Showing results by narrator "Vladimir Samoylov" in All Categories

Nothing in the whole of literature compares with The Master and Margarita. One spring afternoon, the Devil, trailing fire and chaos in his wake, weaves himself out of the shadows and into Moscow. Mikhail Bulgakov's fantastical, funny, and devastating satire of Soviet life combines two distinct yet interwoven parts, one set in contemporary Moscow, the other in ancient Jerusalem, each brimming with historical, imaginary, frightful, and wonderful characters.

Good-natured and garrulous, Švejk becomes the Austro-Hungarian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of the First World War - although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. This story of a "little man" caught in a vast bureaucratic machine combines dazzling wordplay and piercing satire to create a hilariously subversive depiction of the futility of war. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

The Duel takes place in a small and peaceful town by the Black Sea. Two friends chat while swimming. Ivan Laevsky, 28, reveals his private secrets to Samoilenko, an army doctor. He reveals that, two years ago, he began an affair with a married woman. They fled to the Caucasus to get a fresh start. But the town and its inhabitants turned out to be dull, and Laevsky did not like it there. He does not see any future for himself and Nadezhda Fyodorovna, only more and more lies.

Dating to the ninth century BC, Homer's timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

A Christmas Carol is one of the few English Christmas tales. It is a joyful prose hymn involving ghosts and ending with a Christmas miracle. Even if just for a day, happiness enlightens a previously grim house. On Christmas Eve, cold-hearted and greedy old Scrooge turns into a kind man and adopts Tiny Tim.

The White Guard is less famous than Mikhail Bulgakov's comic hit, The Master and Margarita, but it is a lovely book, though completely different in tone. It is set in Kiev during the Russian revolution and tells a story about the war's effect on a middle-class family (not workers). The story was not politically correct and thereby contributed to Bulgakov's lifelong troubles with the Soviet authorities. It was, however, well-loved, and the novel was turned into a successful play at the time of its publication in 1967. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.