The Confession: A Novel

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

4.0

Word count: 391K words
Chapters: 40

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.The Confession: A Novel by Maksim GorkyAuthor: Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936,Language: English, Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature, Release Date: Oct 27, 2017

Editor's review

The Confession is a novel by Gorky, part of the strand in his work that explores spiritual searching and the fate of the lower classes. Gorky came from the lower classes himself, and his writing often focuses on ordinary people's spiritual struggles and search for meaning in harsh circumstances; the title "confession" points to the characters' inner moral and religious questioning. For readers who want to understand Gorky as a novelist rather than only through his autobiographical works, this book offers another way in. As a free electronic text from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to access and search, and is suitable for Russian literature enthusiasts, university literature courses as supplementary reading, and readers interested in the spiritual atmosphere of Russian society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When reading, pay attention to the proportion of character monologues and intellectual debate, and understand its themes in the context of Russia's social transformation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Russian literature readers interested in an overall understanding of Gorky's fiction
University students studying Russian literature and thought in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Enthusiasts hoping to expand their Russian literature reading through free electronic texts
Readers concerned with the spiritual search and faith themes of lower-class characters

Not a good fit for

Readers who know only Gorky's autobiographical works and expect similar realism
Readers who prefer light entertainment reading and have limited patience for intellectual debate
Beginners with weaker English reading ability who find long literary texts difficult

Reading tips

First learn about Gorky's lower-class origins and creative background; this helps in understanding the book's spiritual questioning.
When reading, pay attention to the characters' monologues and debate passages; they are key to understanding the themes.
You can combine this with the background of Russian social transformation in the late 19th century to think about the relationship between "confession" and faith themes.
If the language is difficult, you can first read a Chinese translation to clarify the plot, then return to the English original for close reading.

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 different from Gorky's autobiographical works?

Gorky's autobiographical works take his own experience as the main thread and are strongly realistic; The Confession is a fictional work that deals more concentratedly with characters' spiritual search, moral questioning, and faith themes, with a heavier component of intellectual debate. The two can be read in comparison to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Gorky's creative range.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

It helps to understand the social conditions and intellectual atmosphere of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially the living conditions of the lower classes and discussions of faith. In addition, some understanding of Gorky's tendency to focus on the spiritual world of ordinary people will make it easier to grasp the thematic focus of this book.

How readable is the English in the Project Gutenberg version?

This version is a free electronic text that is easy to access and search, but as a literary translation its English still carries some period language features, with many long sentences and reflective passages. Readers with upper-intermediate to advanced English reading ability who are used to long literary reading will find it easier to progress; beginners can use a Chinese translation as support.

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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.