What is it that makes Russian literature so good?

>>9872615
Have you never heard of any russian novels?

>>9872622
War & Peace and the Young Doctor's Notebook, although the latter was via the TV series.

I've also heard of Leo Tolstoy

>>9872615
Fydor dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment

The greatest novel of all time

The two greatest authors of all time are Russian. Are you living under a rock? Russian literature is the highest tier of literature; Americans cannot compete.

>>9872627
Hey, you suggested that same novel to me the other thread. You must be a huge fan of it.
Alright, if you say so, then I trust you.
>>9872628
Alright Ivan, easy on the vodka. I'll confess to being a newfag to literature.

What I am asking for is on what exactly makes Russian lit so good. Is there a common theme among these kinds of works? Do they have something other western writers don't? Latin American literature, for example, has its own identity and traits which differentiate it from other forms of western literature. I was wondering what the traits of Russian literature were, and what makes it so great.

>>9872639
There is something in Russian literature which hits close to home. Something about the essential nature of being a human. It's really hard to explain, but you will understand it better if you read Dostoevsky.

>>9872658
I've heard Russians are very melancholic people. I'm guessing that must be reflected in its literature as well. Judging from the themes, ending, mood, and sense of humor of the Young Doctor's Notebook, I'd say that's probably accurate.
This kind of literature sounds very honest and raw to me, which sounds very appealing and a breath of fresh air considering all of the plastic, mediocre, phony YA novels that surround me.

>>9872615
Russian works are almost always more philosophical in tone and focus - Dotoesvky is a good example of this. Theres this kind of residual tension between western rationalism that orthodox mysticism that you can also really feel in Russian works as well - settings and characters that wouldn't be out of place in any Western nation, but often contrasted with lots of religious symbolism and 'otherness' that makes it both familiar and strange to western readers in general.

I'd recommend starting with short stories by Chekhov - if you dive right into War and Peace or Crime and Punishment you'll quickly find yourself overwhelmed. If you like Chekhov's style and approach, then move on to the bigger hitters.

>>9872628
didn't know Mellvile and Joyce were Russian

Doctor Zhivago is an elaborate bait, a melodramatic schlock westerners gulped up because muh deep slav soul innit.

>>9873596
wew lad aren't you an edgy one

>>9872627
>The greatest novel of all time

Its not even the best Dostoevsky novel

so many fat 14-year-old pseuds in this thread

выпилитecь вы вce, пeдики

>>9873779
Then in that case prove to us why that is the case and why I'm supposed to believe you're superior. Assuming you're not a fat autistic 14 y/o yourself, of course.

>>9872679
Do any non Americans really think that Mellvile is the greatest author of all time or even close to it?

>>9874029
Americans are easily impressed by length or magnitude.

>>9872615 (OP)
Also try Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karennina. I can't put my finger on it, but its one of the best novels I've ever read

>>9872615
Communism

>>9874202
Fuck off