The first volume of Maxim Gorky's 3-volume semi-autobiography. A story of poverty, suffering, and yet keenly insightful with characters as deep and unique as living people.
You are right about us being far removed from how hard life was, and not even that long ago! My grandmother grew up in a house with dirt floors and no indoor plumbing in England. That just seems crazy to me. I grew up poor, but in better conditions than that by far. I find stories like this very painful to read but important in understanding, like you said, the human experience. I’ll have to read this one. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely! I’m very far from a believer that the ends justify the means BUT we must understand things in context in order to do better in the future. If you don’t know why people do/did what they do/did, it’s hard to fix it because you’ll wind up blaming the wrong things.
I appreciate your perspective of understanding this book in a modern context. I noticed that you marked a few lines at the end of the scene in which Gorky witnessed his stepfather kicking his mother. This part left me both trauma, especially with the an illustration depicting stepfather's boot landing on the helpless mother, and confusions when I read it as a teenager. I couldn't understand why Gorky's mother threw him to the ground and why she would rather expose her breast to stepfather's boot than block it while she had the strength to push him away. And how she ended in that weird kneeling posture? The scene feels like a tragic puzzle to me
@@ColinForBooks definitely! What I'm curious about is that do you have the same confusion when reading the English translation? I mean the normal reaction of being kicked would be trying to block the attack or curling into a ball to protect the vulnerable part of the body. That's why I found mother's posture and the series of her reactions so blizzare.
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You are right about us being far removed from how hard life was, and not even that long ago!
My grandmother grew up in a house with dirt floors and no indoor plumbing in England. That just seems crazy to me. I grew up poor, but in better conditions than that by far.
I find stories like this very painful to read but important in understanding, like you said, the human experience. I’ll have to read this one. Thanks for sharing!
I'm glad you understand how important this is. Do many young people? even many middle-aged?
Absolutely! I’m very far from a believer that the ends justify the means BUT we must understand things in context in order to do better in the future. If you don’t know why people do/did what they do/did, it’s hard to fix it because you’ll wind up blaming the wrong things.
@@randomanda absolutely. Life is far more complicated that we usually recognize.
I appreciate your perspective of understanding this book in a modern context. I noticed that you marked a few lines at the end of the scene in which Gorky witnessed his stepfather kicking his mother. This part left me both trauma, especially with the an illustration depicting stepfather's boot landing on the helpless mother, and confusions when I read it as a teenager. I couldn't understand why Gorky's mother threw him to the ground and why she would rather expose her breast to stepfather's boot than block it while she had the strength to push him away. And how she ended in that weird kneeling posture? The scene feels like a tragic puzzle to me
Btw, what I read was a chinese translation. Maybe my confusions are from bad translation? I don't know what the English translation is like
@@xiaopuli7144 very interesting, re. Chinese. I would have no idea! But the cruelty and sadness translates well enough, doesn't it?
@@ColinForBooks definitely! What I'm curious about is that do you have the same confusion when reading the English translation? I mean the normal reaction of being kicked would be trying to block the attack or curling into a ball to protect the vulnerable part of the body. That's why I found mother's posture and the series of her reactions so blizzare.