Here is a book jot from 2022 (I’m getting close, I think, to being caught up with posting these older book jots)…

I just finished reading Boris Godunov (1831) by Alexander Pushkin, translated by James E. Falen. This has been described as a “tragicomedy of history,” and is a play of more than twenty scenes chronicling the interregnum period between the fall of the Rurik dynasty and the establishment of the Romanov dynasty.

This was a wonderful read, and the language and rhythm of Pushkin’s writing feel just right. The story is told in a brisk but restrained and beautiful manner. There is history, battle, intrigue, love, politics, character…all without bogging down the story or becoming banal. It’s also a memorable way to learn about the 15-year “Time of Troubles” in Russian history.

“No matter prince: I need all sorts of tales, To weigh them in my mind; for otherwise— We’ll never learn the truth.”