A.I. Kuprin

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The miracle doctor
A. I Kuprin
Manufacturer: Malysh Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006E6D6K

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Honest is the word
Widely praised by the Bolsheviks
Great realist writer
Immensely Powerful
YAMA - THE PIT

Yama <The pit>: A novel in three parts,
A. I Kuprin
Manufacturer: Priv. print. for subscribers only
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00085R6X6

Book Description

Alexander Kupin's YAMA is an overwhelming, truthful and staggering indictment of the immemorial evil of prostitution. And since he is the last and greatest of the giants, he treats a razor-edge theme without prejudice, without sounding-brass-and-tinkling-cymbal phrases, trasmuting the monstrous, "downright crushing, terrible material" into "simple, find and deathlessly caustic images." No sheepish morality is here, but sheer, stark truth. The titanic Kuprin, with incorruptible pitilessness, yet with unimpeachable sincerity and unsurpassed humanness and compassion, depcits the "everyday, accustomed trifles, these business-like, daily commercial reckonings, this thousand-year-old science of amatory practice, this prosaic usage, determined by the ages... There remains a dry profession, a contrast, an agreement, a well-high honest petty trade, no better, no worse than, say, the trade in groceries. All the horror is in just this -- that there is no horror..." It is not without cause that YAMA has been called "the first and last honest work on the subject of prostitution."

There is no more vivid illustration than YAMA of G. H. Lewes' thesis that sincerity is the basis of success in literature. YAMA had sold, by 1929, over two and a half million copies in the original and in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Bohemian, Hungarian, Polish -- even Japanese and Yiddish -- to mention by a few of the languages it has been translated into.

The book had such significance that the foreword was written by President Arthur Hayes of the United States.

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They come freely and simply, as to a restaurant or a depot; they sit, smoke, drink, convulsively pretend to be merry; they dance, executing abominable movements of the body imitative of the act of sexual love. At times attentively and long, at times with gross haste, they choose any woman they like and know beforehand that they will never meet refusal. Impatiently they pay their money in advance, and on the public bed, not yet grown cold after the body of their predecessor, aimlessly commit the very greatest and most beautiful of all universal mysteries--the mystery of the conception of new life.

Customer Reviews:

Honest is the word.......2004-09-08

For some reason I had never even heard of Yama until recently. Just imagine my surprise upon picking this up and finding a spectacular classic. Kuprin does indeed tread that fine line between cheese and morality (both being boorish methods of storytelling) to create a truly human picture of Russian society. If you are interested in the glorification of vice and youthful indiscretions, please reread Burroughs, Miller or Selby. Likewise, if you are interested in moral high ground, stick to Tolstoy. Here, Kuprin deftly defies the clichés to create not only a wonderful illustration of Russian life but a great story as well. This is amazing considering the time period in which it was written.

Widely praised by the Bolsheviks.......2004-07-17

This book was widely praised by the Bolsheviks during and just after the Russian Revolution even though the author fought with the White Russians and was forced into exile in Paris at the conclusion of the Revolution. The book was made into a film in 1936 by the Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi.

Great realist writer.......2004-02-02

ALEXANDER KUPRIN (1870 ~ 1938) was a Russian who opposed the Bolshevic revolution and thus found himself an exile in Paris. he wrote strong novels of realism. Yama: The Pit shocked the world with its graphic presentation of life in Russian brothels and the inherent violence prevelent in the underside of Russian urban life. It is a brutal, but honest portrayal and, even through translation, one realizes that Kuprin was a great writer with a strong style.

Immensely Powerful.......2003-02-19

Alexander Kuprin dedicated this book to the motherhood and the youth. And even though it deals with unspeakable horrors of people living and acting worse than any beasts imaginable, it's at its heart about friendship, love, and devotion. These virtues, most often absent in the world of the riches, are found in what seems to be the deepest pit (yama) of social injustice.
I read this book in high school, lured in by Kuprin's other famous stories, such as "The Duel" (his first success, just as impressive as the later ones), "Gambrinus" or "The Bracelet of Garnets." Back then the emotional punch of "The Pit" pushed me to become a strong believer in women's rights, and helped me to form a solid idea of what a true man is as opposed to the dispeakable "men" portrayed by Kuprin's stinging prose.
Now, as an adult, I firmly believe that this book is a must read for any growing man, so that he learns how to be human in the highest sense of the word, as opposed to "respectable" and heartless "consumers" like so many showcased in this story.
NB: why do the words "a novel of prostitution" appear in the title? It's not in the original and absolutely unnecessary. What should appear instead is "a novel of real life".

YAMA - THE PIT.......2002-09-28

How many well-known and not so well-known writers of the world tried to describe the life of the prostitute, the life in the bottomless pit? All of these writers tried to understand the mentality of the prostitute, the reasons to become one, and the pain of her existance. The pit... It describes it all. One word says it all. The deep hole and there is not exit, there is no way out. Every new day takes you deeper and deeper. Once you are in, you stay there. You stay there for life. And, when you are old (not really old but fairly used up), you are out and you have no means to survive. No one needs you and no one wants you any longer. You were better off in the pit.

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Kupol svyatogo Isaakiya Dalmatskogo
A. I. Kuprin
Manufacturer: Dar'
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 548500041X

Product Description

V knigu voshli redko izdayuschiesya rasskazy russkogo pisatelya A.I.Kuprina (1870-1938).

The duel (Classics of Russian literature)

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The duel (Classics of Russian literature)
A. I Kuprin
Manufacturer: Hyperion Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Eastern European | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0883554925

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A Pyramid giant
A. I Kuprin
Manufacturer: Pyramid Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007FMQPA

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Molitva Gospodnya
A. I. Kuprin
Manufacturer: Dar'
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 5485000401

Product Description

V knigu voshli redko izdayuschiesya rasskazy russkogo pisatelya A.I.Kuprina (1870-1938).

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Yama
A. I. Kuprin
Manufacturer: AST
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 5170064063

Product Description

Povest' `Yama` - poslednee krupnoe proizvedenie velikogo russkogo pisatelya A.I.Kuprina (1870-1938). Sekret neizmennogo chitatel'skogo interesa k etoj povesti ne tol'ko v opisanii zhiznennykh istorij padshikh zhenschin, no i v neobyknovennoj tragicheskoj tonal'nosti etogo opisaniya, v glubokoj toske pisatelya po chistote lyubovnykh otnoshenij.

A Slav soul,: And other stories, (Putnam's Russian library)

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A Slav soul,: And other stories, (Putnam's Russian library)
A. I Kuprin
Manufacturer: G.P. Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00086Y3WW

Book Description

The tales selected here are taken from various volumes, and two of them, "The Elephant" and "The White Poodle," from a volume specially designed by Kuprin for reading aloud to children. The others are: A Slav Soul; The Song and The Dance; Easter Day; The Idiot; The Picture; Hamlet; Mechanical Justice; The Last Word; Dogs' Happiness; A Clump of Lilacs; Anathema; Tempting Providence; Cain.

Tales (The Greatest masterpieces of Russian literature)

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Tales (The Greatest masterpieces of Russian literature)
A. I Kuprin
Manufacturer: Distributed by Heron Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Eastern European | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006C1HDG

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Yama: the pit
A. I. (Aleksandr Ivanovich) Kuprin
Manufacturer: Hard Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1406928186
Release Date: 2006-11-03

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