Antoaneta-Liliana Olteanu Books

Poverty-stricken and cut off from society, former law student Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov leads a desolate life in a dreary little room in St Petersburg. Having abandoned all hopes of sustaining himself through work, he now obsesses over the idea of changing his fortunes through an act of extreme violence: the killing of an elderly pawnbroker. His mind baulks at the horror of his plan, but when he hears that his sister Dunya is about to agree to a loveless marriage in order to escape the advances of her employer, his disgust for the world becomes unbounded, and his feelings of rebellion and revenge push him closer and closer to the edge of the precipice. A masterpiece of psychological insight, Dostoevsky's 1866 novel features some of its author's most memorable characters – from the temperamental protagonist Raskolnikov to the amoral sensualist Svidrigailov and the immoral lawyer Luzhin. Presented here in a sparkling new translation by Roger Cockerell, Crime and Punishment is a towering work in nineteenth-century Russian fiction and a landmark of world literature.

Fate sends two star-crossed lovers, Sasha and Volodenka, on two separate journeys across space and time. Sasha finds herself as a young woman in a time not far from the present day. Volodenka finds himself as a young soldier in a horrific conflict at the turn of the twentieth century. Yet, despite their cosmic schism, their letters still reach one another; as he helps her to come to terms with life and she helps him to come to terms with death. Half male, half female; half exploration of the physical and the immediate, half meditation on the intangible and the infinite, The Light and the Dark is a literary feat as balanced and beautiful as it is prodigious and profound.

Castigatorul a trei premii literare importante din Rusia, Mihail Siskin, locuiește în prezent în Elveția. Critic al trecutului sovietic și al regimului actual de la Kremlin, el continuă tradiția literaturii ruse, pe care o consideră o „formă netotalitara de existenta a constiintei in Rusia“. Siskin, un scriitor care a părăsit o Rusie percepută ca o închisoare, rămâne totuși fidel limbii ruse, instrument esențial al existenței sale. Prozele și eseurile din acest volum explorează adâncimi istorice și personale, construind o țesătură complexă din fragmente de realitate, experiențe umane și evenimente politice. Temele abordate includ trauma, adevărul și minciuna, identitatea și notorietatea literară. Povestirile captivante, personajele memorabile și stilul inconfundabil al lui Siskin contribuie la atracția acestei lucrări. „Cel care scrie este o veriga de legatura intre doua lumi: intre lumea nereala a vietii, unde totul e trecator, si lumea cuvintelor demne de credinta, care imprastie elixirul tineretii vesnice…“

This debut novel introduces readers to the work of Russia's leading contemporary author, now available in English for the first time. It promises a unique perspective and rich storytelling that reflects the complexities of modern Russian life and culture. The narrative explores profound themes and character dynamics, showcasing the author's distinctive voice and literary prowess.