Strangers' interviews by Kristina Esina 

I asked people at a bookshop about their tastes in literature.

1.     What is your favorite writer and poet?

2.     What is your favorite work? How did any famous work influence you?

3.      What lessons have you learned from literature?

A)    1. Lermontov. Actually I like writers more than poets. Poets are all the same to me.

          2. First of all, it is his use of historic places, events, traditions. It emerges in his works. I like that connection. Also it is easy to comprehend, clarity because of his thoughts.

          3. Lermontov created and did a great deal in such a short period. Any work expresses the true essence of what was happening at that time. He did it without fear or risk of being arrested or deported to Siberia! Even his duel with Martynov, reflected his attitude of hatred to what was the usual state for the rest. He always defended the interests of those who believed in truth and sought it.

       B)    1. Leo Tolstoy.

               2. Yes, I heard about him. He was a novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. I like his most famous work “War and Peace”.

              3.  I think he was a magnificent writer. He showed the picture of real life and we can learn what it was like to live at his time.

       C)    1.  Shakespeare.

              2.  I do not know why. Hamlet “Romeo and Juliet” are my favorite works.

              3.  It describes the history of the tragedy of human development in the fight against external circumstances for the right to love.

      D)    1. Dostoyevsky.

              2. What he wrote is relevant to real life it is not a village fairy tale.

              3. The accuracy of judgments  impresses me most.

     E)     1.  Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche;   Yesenin, Blok.

             2.  Dostoyevsky. In his novels I empathize with heroes, such as Demon. I also appreciate his view on Russia. He was a patriot of his country and a competent writer, but for me as a Christian it is more interesting to see how evil can distort the truth. Nietzche is very logical and trutheful, but on the other hand, I see the errors. Although truth is very abstract.

           As for Yesenin, I like his love poetry. I feel as if I have gone through what he wrote about. Well, I love Russian nature. When I am in a bad mood, I can find a lot of interesting things in Blok`s works. For me he is rushing to the decadence in depression.

4.     Dostoyevsky says like in the Bible. «Live by God» that’s the law and do no harm to others or evil will come back to you. Nietzche`s all works suggest what kind of person you should be.

  In Esenin`s works he fell in love head over ears. Maybe it hurts, but it is cool, and his love of Russia, his mother-land, is admirable.

                                                                                                              Yesina Christina