Mikhail Zoshchenko (1895–1958)
Author of Nervous People and Other Satires
About the Author
His first book of stories appeared in 1921 and became extraordinarily popular. However, he came under political pressure in the 1930s because some of his works, such as Youth Restored (1933), were too slyly ambiguous to fit the socialist realist model. In 1946, together with Akhmatova, he was show more singled out for an extraordinary attack by culture "boss" Andrei Zhdanov and was expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers. From then on he mostly produced translations. Zoshchenko was an extremely effective satirist who took his subjects from the paradoxes and incongruities of post-Revolutionary Russian society. He showed that human nature, which the new government was trying to change, would assert itself nonetheless. His language is fascinating. He often chooses lower-class narrators who speak in a mixture of the colloquial and of the new Soviet rhetoric---with highly comic results. During the 1930s, Zoshchenko's fiction began to explore philosophical and theoretical problems. A well-known example is Before Sunrise, the first part of which was published in 1943. In it the author analyzes his own psyche, in the process touching on the then-forbidden theories of Freud. Publication of the complete text of this work did not occur until 1972. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Mikhail Zoshchenko
A Very Russian Christmas: The Greatest Russian Holiday Stories of All Time (Very Christmas) 6 copies
Rasskaz'i Dvadtsat'ih Godov. Stories of the 1920s. [Subtitle]: With an Introduction, Notes and Vocabulary by . B.… (1982) 6 copies
Le api e gli uomini 4 copies
Lugusid lastele 3 copies
Samoe glavnoe 3 copies
En zo leven wij, broertjes 2 copies
Pelageya 2 copies
Рассказы 2 copies
Rasskazy o Lenine 2 copies
Большие пожары 2 copies
Lugusid lastele 2 copies
Опальные Рассказы 1 copy
Selected Stories 1 copy
Rasskazy 1 copy
Kauba kvaliteet 1 copy
Избранные рассказы и повести 1 copy
Prima che sorga il sole 1 copy
Seringen en geiten 1 copy
O čem je pel slavec 1 copy
Rasskazy - 1921-1930 1 copy
Lastik Pabuclar 1 copy
Sihirli Insanlar 1 copy
Povratak mladosti 1 copy
Prou compassió! 1 copy
Das Himmelblaubuch 1 copy
Великие путешественники 1 copy
Повести, Рассказы, Фельетоны 1 copy
Koliko čovjeku treba 1 copy
Последняя неприятность 1 copy
Перед восходом солнца 1 copy
Избранное (Tom 2) 1 copy
Юмористические рассказы 1 copy
Михаил Зощенко. Избранное 1 copy
Рассказы и повести 1 copy
Zol. class. Zoshchenko Blue Prince. Cool Pleasures / Zol.klas.Zoshchenko Golubaya kn.Prelesti kul (2010) 1 copy
Sinirli İnsanlar 1 copy
Talih İşareti 1 copy
Голубая книга 1 copy
Богатая жизнь 1 copy
Honest Citizen [short story] 1 copy
Der Rettungsanker 1 copy
The Galosh [short story] 1 copy
Izbrannoe v dvukh tomakh 1 copy
Associated Works
Anthology of Russian Literature in the Soviet Period from Gorki to Pasternak (1960) — Contributor — 69 copies
Lebensgut — Ein deutsches Lesebuch für Mädchen — 5. Teil (9. Schuljahr) — Contributor — 1 copy
Sovjethumor — Author, some editions — 1 copy
ロシア短編集 ПЁСТРЫЕ РАССКАЗЫ 雑話集 III — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Zoshchenko, Mikhail
- Legal name
- Zoshchenko, Mikhail Mikhailovich
- Birthdate
- 1895-08-10
1894 (according to 1953 autobiography) - Date of death
- 1958-07-22
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Russia
- Birthplace
- Poltava, Ukraine, Russian Empire
St. Petersburg, Russia, Russian Empire ( according to1953 autobiography) - Place of death
- Sestroretsk, Leningrad, Russia, USSR
- Cause of death
- heart failure
- Places of residence
- Leningrad, Russia, USSR
- Education
- Saint Petersburg University (law) (did not graduate)
- Occupations
- author
satirist
translator
shoemaker - Organizations
- Serapion Brothers
Imperial Russian Army
Red Army
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 127
- Also by
- 14
- Members
- 708
- Popularity
- #35,797
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 13
- ISBNs
- 102
- Languages
- 12
- Favorited
- 5
Mikhail Zoshchenko’s Sentimental Tales resorts to a technique which had been used by other Russian authors, including Gogol and Pushkin in works such as [b:Tales of Belkin|6697972|Tales of Belkin|Alexander Pushkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320559853s/6697972.jpg|50747166] and "A History of the Village of Goryukhino”. In a meta-fictional approach which seems to foreshadow postmodern techniques, the stories are allegedly written by one Kolenkorov, a mediocre writer who strives, with limited success, to conform to the ideals of a “model Soviet artist”. As a result, the narration is deliberately clunky, replete with irrelevant details, overblown metaphors and inconsequential asides. This provides much of the humour, but it also serves as a cover for Zoshchenko. Melodramatic tales of tragic, unrequited love – which otherwise might have been considered too “sentimental” – are camouflaged by this comedic approach. More importantly, the farcical elements allow Zoshchenko to get away with biting social satire.
Such works need a sensitive translator to do them justice – hats off to Boris Dralyuk (who has already shown his mettle in other challenging translations for Penguin, Maclehouse Press and Pushkin Press amongst others). He manages to transpose the particular wit of Zoshchenko into English, making it accessible to us despite the differences in language and culture.… (more)