Russian Lit’s Epic Worth

Spring 2025
Interview by Jennifer Latson

Many readers are daunted by Russian novels, as Angela Brintlinger ’87 is well aware. A professor of Slavic and East European languages and cultures at The Ohio State University, where she has been teaching Russian literature for the past three decades, she regularly fields complaints from her students that the novels “require too much attention.” They’re long, convoluted, steeped in historical detail and often culturally alien to our experience as Westerners. In her new book, “Why We (Still) Need Russian Literature: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Others,” Brintlinger makes the case that these novels are a uniquely rich source of intellectual provocation, aesthetic pleasure, psychological insights and emotional resonance.

What is so unique about Russian literature, and why is it worth reading despite the difficulties? 
People are intimidated by the names in Russian fiction, but once you get past that barrier, you find fascinating depictions of a people who have muddled through epic weather, endured heartbreak and experienced everyday joys, and suffered horrific political regimes. Russian writers are known for their insights into the human psyche and condition.
 

I want the book to read like a conversation with a friend.

Which novel have you reread the most, and how has your experience of that book changed with rereading? 
Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” is a good example of a novel that draws people into Russian literature and that rewards those who read it again. The experience of this novel, as with so many others, changes as you grow older, come across more of life’s ups and downs, and acquire a little wisdom. You notice certain things when you read “Crime and Punishment” as a teenager, and you notice completely different things when you read the book as an adult. I’ll add that you might not recognize how funny Dostoevsky is until you’ve read this murder novel quite a few times! 

If we’ve never read any Russian literature, what do you think might surprise us about it?
I think that the reputation of the Russians as serious, deep and depressed (or depressing) is unfair. Much of Russian literature is very funny. The irony, the lack of expectation with which many Russians approach life often translates into absurdity in fiction. Russia also offers a treasure trove for those who love science fiction.  

What do you hope readers will take away from your book? 
Honestly, I want the book to read like a conversation with a friend. I demystify a few things for people who find Russia foreign and forbidding, but I also delight in sharing my favorite things. I hope readers will put my book down and immediately grab some fiction. We can’t travel to Russia right now — certainly I cannot, and I don’t recommend it for anyone at the moment — but we can travel there through time and space in these books.