Russian Novels: Where to Begin

The two obstacles for first-time readers of Russian fiction are length and names. Both are manageable with the right order. Each character is referred to by first name, patronymic, surname and nickname in turn; keeping a short list of the main ones for the first fifty pages solves most of the confusion. The translations in these Project Gutenberg editions are the early twentieth-century English versions by Constance Garnett and by Louise and Aylmer Maude, which remain readable and are the versions many readers first met.

Crime and Punishment

Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel has one protagonist, one city and one crime, and most of the book is the pressure of that crime on the man who committed it. It is the most focused of the four and the best place to start. Constance Garnett’s translation.

Anna Karenina

Tolstoy’s novel of 1878 alternates two stories, Anna’s affair and Levin’s search for a settled life, over about 350,000 words. The chapters are short and the prose is plain, which makes the length less daunting than it looks. Garnett’s translation.

The Brothers Karamazov

Dostoyevsky’s last novel (1880) combines a murder plot with long arguments about faith and doubt, including the “Grand Inquisitor” chapter that is often read on its own. Read it after Crime and Punishment, when its method is familiar. Garnett’s translation.

War and Peace

The longest book on this site. Tolstoy follows several families through the Napoleonic wars and interrupts the story with essays on history. It is placed last not because it is hard to read but because it needs the reader’s time, and the Maudes’ translation keeps the pace brisk.