Russian literature

Impressions of the Summer Recounted in Autumn - Trip to Paris and Georgia

Takahiro Ueda, "Impressions of Summer Written in Autumn: A Journey to Paris and Georgia" - A Journey to Study Dostoevsky and Tolstoy

For approximately one month, from mid-August to mid-September 2022, I have been traveling around Europe, mainly in Georgia.

This trip visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Georgia-Armenia.

Its main purpose was to see the Caucasus Mountains in northern Georgia.

I have been researching "Shinran and Dostoevsky" for the past three years. And this year, in order to learn more about Dostoevsky, I also decided to study Tolstoy, who is said to be the opposite of Dostoevsky.

And in the process, I came to know these Caucasus mountains.
French Literature, History and Culture

Summary and Impressions of Kosei Ogura's "The Social History of "The Secret of Paris"" - What is Eugène Hsu's Newspaper Novel that Influenced Dostoevsky and Marx?

In this book, we will look at the work of Eugène Hsu and see what an outstanding achievement this man was.

It is a very exciting work that also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing and media industry in nineteenth-century France. It is interesting. I highly recommend it.

There are a series of points that are very interesting not only for French literature, but also for Russian literature, British literature, and Marx. Why not pick up a copy?
French Literature, History and Culture

Mike Rapport, "The Napoleonic Wars" - A recommended reference book that looks at the characteristics of the Napoleonic Wars from various perspectives!

This book is not the type of book that explains the "military genius of Napoleon". Rather, it will be a work that takes a closer look at the background of this war and the various things necessary to carry it out.

The war was not caused by Napoleon alone, but the international situation in the 18th century had already triggered the war. And while the emphasis tends to be on Napoleon's genius, the individual soldiers behind his victories actually played a significant role. These are some of the things you can learn from this book.
French Literature, History and Culture

A. Horn, "The Napoleonic Era" - A recommended commentary for a compact study of Napoleon's life, characteristics, and impact on society!

The book features not only Napoleon himself, but also provides an insight into the state of society during this period. You can learn how society was affected by Napoleon's arrival and how people's lives changed.

It is very gratifying to see the wide range of cultural aspects as well as the footprints of the military Napoleon.

This was especially interesting to me because I did not see much about architecture in Chapter 5 or entertainment in Chapter 7 in other reference books.
French Literature, History and Culture

Visual Selection Napoleon" - A guidebook with many illustrations recommended as an introduction to Napoleon!

What makes this work unique is the richness of the illustrations. As the title suggests, the book follows the people and their characteristics along with the visuals.

I also appreciate that the explanatory text is written in a way that is easy to understand even for beginning students, and also talks about the historical background of the time.

I highly recommend this work as an introduction to Napoleon.

The volume is also very compact, at less than 150 pages.

I would highly recommend this work.
Tolstoy revivalTolstoy, the Russian Giant

Tolstoy's "Resurrection" Synopsis and Impressions - Tolstoy's late great work, also known as the Katyusha story.

It tells the story of the wealthy aristocrat Marquis Neffrudov and his servant girl Katusha, whom he once fell in love with and abandoned.

The work caused a huge sensation not only in Russia but around the world, immortalizing Tolstoy's name.

The Resurrection is, at any rate, religious and moralistic. And it is thoroughly repetitive in its criticism for the betterment of society.

I felt that the greatness of "Resurrection" lies in the way such noble religious beliefs are intertwined with the dramatic narrative.
Tolstoy, the Russian Giant

Tolstoy's "How Much Land Is There for a Man" Synopsis and Comments - Tolstoy's masterful folk tale about the endlessness and emptiness of human desire.

The plot of this work is fairly simple: a peasant in a village takes advantage of the lucrative offer of a larger piece of land and increases his desires one after another, until finally he dies from his desires.

But then there is Tolstoy, the greatest artist of all time. In his hands, such a simple story becomes incredibly dramatic and profound.

If you ask me which of Tolstoy's folktales is my favorite, I would choose this one.

I would highly recommend this work.
Tolstoy, the Russian Giant

Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" Synopsis Commentary and Thoughts - I can only bow down to the greatest masterpiece of Tolstoy's art. It's a complete defeat.

I have read "Anna Karenina" following "War and Peace," and after receiving a direct blow to the brain from the overwhelming scale of "War and Peace," I could do nothing but bow down to the too-perfect artistic descriptions in "Anna Karenina. I just have to bow down. That's it. I am completely defeated. Being shown such a perfect work of art made me realize just how small I am. It makes me want to think how I could write such a perfect piece of writing! It is such an overwhelming work.
Tolstoy, the Russian Giant

Tolstoy's "The Kafkaes' Charm" Synopsis and Impressions - Tolstoy's Tales of the Kafkaes, also included in a children's textbook written by Tolstoy.

Tolstoy had an extraordinary enthusiasm for the education of children.

He opened his mansion as a school, taught himself, and even created his own textbooks.

The current work, "Kafkaesque Toriko" will be a work from such a self-written textbook.

The title of the book, "Kafkers' Toriko," made me think that it was a story about a man's obsession with Kafkers, but it was "Toriko" as in "prisoner of war.

This work is also characterized by Tolstoy's masterful depiction of nature, which is typical of the artist and the ultimate observer of human beings.