Play Book Tag discussion

Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse by Alexander Pushkin - 4* - My Review

Published in 1833, Eugene Onegin is a classic of Russian literature. It is a novel written in verse. The title character is a bored aristocrat living in St. Petersburg, who takes a journey to his nearby country estate and meets a young woman, Tatyana, and her sister Olga. He befriends the neighbor, Lensky, a romantic poet. The omniscient narrator frequently comments on the action in an ironic manner. It contains romantic relationships, a duel, and the snobbery of the “upper” class toward the “lower.”

Tatyana comes across as a person of integrity. She expresses her true emotions and follows her principles, while Onegin is an educated nobleman who cannot find a sense of purpose or direction and is governed by whims and social convention. The verse is impressive (I read the English translation by Mary Hobson). The poetry captures the rhythms of dialogue and feels quite natural in its flow. It is a tragedy, as I’m sure most readers will know ahead of time. I had somehow missed reading this classic over the years and am glad that I finally picked it up.

I came to this from seeing the opera. I think the opera has pushed the acual book deep into the background as it too is a masterpiece, with strong roles.

The opera is wonderful! I think the main difference is that the opera has taken out the ironic "observer," which makes sense in terms of a performance rather than a reading experience.

Yes, indeed.

I believe there is also a ballet, though not performed in US all that often.

I also enjoyed the opera. I studied Russian for 2 years in college, unfortunately I didn't keep it up.

I saw this opera years ago, but not going to lie, I don't remember any of it (I've never been into opera the way that I'm into musicals, I saw it with an ex because she loved opera). I did not realize it was a book as well!