In the World

Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 666K words
Chapters: 67

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.In the World by Maksim GorkyAuthor: Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936,Language: English, Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature, Release Date: Sep 7, 2017

Editor's review

In the World is the second volume of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy, following Childhood. It recounts the experiences of the adolescent Alyosha as he leaves home and goes out into society to earn a living. Unlike many coming-of-age novels, it does not drive its plot through dramatic adventures; instead it focuses on how a boy learns to recognize human nature amid the noisy, rough life of the lower classes: the harshness of employers, the kindness of fellow workers, and the enlightenment that books bring are all rendered with restraint and concreteness. Gorky's narration has a distinctly introspective quality. He writes both of external poverty and injustice and of an inner longing for knowledge, dignity, and justice, making the book at once a record of personal growth and an observation of Russian lower-class society. The English translation is relatively plain in language, with short sentences, and is suitable as an introductory work for readers approaching the autobiographical tradition in Russian literature. It may be read as a kind of "social observation notebook," with attention to how the young protagonist gradually forms his own judgments through his dealings with different people. For readers who wish to understand the arc of Gorky's writing or who are interested in themes of growing up and self-education, this book offers a solid and rewarding text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in Gorky's autobiographical trilogy
Young and middle-aged readers drawn to themes of growing up and self-education
History enthusiasts who wish to understand life among the Russian lower classes
Readers with basic English reading ability who want to approach English translations of Russian literature
Readers who prefer plain narration to dramatic plots

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction who expect tight plotting and strong conflict
Beginners with limited English vocabulary who find long English texts difficult
Readers who want a systematic account of Russian revolutionary history rather than personal experience

Reading tips

Read Childhood before this book to see more clearly how the protagonist's circumstances and mindset change.
After each chapter, note in one or two sentences the people the boy meets and the lessons he draws, to keep the main thread in view.
Do not pause over unfamiliar Russian everyday terms; read through the paragraph first, then look up the background.
Read alongside a chronology of Gorky's life, comparing the book's experiences with the author's actual life.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How is this book related to Childhood and My Universities?

This book is the second volume of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy, following Childhood and followed by My Universities. The trilogy is based on the author's own experiences and describes the protagonist's life and schooling from childhood to youth. This book focuses on the stage when the boy leaves home and enters society to earn a living. It can stand alone, but reading the volumes in order makes the continuity of the character's growth clearer.

My English is not good. Can I read this book?

The English translation uses relatively plain vocabulary and few long sentences, but it is still literary narration and requires some foundation in English reading. If your vocabulary is limited, you might first read a Chinese translation to grasp the content, then read selected chapters alongside the English original; you can also treat the book as advanced material beyond graded readers and proceed step by step.

What is this book mainly about, and does it have a complete plot?

The book tells of the young protagonist's experiences after leaving home, doing various odd jobs among the lower classes and mixing with all kinds of people. It does not rely on a complete plot line but is made up of successive episodes of daily life, with the emphasis on what the character sees and hears and on his inner changes. Readers used to traditional story structure will need to adjust their expectations.

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About the author

Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936 Author

Maxim Gorky (Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936) is a highly influential writer in the history of Russian and Soviet literature. This site holds 32 of his works, including the plays The Lower Depths (Pohjalla: Kuvaelmia, neljä näytöstä and The Lower Depths: A Drama in Four Acts), the autobiographical In the World (a sequel to My Childhood), the novel Mother, and shorter fiction and story collections such as Twenty-six and One, Konovalov, Orlóff and His Wife, and Tales from Gorky. His writing often focuses on the wandering, struggle, and awakening of lower-class people, distinguished by realistic detail and vivid characterization; the play The Lower Depths is especially notable for its ensemble structure portraying the urban poor, and has had a lasting influence. Because the database lacks nationality, birth and death dates, and classification information, public information is limited, so no additional biographical inferences are made here.