How Long to Read Stories of the Soviet Experience

By Irina Paperno

How Long Does it Take to Read Stories of the Soviet Experience?

It takes the average reader 5 hours and 8 minutes to read Stories of the Soviet Experience by Irina Paperno

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Beginning with glasnost in the late 1980s and continuing into the present, scores of personal accounts of life under Soviet rule, written throughout its history, have been published in Russia, marking the end of an epoch. In a major new work on private life and personal writings, Irina Paperno explores this massive outpouring of human documents to uncover common themes, cultural trends, and literary forms. The book argues that, diverse as they are, these narratives—memoirs, diaries, notes, blogs—assert the historical significance of intimate lives shaped by catastrophic political forces, especially the Terror under Stalin and World War II. Moreover, these published personal documents create a community where those who lived through the Soviet era can gain access to the inner recesses of one another's lives. This community strives to forge a link to the tradition of Russia's nineteenth-century intelligentsia; thus the Russian "intelligentsia" emerges as an additional implicit subject of this book. The book surveys hundreds of personal accounts and focuses on two in particular, chosen for their exceptional quality, scope, and emotional power. Notes about Anna Akhmatova is the diary Lidiia Chukovskaia, a professional editor, kept to document the day-to-day life of her friend, the great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Evgeniia Kiseleva, a barely literate former peasant, kept records in notebooks with the thought of crafting a movie script from the story of her life. The striking parallels and contrasts between these two documents demonstrate how the Soviet state and the idea of history shaped very different lives and very different life stories. The book also analyzes dreams (most of them terror dreams) recounted in the diaries and memoirs of authors ranging from a peasant to well-known writers, a Party leader, and Stalin himself. History, Paperno shows, invaded their dreams, too. With a sure grasp of Russian cultural history, great sensitivity to the men and women who wrote, and a command of European and American scholarship on life writing, Paperno places diaries and memoirs of the Soviet experience in a rich historical and conceptual frame. An important and lasting contribution to the history of Russian culture at the end of an epoch, Stories of the Soviet Experience also illuminates the general logic and specific uses of personal narratives.

How long is Stories of the Soviet Experience?

Stories of the Soviet Experience by Irina Paperno is 304 pages long, and a total of 77,216 words.

This makes it 103% the length of the average book. It also has 94% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Stories of the Soviet Experience Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 7 hours and 1 minute to read Stories of the Soviet Experience aloud.

What Reading Level is Stories of the Soviet Experience?

Stories of the Soviet Experience is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Stories of the Soviet Experience?

Stories of the Soviet Experience by Irina Paperno is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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