Liina's Reviews> My Childhood

Nobody writes about death as the Russians do. The scene at the end of the book, a mere page in length, where Gorky describes the death of his mother that he witnessed as a child, will stay with me for a long time. The stuffy smell, wax coloured skin, paper think limbs and dimness of the small room - it is so accurately described with so little words.
The book is very grim. There are no champagne-problems or existential ennui one is used to encountering when reading Russian classics that describe the lives of the aristocracy. Gorky's family were commoners and lived a simple life. His mother was absent from the picture most of the time and he was largely brought up by his grandmother and grandfather. The former being described with such kindness - a very good character building, she really comes alive in front of the reader's eyes. His grandfather was mindlessly violent towards almost all the family members. This was tolerated with stern patience by all apart from Maxin Gorky himself. Also described are various practical jokes Gorky played on others and that were played on himself - a great inspiration if you happen to have a secret enemy. All in all, it painted a very thorough and vivid picture of a family in Tsarist Russia, at all times keeping an observant and non-judgemental attitude towards the happenings. A painfully beautiful book.