Shades, A Phantasy: Ukranian born Korolenko creates a fictional dialogue of Socrates to examine lifes biggest questions
Written by Vladimir Korolenko
Narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick
()
About this audiobook
His father died when he was 13 and life was then often struck with bouts of poverty, which resulted in his education being somewhat erratic. A spell in exile at 23 was followed by another as the politics of the times opposed his volatile but heart-felt passions.
Writing was also coming to the fore and in 1879 his debut short story telling of a young Narodnik searching for social and spiritual identity, was published.
In 1881, Korolenko refused to swear allegiance to the new Russian Tsar and was again exiled, this time much farther afield. He spent the next three years doing manual work, but took time to study local customs and history. These impressions in exile provided rich material for his writings.
In 1885 he was allowed to settle in Nizhny, where again he repeatedly questioned the authorities. That same year ‘Makar's Dream’ established his literary reputation and was part of his first collection ‘Sketches and Stories’, the following year.
In the early 1890’s when famine struck Central Russia, he went to work on relief missions, collecting donations, supervising the delivery and distribution of food, opening 45 free canteens, all this while writing the graphic reports that would later be published as ‘In the Year of Famine’ in 1893.
By 1896 despite some psychological disorders, he was well regarded amongst Russian writers and was even a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Throughout his writing career Korolenko was a staunch advocate of human rights, putting that sacred activity above what he called his 'part-time-writing'.
In the Revolutionary year of 1905, under his editorship, Russkoye Bogatstvo published the Manifest by the Petersburg Soviet of the Workers' deputies. Korolenko was now repeatedly harassed by the authorities, had his flat raided many times and materials confiscated.
As a lifetime opponent of Tsarism, he guardedly welcomed the Revolution of 1917. Once the nature of Bolshevism was established, he soon started to criticize it. During the Russian Civil War that ensued, he condemned both the Red Terror and the White Terror.
Despite suffering from a progressive heart disorder, he collected food packages for children in famine-stricken Moscow and Petrograd as well as organised orphanages and shelters for the homeless.
Vladimir Korolenko died in Poltava, Ukraine, of the complications of pneumonia on 25th December 1921. He was 68.
In this story Korolenko invokes the characters of Socrates and Elpidias who, after their deaths, involve themselves in a debate on God. This is a tour-de-force of conception and execution.
More audiobooks from Vladimir Korolenko
The Russian Short Story - Volume 4: Nikolai Lyeskov to Anton Chekhov Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShort Fiction (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Church - A Short Story Collection: From devout priests to sacreligious necromancers and everything in between Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNecessity'. An Eastern Tale: Two sages search for enlightenment. They find something rather different. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVladimir Korolenko - A Short Story Collection: Ukranian born brilliant writer that was an outspoken critic of Tsarism and Communism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShadows Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnthem (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Shades, A Phantasy
Related audiobooks
Lazarus (CopyrightGroup) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boleslaw Prus - A Short Story Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enchanted Wanderer: And Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Honest Thief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Silence (CopyrightGroup) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cloak aka The Overcoat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Old Fashioned Landowners: Gogols story of an aging couple who must confont the harsh lessons of mortality. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Much Land Does A Man Need Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stalin: Passage to Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Common Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Necessity'. An Eastern Tale: Two sages search for enlightenment. They find something rather different. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHadji Murád (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy: Epic collection of stories from the grandmaster of literature Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Joseph Pearce's Solzhenitsyn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Soviet Union: The History and Legacy of the USSR from World War I to the End of the Cold War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKriloff's Fables Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Double and The Gambler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle over a Forbidden Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Peter the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Israel Zangwill - A Short Story Collection: Pioneering Jewish author and activist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Zelmenyaners: A Family Saga Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eugene Onegin (Unabridged) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDead Souls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaras Bulba and Other Tales (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Russia: History, Facts, and Biographies of Russian Leaders, Tsars, and Royalty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGulag: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Anthologies For You
The Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths: The Best New Original Stories of the Genre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Screams: Volume One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Humour - A Short Story Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kink: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marple: Twelve New Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shadow Over Innsmouth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5FaceOff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best American Short Stories 2021 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best American Short Stories 2022 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Greatest Short Stories of All Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories from Suffragette City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5MatchUp Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flight or Fright Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reunion Beach: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anonymous Sex Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Classic American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Timeless Classics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wavedancer Benefit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House of Love and Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behaving Badly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Come Join Us By the Fire: 35 Short Horror Tales from Nightfire Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughters of Latin America: An International Anthology of Writing by Latine Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Year of Ravens: A Novel of Boudica's Rebellion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dangerous Women: Original Stories from Today's Greatest Suspense Writers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Shades, A Phantasy
0 ratings0 reviews