- Paperback: 83 pages
- Publisher: MELVILLE HOUSE - CONSIGNMENT STOCK (9 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 193363314X
- ISBN-13: 978-1933633145
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 0.7 x 17.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,353,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Small wonders"
--"Time Out London"
"I wanted them all, even those I'd already read."
--Ron Rosenbaum, "The New York Observer"
--"Time Out London"
"I wanted them all, even those I'd already read."
--Ron Rosenbaum, "The New York Observer"
Product Description
"How dared you, in disregard of all decency, call me a goose?"
This lesser-known work is perhaps the perfect distillation of Nikolai Gogol’s genius: a tale simultaneously animated by a joyful, nearly slapstick sense of humor alongside a resigned cynicism about the human condition.
In a sharp-edged translation from John Cournos, an under-appreciated early translator of Russian literature into English, How The Two Ivans Quarreled is the story of two long-time friends who have a falling out when one of them calls the other a “goose.” From there, the argument intensifies and the escalation becomes more and more ludicrous. Never losing its generous antic spirit, the story nonetheless transitions from whither a friendship, to whither humanity, as it progresses relentlessly to its moving conclusion.
The Art of The Novella Series
Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognized by academics and publishers. Nonetheless, it is a form beloved and practiced by literature's greatest writers. In the Art Of The Novella series, Melville House celebrates this renegade art form and its practitioners with titles that are, in many instances, presented in book form for the first time.
This lesser-known work is perhaps the perfect distillation of Nikolai Gogol’s genius: a tale simultaneously animated by a joyful, nearly slapstick sense of humor alongside a resigned cynicism about the human condition.
In a sharp-edged translation from John Cournos, an under-appreciated early translator of Russian literature into English, How The Two Ivans Quarreled is the story of two long-time friends who have a falling out when one of them calls the other a “goose.” From there, the argument intensifies and the escalation becomes more and more ludicrous. Never losing its generous antic spirit, the story nonetheless transitions from whither a friendship, to whither humanity, as it progresses relentlessly to its moving conclusion.
The Art of The Novella Series
Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognized by academics and publishers. Nonetheless, it is a form beloved and practiced by literature's greatest writers. In the Art Of The Novella series, Melville House celebrates this renegade art form and its practitioners with titles that are, in many instances, presented in book form for the first time.
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"In spite of their great friendship, these rare friends are not always agreed between themselves."
23 Dec 2011
Format:Paperback
This leisurely tale by Nikolai Gogol is available in many editions of his translated works and in anthologies of Russian literature. Why choose this particular edition?
One reason is the stand-alone factor. This slim paperback is the right choice if you want to give yourself or someone on your gift list a single, bite-sized, flavorful sample of Gogol's unsparing examination of "petty human foibles in all their stupid glory." The book is printed in the same attractive format as other releases in the Art of the Novella series produced by the small publisher, Melville House. This is a fine item to toss into your carry-on bag to read during a one- or two-hour airline flight. Or give it as a spontaneous gift to a friend.
Be aware, however, that the translation the publisher selected to reprint here, by John Cournos, is several decades old. It's serviceable, but musty. Some errors mar the text. An example is this bit of description of the two friends' personal habits:
"Neither Ivan Ivanovitch nor Ivan Nikiforovitch loves fleas; and therefore, neither Ivan Ivanovitch nor Ivan Nikiforovitch will, on no account, admit a Jew with his wares, without purchasing of him remedies against these insects, after having first rated him well for belonging to the Hebrew faith."
Compare that somewhat odd-sounding statement to the same passage as translated more recently by the celebrated duo, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, found in Gogol's The Collected Tales (Everyman's Library):
"Like Ivan Ivanovitch, Ivan Nikiforovitch has a great dislike of fleas; and therefore neither Ivanovitch nor Ivan Nikiforovitch ever passes a Jewish peddler without buying various jars of elixirs against these insects from him, having first given him a good scolding for confessing the Jewish faith."
Surely the wording, "first rated him well," in the Melville House edition is a typographical error of what Cournos must have written: "first berated him well".
I believe Pevear and Volokhonsky do a better job overall conveying Gogol in a cleaner yet still style-correct manner. Their volume of Gogol's Tales, which is part of the wonderfully bookish Everyman's Library series, is a beautiful hardback. It has a stitch-sewn binding, is printed on quality paper, and has an integral red ribbon bookmark. Yes it's higher priced ($16.50 compared to $9.00 for the paperback), but it contains not just "Two Ivans" but a dozen other wonderful Gogol tales.
I guess when it comes to Gogol the question is whether you want less or more. Which direction better suits the recipient of your gift? Or, come to think of it, don't you also have time to fill on the return flight?
One reason is the stand-alone factor. This slim paperback is the right choice if you want to give yourself or someone on your gift list a single, bite-sized, flavorful sample of Gogol's unsparing examination of "petty human foibles in all their stupid glory." The book is printed in the same attractive format as other releases in the Art of the Novella series produced by the small publisher, Melville House. This is a fine item to toss into your carry-on bag to read during a one- or two-hour airline flight. Or give it as a spontaneous gift to a friend.
Be aware, however, that the translation the publisher selected to reprint here, by John Cournos, is several decades old. It's serviceable, but musty. Some errors mar the text. An example is this bit of description of the two friends' personal habits:
"Neither Ivan Ivanovitch nor Ivan Nikiforovitch loves fleas; and therefore, neither Ivan Ivanovitch nor Ivan Nikiforovitch will, on no account, admit a Jew with his wares, without purchasing of him remedies against these insects, after having first rated him well for belonging to the Hebrew faith."
Compare that somewhat odd-sounding statement to the same passage as translated more recently by the celebrated duo, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, found in Gogol's The Collected Tales (Everyman's Library):
"Like Ivan Ivanovitch, Ivan Nikiforovitch has a great dislike of fleas; and therefore neither Ivanovitch nor Ivan Nikiforovitch ever passes a Jewish peddler without buying various jars of elixirs against these insects from him, having first given him a good scolding for confessing the Jewish faith."
Surely the wording, "first rated him well," in the Melville House edition is a typographical error of what Cournos must have written: "first berated him well".
I believe Pevear and Volokhonsky do a better job overall conveying Gogol in a cleaner yet still style-correct manner. Their volume of Gogol's Tales, which is part of the wonderfully bookish Everyman's Library series, is a beautiful hardback. It has a stitch-sewn binding, is printed on quality paper, and has an integral red ribbon bookmark. Yes it's higher priced ($16.50 compared to $9.00 for the paperback), but it contains not just "Two Ivans" but a dozen other wonderful Gogol tales.
I guess when it comes to Gogol the question is whether you want less or more. Which direction better suits the recipient of your gift? Or, come to think of it, don't you also have time to fill on the return flight?
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