Reviews

каким до боли человечным предстал перед нами демон! а его признание в любви не сравнимо ни с чем мне знакомым. отказаться от сущности своей, чтобы взаимно быть любимым, сложить орудие гордыни и власти перед обычной девушкой может показаться сверх романтичным. я, как и тамара, пала жертвой соблазнителя.
увы, правда заключается в том, что любовь демона была ядовитой, потому что являлась лишь обёрткой для расчёта: демон хотел заполнить ею пустоту своего одинокого существования. так что тут история не о любви, а об отчаянии.

история красивая, мрачная, прошитая призрачно ясными словами.

mariasreadingdiary's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bill369's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

saraaaa's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

The original Russian text has admirable musicality and beautiful poetic images, and I'm glad I can understand a little part of it.
Plot and themes, on the other hand, were quite banal – the pure girl that gets corrupted, the bored and damned hero (in this case, literally) clashing with the status quo (in this case, the angel) – and didn't really suck me in.
Overall, I found the work much less deep than it's considered to be by literary critics. If taken for what it is – a poem, born of a rebellious teen's mind then refined by a young man still deeply drawn to Romanticism, that probably never reached its final version –, it still delivers some beautiful and enjoyable verses.

Nota alla mia versione: la traduzione era tutt'altro che di semplice lettura, in seguito a scelte stilistiche discutibili.
La scelta dell'endecasillabo ha richiesto una traduzione più libera di quanto non sarebbe stato altrimenti necessario, perdendo in alcuni casi l'immediatezza dell'originale; per esempio, spesso "она" ("lei") è tradotto con "Tamara", con ogni probabilità perché semplicemente più lungo – risultando in ripetizioni abbastanza sgradevoli –, o frasi racchiuse in un solo verso nell'originale risultavano invece spezzate tra due o più versi.
Il traduttore ha voluto poi mantenere la patina del tempo anche in italiano, con il risultato di una traduzione poco scorrevole ed un ordine sintattico che obbligava a soffermarsi più a lungo di quanto sarebbe stato necessario sulle singole costruzioni, perdendo alle volte l'immagine poetica d'insieme.
Le note erano poche e, a detta dello stesso curatore (sic!), spesso inutili.
Interessante è stata comunque l'appendice contenente tutte le versioni precedenti pervenuteci.

Content Warnings

jana16's review against another edition

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dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

dominiquevinc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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