Ten top Russian novels to read before you die

Andrew D. Kaufman is Russian literature scholar at the University of Virginia and the author of Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times. One title on his list of ten Russian novels to read before you die, as shared at The Daily Beast:

And Quiet Flows the Don (1959) by Mikhail Sholokhov

Often compared to War and Peace, this epic historical novel traces the fate of a typical Cossack family over a tumultuous 10-year period, from just before the beginning of World War I to the bloody civil war following the Russian Revolution of 1917. Early 20th century Russian history comes alive in Sholokhov’s well-developed and relatable characters who must contend not only with a society under siege, but ill-fated romances, family feuds, and a secret past that still haunts the present.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue