And so I'm diving down rabbit hole after rabbit hole looking for next reads tangent to the one I've just finished.
Of course, I enjoyed it greatly and would be curious as to the literary milieu that birthed some of my favorite books, there are undoubtedly a few new favorite books that I haven't read yet, and I'd like to get them on the list....
(I'd started the "Marquise of O and other tales" by Kleist only to have it ruined in the introduction by a translator that presumed I was familiar with the plot, outcome and themes of each of the stories. I am now, you asshole, but you've rather ruined my discovery of it!!!)
So far:
Red Spectres - An Anthology of Gothic Russian Tales, Translated by Muiriann Maguire, authors include: Valery Bryusov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Aleksandr Chayanov, Aleksandr Grin, Sigizmund Krzhishanovsky, Pavel Perov & Georgy Peskov. Title is linked to excellent reviews, you can find others online.
Now this would be a good start, I'd love the introduction to authors I might want to follow a little more closely. A quick tour of town and all the bookstores turns me up empty-handed.
Online, well, prices are expensive and I'm not in a mood to wait. Although I might have to.
Alexander Vasilievich Chayanov - whose short story “Venediktov” directly inspired Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita". But that's available in the above anthology. Worth clicking on the link though, for the illustrations are perfect.
Then there's Lyubov Belozerskaya, who wrote "My Life with Mikhail Bulgakov", which would give some background but again is ridiculously priced for a used book...
Anyways, a brief look at what I'm keeping my eyes peeled for...fingers crossed, but stranger things have happened. Maybe time to make a trip to Kaslo and check their bookstore? Or maybe just call...
Oh, and a good website devoted to "The Master and Margarita" - https://www.masterandmargarita.eu/en/index.html & the discovery that there's yet another film version to be coming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_and_Margarita_(2024_film). Note the list of adaptations at the bottom of the Wiki Page, there's a few I have yet to see...
Although I'd need a wife connection, as the library and cafe aren't letting me pirate shit...