Eugene Onegin (Penguin Classics) Paperback – November 25, 2008

Although I am a great admirer of Nabokov's novels, I found his translation of *Eugene Onegin* dull and pedantic in comparison with this witty translation by Stanley Mitchell. Mitchell's translation reads like a poem written by Pope and Jane Austen. What a delight!

Just pure awesome!Thank you Pushkin for being so alive and bold and free...“But even friendship like our heroes'Exist no more; for we've outgrownAll sentiments and deem men zeroes--Except of course ourselves alone.We all take on Napoleon's features,And millions of our fellow creaturesAre nothing more to us than tools...Since feelings are for freaks and fools.Eugene, of course, had keen perceptionsAnd on the whole despised mankind,Yet wasn't, like so many, blind;And since each rule permits exceptions,He did respect a noble few,And, cold himself, gave warmth its due.”

I am glad I read Pushkin and this translation seems to capture well what made him so beloved by THE great Russian authors. The critical commentary which explains Pushkin's life and how it tied into the poetic tale was a great help. As I read the narrative poem I could see how it inspired those that followed - themes, characters and even stories. For example, Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita developed upon Tatiana's nightmarish dream. Anna Karenina comes to mind as well. If you have a keen background in poetry forms Onegin has extra charms and benefits. The footnotes were great in and of themselves because they reminded me, or more accurately taught me, a lot about who were the popular authors, poets, and thinkers - as well as what they were promoting - at the end of the 18th Century and beginning of the 19th. I enjoyed the story too.

This translation of Pushkin's great "novel in verse" offers the reader an excellent rendering of this work by the man acclaimed by Russians as key to their literature and to their modern cultural identity. I found Stanley Mitchell's introductory commentary, along with his footnotes following the poem, to be quite helpful for understanding the man and his work. I recommend this translation to anyone who seeks a modern, comprehensible interpretation of the "novel's" hero, a very enigmatic man in a mirror, unflattering and unpleasant for some readers, but, as testimony to the age in which he-and his author- is written to live in, endlessly fascinating and revelatory.

Pushkin was a great poet. This is considered the best translation. Do not miss it.

Over the years I have struggled with direct translations of this classic. Despite the arresting story line I always found the contents dull and lifeless. It seemed that only a Russian speaker could really appreciate Pushkin. However, this translation into English verse sparkles and trips along with vivacity and humor, and for the first time I could see how closely related this poem is to Byron's Don Juan. This easy to traverse Kindle version comes with a good chronology and introduction, and excellent footnotes. I don't think anyone will be disappointed with this interpretation of the classic.

This semester, I took up the rather momentous task of reading Eugene Onegin in its original Russian. I used the Kindle Edition of this book as a means of staying on top of the general storyline while analyzing the Russian text. Having read Eugene Onegin once before in translation, I've found that this copy is more accurate and maintains the poetry rather well. While nothing is as beautiful as the original of any work, in my opinion, this translation is a close second.

Well done translation. A lot of contextual information that enhances the read. Wish then opera had a few extra scenes.