Dans la famille d'un gentilhomme campagnard de l'Ukraine naît un garçon aveugle qui, plus tard, se marie avec l'amie de son enfance et devient un musicien célèbre. « Toute l'action se passe dans l'âme du héros ; le livre n'est que le tableau du développement intellectuel et musical d'un enfant aveugle. Nous avons sous les yeux une étude purement psychologique, une étude abstraite qui risquerait d'être sèche et ennuyeuse. Et pourtant, si étrange que cela paraisse, à peine en aurez-vous lu deux lignes, que vous sentirez l'impossibilité de vous arracher à cette lecture tant que vous n'aurez pas dévoré l'ouvrage jusqu'au dernier mot. Dès la première page même, vous sentez votre âme envahie par le torrent puissant d'une poésie sans artifice...

Blindi tónsnillingurinn" er sálfræðileg skáldsaga sem kafar djúpt í persónulegt líf blindra einstaklinga. Hfundurinn reynir að fylgja eftir og útskýra marvíslegar gjrðir og ákvarðanir sem eru í eðli sínu tengdar sjónleysi. Sguhetjurnar eru stelpa, strákur og atvinnutónlistarmaður, sem hfundi tekst að mála tilfinningaríka og einlæga mynd af. Sagan er stórkostlegur lestur sem stðugt birtir andstæður þess ytra og innra í heiminum, ásamt táknrænna og bókstaflegra valda sjónar og forréttindi þeirra sem sjá. Vladimir Korolenko (1853-1921) var Rússneskur smásagnahfundur, gagnrýnandi Rússneska keisaradæmisins og seinna meir á móti Bolsévikum. Ein áhrifamestu þemu skrifa hans einkennast af harkalegum og jafnvel nokkuð fjandsamlegum, náttúrulegum lýsingum af lífi einfalds fólks. Meistaraverk hans er án efa Blindi tónsnillingurinn", ásamt mrgum ðrum smásgum sem byggðar eru á reynslu hans í útlegð í óvistlegu umhverfi Síberíu.

The Blind Musician follows the lives of a young girl, a boy, and a professional musician. All of whom are blind. Korolenko paints a moving, sympathetic and careful psychological portrait of these three characters as he explores the different ways in which they experience blindness. As he attempts to explain the various actions and decisions of these characters, as inherently linked to their disability, Korolenko investigates the power of sight in both a literal and symbolic sense. His realistic, moralistic and mindful approach to such heavy themes is ideal for fans of Tolstoy and unmissable for fans of Russian literature. Vladimir Korolenko (1853-1921) was a Russian short-story writer, an open critic of the Tsarist regime, and later an anti-Bolshevik. His writing boasts harsh, hostile and powerful descriptions, as he investigates the simple lives of even simpler people. The most notable of his work is "The Blind Musician" (1886), alongside numerous short stories, mostly based upon his own experience of exile in Siberia.

Korolenko's answer to the growing antisemitism of the 1880s, `The Day of Atonement is an integral part of Ukrainian folklore. It is centred on the Jewish holiday `Yom Kippur' and tells the tale of Yankel, an entrepreneur who makes a deal with the devil in order to save his soul. Korolenko uses a strong, almost caricaturistic tone in order to remind us that Jew's were not inherently sinful, but rather innocent products of a dysfunctional society. His thoughtful commentary on religion and exclusion is reminiscent of Dostoyevsky and unmissable for fans of Russian literature. Vladimir Korolenko (1853-1921) was a Ukrainian-born Russian short-story writer, an open critic of the Tsarist regime, and later an anti-Bolshevik. His writing boasts harsh, hostile and powerful descriptions, as he investigates the simple lives of even simpler people. The most notable of his work is "The Blind Musician" (1886), alongside numerous short stories, mostly based upon his own experience of exile in Siberia.

What would you give for a conversation with Socrates? Vladimir Korolenko's short story `The Shades' is as close as it gets. It follows a conversation between Socrates and Eldipias as they discuss themes such as the truth, the nature of the one, true God, as well as the eternal topics of life and death. A masterful exploration of how the fear of changing one's beliefs can lead to the loss of truth, this is an essential read for anyone interested in philosophy. Korolenko's intimate manner of discussing 'big topics' is similar to the lighthearted nature of NBC's 'The Good Place'. Vladimir Korolenko (1853-1921) was a Ukrainian-born Russian short-story writer, an open critic of the Tsarist regime, and later an anti-Bolshevik. His writing boasts harsh, hostile and powerful descriptions, as he investigates the simple lives of even simpler people. The most notable of his work is "The Blind Musician" (1886), alongside numerous short stories, mostly based upon his own experience of exile in Siberia.