Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective and does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
The master of modern prose Lyudmila Ulitskaya is known among intelligent readers who prefer unhurried life stories of different people. Her books make you think, they have a secret, and after reading there is a pleasant and long aftertaste of reflection. The charm with which the novels are written is mesmerizing, we invite you to appreciate it! presents the rating, which includes 12 best books by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, many of which have been translated into different languages of the world.
Rating of the best books by Lyudmila Ulitskaya
| Nomination | a place | composition | price |
| Rating of the best books by Lyudmila Ulitskaya | 1 | Kukotsky's case | RUB 560 |
| 2 | Green tent | RUB 290 | |
| 3 | Jacob's ladder | 650 RUB | |
| 4 | Medea and her children | 267 r | |
| 5 | Yours sincerely Shurik | RUB 250 | |
| 6 | Funny funeral | 325 RUB | |
| 7 | Through line | 240 RUB | |
| 8 | Sonechka | 224 r | |
| 9 | Childhood 45-53. And tomorrow there will be happiness | 495 RUB | |
| 10 | Poor, evil, beloved | – | |
| 11 | Girls | RUB 250 | |
| 12 | Sacred trash | 480 RUB |
Kukotsky's case
Rating: 5.0
The novel is about the fate of the professor of gynecology Pavel Alekseevich Kukutsky, who saw and felt the patients, as they say, 'through and through'. He almost always accurately identified the diseased organ of a person, so he once saved Elena Georgievna from death, who later became his wife. After the war, life and career were successful, but that all changed when the campaign against the development of genetics began. Pavel Alekseevich finds a way to avoid avoiding these events – he drinks a lot, having acquired a reputation as an alcoholic. At the same time, the family collapses: as a result of an illegal abortion, a janitor, who was the mother of a classmate of the Kukotskys' daughter, dies. In the heat of the argument, the professor recalls to his wife the uterus removed to save her life, and Elena to her husband – his desire to legalize abortion. This quarrel killed the previous relationship of the spouses, although outwardly the family at first glance remained unchanged.
Against the background of events, Elena falls ill, becomes absent-minded and inattentive. Her mysterious ailment leads to complete loss of memory, and then to the vision of strange dreams about the intermediate world. Tanya Kukotskaya enters the Faculty of Biology, studies histology, but one day she comes up with an idea to create a drug from a human living fetus …
“Casus Kukotsky” is a prosaic story about a family, unhappy in its own way. What awaits the spouses and their daughter? After reading this book, you will probably think about your loved ones.
Green tent
Rating: 4.9
The psychological novel 'The Green Tent' is a story about the fate of people, their experiences and lived feelings, united by a note of special misfortunes. At the same time, the name suggests a certain hint of universal forgiveness, which the people of our civilization deserve, in particular, those who lived at the end of the 20th century, during this period the action of the work unfolds. The author raises the problem of the impossibility for many to reach the maturity of the individual and full self-realization due to the pressure of circumstances and a combination of various factors arising from the surrounding society. People get stuck in the psychological state of adolescents and see no way out to the next stage. For many, the book will become a collection of answers to questions to which it seemed impossible to find answers.
The book 'Green Tent' by Ulitskaya is both serious and funny – the author, even when describing the complex problems of so-called adolescent civilizations, does not lose self-irony and combines psychology with psychotherapy. The reader will be able to experience many different emotions on the pages of the novel.
Jacob's ladder
Rating: 4.8
In third place is the novel-parable 'Jacob's Ladder', in which the reader will get acquainted with more than a hundred-year history of one Osetsky family – the action takes place within the framework of the late 19th century and 2011. The author represents six generations of the clan in a nonlinear chronicle: history has intertwined not just epochs, but culture and vision of the surrounding world, in the center of attention are two destinies – Yakov Osetsky with an irrepressible thirst for knowledge and Nora, his granddaughter, an expressive personality who chose the path of a theater artist. The heroes once met in the mid-fifties of the 20th century. This meeting did not play a special role, only dozens of years later Nora discovered her ancestor from a new perspective, stumbling upon his case in the KGB and reading the diaries he left behind.
In the story of Lyudmila Ulitskaya, as always, there are many questions for thought, but the author does not push the reader to any definite conclusions, leaving freedom for creativity and personal choice for everyone.
Medea and her children
Rating: 4.8
Childless Medea Sinopli, like the ancient Medea, is a deity for her family, only, unlike the prototype, she does not destroy, but glues pieces of her own family together, restoring such thin and torn family threads with her own strength and blood.
'Medea and Her Children' is Ulitskaya's unique experiment in the construction of family prose, such experiments are difficult to find in the literature of the classics. The work combines different layers of history, unique human destinies, ideas and experiences.
Yours sincerely Shurik
Rating: 4.7
Like Gaidai, Ulitskaya has her own 'key' character named Shurik. It symbolizes the problem of relations between mothers and sons, when parental feelings are replaced by total control, complete submission and the imposition of a sense of duty. Do the heroes think about the consequences of this 'upbringing'? And after all, the problem was not invented by the author, it is typical for many modern, even at first sight prosperous, families. Selfish maternal instinct and disinterested sons love formed the basis of the novel 'Sincerely your Shurik'. The author reveals the range of feelings in such relationships from different women – lonely, unhappy in their own way, infantile, while not condemning them, but inviting the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Funny funeral
Rating: 4.7
Can a funeral be fun? Of course, because we are talking about the novel by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, which took the sixth line of the rating. The focus is on the amazing story of Alik, a talented Russian-born artist living in America. He becomes terminally ill, but does not give up – he tries to use the remaining time for the benefit of his environment. In recent years, he has been surrounded by all the former women, wives whom Alik manages to make friends, to re-acquaint all his friends. The artist becomes the center of his own universe of human ties, which he managed to build before his death, even long-standing quarreling friends found peace among themselves. It is not surprising that after leaving this world, the hero will not remain forgotten.
Through line
Rating: 4.6
In the collection 'Through the Line' the author presents a story about lies in its various manifestations: inventions of teenage girls, teachers, professors, women in the family – all of them supplement their lives with fantasies. So they make up for unrealized ambitions, bring colors into their being, because it seems to be more interesting this way. The lie ran like a red line through each story and in each case led to special consequences. The book is full of random and non-random meetings, fateful events and emotions from unpleasant to those that cause tenderness and desire to live.
Sonechka
Rating: 4.5
The story 'Sonechka' once inspired theatrical figures, a play was staged on it at the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov – a high degree of recognition of a literary work. The story of the main character is so relevant for our time, at the same time it is almost impossible, she was translated into different languages, and in 1993 the work was awarded the French Medici Prize.
Sonechka, who has been fond of literature since early childhood, hides from real life on the pages of books. A happy marriage collapses with the death of her beloved husband, who fell in love with young Yasya before the death. The daughter is far away, Sonya is left alone with herself and literary masterpieces, completely immersed in a fantasy world, breaking away from reality.
Childhood 45-53. And tomorrow there will be happiness
Rating: 4.5
In the book 'Childhood 45-53. And tomorrow there will be happiness' Lyudmila Ulitskaya talks about children whose early years passed in the post-war period of the middle of the 20th century. The author's main idea is to maintain a delicate connection between generations, to tell descendants about the traditions of children of front-line soldiers, about things that have succumbed to oblivion. Geography has changed, the boundaries of cities have expanded and forests have shrunk, the names of people from the faded photographs in the album have been forgotten …
The essence of the story is the absence of a change in morality between generations. There are no 'cruel' times, they are all beautiful, interesting and difficult in their own way. In part, they are determined by small family histories, values and knowledge passed down by generations that must be preserved.
Poor, evil, beloved
Rating: 4.4
The next in the rating is Ulitskaya's collection of prose, Poor, Evil, Beloved, composed of works from different years, including the previously mentioned Sonechka, and Merry Funeral, and many others – just 16 stories and novellas. Some of them brought Ludmila Evgenievna prestigious awards and fame in different countries. The Poor, the Wicked, the Loved is a good book to get acquainted with the author's work. When you read it, you will learn about Ulitskaya's style, her talent as a psychologist and an amazing storyteller.
Girls
Rating: 4.3
The collection of stories 'Girls' is stories about childhood. Young girls are especially sensitive and full of special emotions that change quality over time and transform into adult experiences. The childhood period of life is painted with variegated colors, all thoughts and events are many times exaggerated and are perceived many times brighter than those of adults. Little girls seem to have a wider range of sounds and colors that they see and feel.
Lyudmila Ulitskaya, working on the collection, used her brightest memories from her distant childhood.
Sacred trash
Rating: 4.2
Our rating was not complete without the author's autobiographical prose. Sacred Garbage is a collection that has been formed for over 20 years in parallel with the work on other works by Ulitskaya. The stories that, for various reasons, did not fit the collections, on the creation of which Lyudmila Evgenievna worked at a certain time, were eliminated, entered into the 'Sacred Garbage', but today it seems that there is nothing left to remove from the book, every 'speck' has found its place. Stories from the author's own life, her thoughts and feelings are presented under different sauce, in some places – frankly, eye to eye to the reader.
Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
