Subject
VN in Russia (fwd)
Date
Body
>From Earl Sampson (esampson@cu.campus.mci.net)
In the 23 January Moscow Times, Igor Zakharov writes in his "Bookworm"
column about the effects of the August financial crisis on Russian book
publishing, one of which is a steep decline in book prices, resulting in
brisk sales, as people hasten to take advantage of the situation before
prices rise again, as he predicts they will in the course of the year.
He cites some examples of what is available: "An eight-volume, hardcover
set of the works of Leo Tolstoy can be found for 82 rubles ($3.70), a
four volume set of Anton Chekhov for 56 rubles, four volumes of Vladimir
Nabokov for 120, five volumes of Jane Austen for 75 and "Gone with the
Wind" in two elegant hardcover books for 25."
Thus Nabokov is worth just over twice as much as Chekhov, and not quite
three times as much as Tolstoy.
That observation is partly facetious; I realize that the Nabokov set may
be of higher quality (better binding, paper, etc.), but it must also
reflect to some extent how much the Russian reader values VN. It is
still a relative novelty to be able to read and even own Nabokov, while
everyone owns editions of the classics. I also like the juxtaposition of
Nabokov and Jane Austen.
(Note: I found this item in Johnson's Russia List, an e-mail list run
single-handedly by David Johnson, who culls the world press for
twice-daily (usually) postings of interesting Russia-related items.
Postings also include subscriber comments on previously published items.
Most items have to do with politics and economics, but there are
occasional cultural items. One may subscribe by sending an e-mail to Mr.
Johnson at <davidjohnson@erols.com>. There is no formal subscription
fee, but Mr. Johnson suggests that if you find it useful you make a
modest contribution toward his expenses in maintaining the list.)
In the 23 January Moscow Times, Igor Zakharov writes in his "Bookworm"
column about the effects of the August financial crisis on Russian book
publishing, one of which is a steep decline in book prices, resulting in
brisk sales, as people hasten to take advantage of the situation before
prices rise again, as he predicts they will in the course of the year.
He cites some examples of what is available: "An eight-volume, hardcover
set of the works of Leo Tolstoy can be found for 82 rubles ($3.70), a
four volume set of Anton Chekhov for 56 rubles, four volumes of Vladimir
Nabokov for 120, five volumes of Jane Austen for 75 and "Gone with the
Wind" in two elegant hardcover books for 25."
Thus Nabokov is worth just over twice as much as Chekhov, and not quite
three times as much as Tolstoy.
That observation is partly facetious; I realize that the Nabokov set may
be of higher quality (better binding, paper, etc.), but it must also
reflect to some extent how much the Russian reader values VN. It is
still a relative novelty to be able to read and even own Nabokov, while
everyone owns editions of the classics. I also like the juxtaposition of
Nabokov and Jane Austen.
(Note: I found this item in Johnson's Russia List, an e-mail list run
single-handedly by David Johnson, who culls the world press for
twice-daily (usually) postings of interesting Russia-related items.
Postings also include subscriber comments on previously published items.
Most items have to do with politics and economics, but there are
occasional cultural items. One may subscribe by sending an e-mail to Mr.
Johnson at <davidjohnson@erols.com>. There is no formal subscription
fee, but Mr. Johnson suggests that if you find it useful you make a
modest contribution toward his expenses in maintaining the list.)