Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse (Oxford World's Classics)

Amazing translation. Did not expect it to be that good.

Ok . . . the debate is over for me. The James Falen translation is definitely the one to read (note to Kindle readers: it's well worth the $7 to get this vs. a free version.) It is fresh, brisk, fast, and captures both the wit of the salon and ballroom scene and the despair following the duel (I can't imagine that's a spoiler for anyone.) I really can't stress how well it reads, and if you read it aloud to yourself (as I did) the rhythm and spirit of Pushkin's verse is captured more so than in any other translation I have read. The rhymes are clever and musical, but by frequently alternating masculine and feminine rhymes it doesn't grow tired or sing-songy. I loved the Nabokov translation ( Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse, Vol. 1 ) years ago though as more of an academic exercise than the lyrical pleasure provided by Falen's, which clearly draws on the Nabokov and is more accurate for having done so. The central story hasn't changed in 150 years (I can remember a couple of similar errors sans duels in my youth): girl falls madly for guy who arrogantly rejects her not out because he doesn't have feelings for her, but because he fears her attraction for him; only later when he sees her all grown up he realizes too late his mistake but he is SOL. I was also surprise at, despite the many outdated social conventions, at it's core it remained so eternal and current ("To Moscow and the marriage mart! They've vacancies galore . . . take heart!") Of course, I still cannot grasp why this is so important to the development of the Russian language or to the Russian soul (whatever that means) and why Russian's hold it so centrally dear, but it is a wonderful work and a great way to spend both a snowy night and a sunny afternoon on a park bench, which the fickleness of the Russian "spring" afforded me the week I read this.

Coming to this, I was already familiar with Pushkin -- both from his short story "Queen of Spades" (and Tchaikovsky's operatic version), and from other allusions to him in later Russian writers. Pushkin has for Russians the same sort of significance that Shakespeare has for English speakers. Everyone, from Gogol and Dostoevsky, to Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn, has riffed on him. And although the "Queen of Spades" hinted at why he holds place of pride in Russian letters, "Onegin" only offers additional proof of his genius. Without giving away too much, the story itself has a nice, circular design to it. One of Pushkin's chief virtues must be his voice itself -- which, as I am not a Russian speaker, I guess to be a sort of cheeky, and Byronic, one,(nb: Pushkin is obviously familiar with, and indebted to, Byron, particularly in this work). This James Falen translation is particularly meritorious -- it preserves Pushkin's "Onegin octave" verse form, and iambic tetrameter. Falen's translation is gorgeous, musical, and in remarkably clear, grammatically sound English. Aside from its story, "Onegin" may be thought of as commenting on, and narrating the death of the long poem as a viable literary form, and the rise of the novel. For instance, consider that the death of Lensky coincides with the narrator's own growing dissatisfaction with verse, and preference for prose. Pushkin's own dissatisfaction proved to be prophetic -- after "Onegin", epic verse has practically vanished, as a form. The longest poem (that I am aware of) which is of more recent vintage than "Onegin" is by another Russian, but in English: Nabokov's "Pale Fire." Ultimately, we witness the passing of an entire world in "Onegin," that of late-eighteenth century (and early nineteenth) Russia -- with its duels, its music, its ballrooms, its manners. It is about to be supplanted by the grittier, dimmer psychological world of Dostoevsky, or the bright, hard-edged realism of Tolstoy.

Long hailed as the Russian Shakespeare, Pushkin's novel in verse is a tantalizing combination of never comedic irony and agonizingly unrequited love. Full of many now-obsolete references to works of his day, some verses serve to interrupt the story line by making obscure indications to the poet's own explots and experiences. Interesting; but were it not for the notes in the back matter, they would have been lost on most readers, as they were on this one. That said, once the poet returns to his plot - which, by the way, is so good that it could be read in one sitting save the repeated departures - one finds oneself hooked. The verse is never delicate, never gentle. It rips the heart out and confiscates the senses. The young, naive, and love-struck Tatyana sends a letter to Onegin (pronounced on-ye-gen). He does not return her feelings, and tells her as much. But by a classic twist of fate, Onegin finds himself much changed in his opinion, and Tatyana, while not changed in her own, is in circumstances so changed, that her feelings are no longer given the sway they once were. It appears that Onegin was the naive one after all. For its universal value to Russian literature and its excellent translation, I recommend it fully. Eugene Onegin is a work full of reality, harsh and true; as such, a love story becomes believable.

This is a great classic of Russian literature. The problem is always about translating from Russian into English. It CAN be done. But there is always so much lost in translation. My Russian, poet, friend Ilya recently came by to see how I was getting on with this translation. He was very skeptical. We've discussed several Russian classics over the past years. Frustrated by how much seems lost in translation. - Then he read some of Onegin, and then stopped and then started again. First he read an entire stanza in English (with a Russian accent) and then, from memory he "read" the Russian original... We were both amazed at how well this author had captured the intonation, the sense of the poetic construction and, as far as can be, the particular idioms Pushkin is using to convey the underlying meaning. Very impressive translation. Onegin cannot be read superficially. But nor can it be read as some profound, intoned, book fresh off the mountain. (Conversing with God) - There is a natural intelligence and discernment which Pushkin is able to convey in sonnet- like format. And, therefore at some level comparable with Shakespeare. Though his sensibility is quite different from Shakespeare's. Patient, open minded reading, as with any profound poetry, is very rewarding.

James Falen's stunning translation of Eugene Onegin is a paragon of grace and subtlety. Despite the formidable challenge of converting Russian verse into English, this edition conveys Pushkin's fluidity of language, varied spirit and love for the human heart with precision and artistry. Indeed, as I breezed through this staggering work of genius, I kept marveling at the beauty of an English translation made possible, of course, only through Falen's understanding of the writer's intentions. The translation is a technical tour de force: the diction, style and tone are sublime. But the novel itself - through frequent transitions between bliss and morbidity, through lively dialogue, and through a devilish combination of action and wit - is also a fully-riveting tale. When encountering such Russian literature, some Americans will dismiss it as hoary or pessimistic, but this is facile. Pushkin holds darkness and sadness in relief to a soaring, more soulful encomium of life, and in doing so, presents us with humanity's casual, and often unintentional, profundity. My Titles

Beyond the beautiful and craft of words and rhyme, which tells me the original Russian must have been an immensely pleasurable reading experience even more than Falen's translation, the intriguing delayering of the characters and the depth of the meanings behind the feelings of the main character, Onegin, the narrator's grips you by his active role in keeping the intrigue and commentary to get you even deeply connected with the characters. The story of young and pure love mixed with sins and ills of the Russian society and an experienced lady Player and his woes in the time of Pushkin is just a gem of a novel and of poetry. I only wish, I can read it in its original form and language. The poetry is so beautiful, the feelings intense and the meanings sublime, that I found my self reading aloud the letters by Tatyana and Onegin to my wife to let her enjoy as well how the lovely sentiments have been beautifully expressed.

I went through a phase in my early 20s where I read most of Dostoevsky that was in translation, and that led me to Gogol and Tolstoy and Turgenev – all the Russian greats that were part of the cultural canon but were not taught to me as an English major. If there is a blind spot in how we arranged the curriculum for English majors about 20 years ago, it was good that the English language canon had been opened, but bad in that it kept out anything that was only available in translation. Anyway, those greats of prose all mentioned Pushkin as the master poet of the Russian language, but somehow, I hadn’t read his work. Overall, Onegin is one of those comedy of manners that are sort of alien to the reader so you have to go to notes to get references, It’s not bad, but it does ask more of the reader to keep track of the culture and time and then all the characters than a more contemporary work grounded in the current time and place do. It is worth reading, but to me it was more worthwhile as a historical and cultural touchstone than the enjoyment of the thing itself.

Tatiana, é uma personagem muito especial, ela honra com suas palavra e escolha de vida. Algo que para muitos seria fácil de se corromper, nisto que a sociedade naquela época aceitava como se fosse um lazer ordinário. E Tatiana teve a nobreza de espirito de se manter no caminho do correto mesmo que aquilo não lhe trouxesse a ardência da paixão, porém lhe proporcionaria a limpeza moral e uma alma que nem o mais poderoso cardial ungido poderia lhe proporcionar, uma qualificadora ímpar de todas as demais personagens de sua época

This is a terrific translation of the famous Russian classic. At no point I felt the translation was jarring considering that it is near impossible to wholly transfer the rhyme and beauty from the original Russian. As a result, the "Onegin Stanza," rendered in English, flows like water. Thanks to Oxford Classics for bringing this book in English.

Great way to access this famous Russian poem. Well-balanced between accuracy and keeping the rhythm. Nobokov is more literal, but this is just a great read. Nice edition.

Eugene Onegin, a classic of world literature, comparable in stature to King Lear in the UK, the Divine Comedy in Italy and Don Quixote in Spain, need not be commented on. The real question is, which translation should you buy? The brief answer is either the Falen translation or Anthony Briggs' translation, and preferably both. The five-star rating of this article refers to James Falen's Oxford World's Classics translation (but Briggs' translation deserves five stars too). In chronological order, it is the 8th major translation of the poem into English. Its chief merit is the unforced fluency of the verse, and this is the most important point to make. Where liberties are taken with the feminine rhymes, the translator's success is mixed. 'Adherents/interference' is acceptable because of the shared long vowel sound; whereas, 'worry/necessary', at least to my ear, is rather strained. This is really my only criticism of Falen's translation, and it is not sufficiently problematic to dock a star. To turn to the Briggs translation, again the verse runs smoothly. An obvious difference is that Briggs uses feminine half-rhymes more frequently. Often these are inventive and original (e.g. 'probity/nobody' and 'patience/Ancients'). You will not find any 'worry/necessary'-like pairings in the Briggs translation. Also, Briggs has a particularly good introduction. Without wishing to criticize too harshly the Mitchell translation, my advice is to steer clear of it. This is because the approximate rhyming, whilst good in places (e.g. 'service/impervious') falls down too often (e.g. 'live/love'). I should also avoid the Charles Johnston translation (despite the fact that Vikram Seth thinks highly of it). This is because he makes too frequent recourse to feminine rhymes ending in -tion, which becomes monotonous, and to present participle rhymes, which has the same unfortunate effect. If, after reading Eugene Onegin in either the Falen or the Briggs translation or both, you wish to read a contemporary Onegin stanza novel, I recommend Vikram Seth's 'The Golden Gate' and John Fuller's 'The Illusionists'.

En varias páginas la impresión es defectuosa, se ve borrosa o fuera de foco. El papel es de muy mala calidad. Recomiendo buscar otra edición de esta estupenda obra.