Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich
Belkin, The Queen of Spades, The
Captains Daughter, Peter the Greats
Blackamoor (Oxford Worlds Classics)
by Alexander Pushkin
Excellent Introduction To Pushkin
This volume contains new translations of four of Pushkins best works of
fiction. The Queen of Spades has long been acknowledged as one of the
worlds greatest short stories, in which Pushkin explores the nature of
obsession. The Tales of Belkin are witty parodies of sentimentalism, while
Peter the Greats Blackamoor is an early experiment with recreating the
past. The Captains Daughter is a novel-length masterpiece which
combines historical fiction in the manner of Sir Walter Scott with the
devices of the Russian fairy-tale. The Introduction provides close readings
of the stories and places them in their European literary context.

Personal Review: Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin, The
Queen of Spades, The Captains Daughter, Peter the Greats
Blackamoor (Oxford Worlds Classics) by Alexander Pushkin
If someone comes to me and asks what I think true Russian spirit is, I
would say, "duel" is. Russian duel is very recklessand even absurd
because the percentage of survival is only 50%. Each load their gun and
go to the opposite end and they shoot from distance in turn until either one
is shot. In the book, German,the main character, is a half-bood of Russian
and Germany. Due to his birth,mixed with German blood, he is usually very
realistic and doesn't believe in magic or tricks. In numerous gatherings
German never participates in the card games but always watches people
play. When he hears that an old woman knows how to win the game he
sniffs and ignores it. But ironically it is he who arrives at the gate of her
house. However, it is not his intention but he himself is dragged by some
magical power. As quite an ordinary and poor man, German believes in
diligence and reason, but not fantasy or fate. That's why he never
participates in any games. Their game is like a duel. The players say some
number and they take cards until either of them get to reach the number
and he wins. Then a new game starts as if they already forgot about the
former game. Usually the loser loses a huge sum of money, which means
that the winner becomes enormous rich. In other words, the game actually
changes their lives in totally different ways. Everyone who has read this
book would never forget the last scene of the Queen of Spades. Perhaps
she really does say so, or he only dreams or imagins. No one knows
except Pushkin. Bytheway, he is not telling something moral to persuade
or teach us. All he shows is something like Matrix, I guess. Maybe the
whole story is just a trick or magic or some parts are. The judgement is up
to the reader. We all are German in a way.
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