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Avarice

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President Camacho

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Avarice

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I'm not a huge fan of Russian literature as it often leads to excellent writing following immense dullness and confusion and an inevitable French ending which leaves me emotionally despondent but I'm half way through The Golovylov Family and it's nothing but a masterpiece.

Balzac, a maestro of the human comedy, once said (paraphrasing) that another could write of greed but his Eugenie Grandet unveiled to the world avarice in the form of her father. I've read Eugenie Grandet and it was brilliant.

But, Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin's book is Russian and produced following Gogol (another AWESOME Russian writer -intelligent and humorous) in 1880 (serfdom plays roles in both their writing) seems to be the perfect time for me in Russian Lit. I truly enjoy Gogol and now have a fondness for Saltykov. It's gritty and real without the affectation that follows the inevitable jealousy of western affairs with Russia and it's not AT ALL confused like other Russian lit I've read that grasps at shadows. It's REAL. It's THE BEST type of fiction in that it's almost a scientific study of human nature written down as an entertaining account of a family's affairs. It's hard to put down if you're a fan of that.

Like Balzac? I'm sure you'll love Saltykov's The Golovyov Family from what I've read so far. It outshines, so far, anything I've read in the Comedie Humaine.

Cheers. :)
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