reading We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. It’s Russian Lit book club will meet at 2 PM, on Sunday, October 27th.

In a glass-enclosed city of perfectly straight lines, ruled over by an all-powerful “Benefactor,” the citizens of the totalitarian society of OneState are regulated by spies and secret police; wear identical clothing; and are distinguished only by a number assigned to them at birth. That is, until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. He can feel things. He can fall in love. And, in doing so, he begins to dangerously veer from the norms of his society, becoming embroiled in a plot to destroy OneState and liberate the city.

Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, We was the forerunner of canonical works from George Orwell and Alduous Huxley, among others. It was suppressed for more than sixty years in Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom, as well as a powerful, exciting, and vivid work of science fiction that still feels relevant today. Bela Shayevich’s bold new translation breathes new life into Yevgeny Zamyatin’s seminal work and refreshes it for our current era.

Purchase a copy to read, or grab it from the library, and join us Sunday, September 22nd, for an engaging discussion about We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. This book club is free to anyone who wishes to participate. No registration necessary.

Also, for 20 minutes after each club meeting, you will receive 20% off all books and merchandise!

Content Warnings for It’s Russian Lit! in 2024
Content Warnings for We
Content Warnings for The White Guard
Content Warnings for Cancer Ward