Mumu

By Ivan Turgenev

"Mumu" by Ivan Turgenev is a poignant tale of a deaf and mute serf named Mumu and her kind master, Gerasim. As the story unfolds, Gerasim forms a deep bond with Mumu, who becomes his loyal companion. However, tragedy strikes when Gerasim's owner, a lady of society, demands Mumu's removal. This heartbreaking narrative explores themes of love, compassion, and the societal divisions of 19th-century Russia, highlighting the injustice faced by the voiceless Mumu in the face of societal norms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Jun 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9780956116574

Ivan Turgenev

Ivan Turgenev was a Russian writer whose work is exemplary of Russian Realism. A student of Hegel, Turgenev’s political views and writing were heavily influenced by the Age of Enlightenment. Among his most recognized works are the classic Fathers and Sons, A Sportsman’s Sketches, and A Month in the Country. Turgenev is today recognized for his artistic purity, which influenced writers such as Henry James and Joseph Conrad. Turgenev died in 1883, and is credited with returning Leo Tolstoy to writing as the result of his death-bed plea.

Book preview

cover.jpg

Ivan Turgenev

Mumu

New Edition

Published by Sovereign

This Edition

First published in 2022

Copyright © 2022 Sovereign Classic

All Rights Reserved.

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 1

In one of the outlying streets of Moscow, in a grey house with white columns and a balcony, warped all askew, there was once living a lady, a widow, surrounded by a numerous household of serfs. Her sons were in the government service at Petersburg; her daughters were married; she went out very little, and in solitude lived through the last years of her miserly and dreary old age. Her day, a joyless and gloomy day, had long been over; but the evening of her life was blacker than night.

Of all her servants, the most remarkable personage was the porter, Gerasim, a man full twelve inches over the normal height, of heroic build, and deaf and dumb from his birth. The lady, his owner, had brought him up from the village where he lived alone in a little hut, apart from his brothers, and was reckoned about the most punctual of her peasants in the payment of the seignorial dues. Endowed with extraordinary strength, he did the work of four men; work flew apace under his hands, and it was a pleasant sight to see him when he was ploughing, while, with his huge palms pressing hard upon the plough, he seemed alone, unaided by his poor horse, to cleave the yielding bosom of the earth, or when, about St. Peter’s Day, he plied his scythe with a. furious energy that might have mown a young birch copse up by the roots, or swiftly and untiringly wielded a flail over two yards long; while the hard oblong muscles of his shoulders rose and fell like a lever. His perpetual silence lent a solemn dignity to his unwearying labour. He was a splendid peasant, and, except for his affliction, any girl would have been glad to marry him… . But now they had taken Gerasim to Moscow, bought him boots, had him made a full-skirted coat for summer, a sheepskin for winter, put into his hand a broom and a spade, and appointed him porter.

At first he intensely disliked his new mode of life. From his childhood he had been used to field labour, to village life. Shut off by his affliction from the society of men, he had grown up, dumb and mighty, as a tree grows on a fruitful soil. When he was transported to the town, he could not understand what was being done with him; he was miserable and stupefied, with the stupefaction of some strong young bull, taken straight from the meadow, where the rich grass stood up to his belly, taken and put in the truck of a railway train, and there, while smoke and sparks and gusts of steam puff out upon the sturdy beast, he is whirled onwards, whirled along with loud roar and whistle, whither – God knows! What Gerasim had to do in his new duties seemed a mere trifle to him after his hard toil as a peasant; in half-an-hour, all his work was done, and he would once more stand stock-still in the middle of the courtyard, staring open-mouthed at all the passers-by, as though trying to wrest from

Reviews for Mumu

[robertgriffen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Initially I found the reader's accent rather distracting but as the story unfolded I no longer heard the accent, just the story. It did take me two goes to get right through the book, but on the send hearing the story became gripping and I did not want to stop listening. It is a fascinating insight into the life in Russia for both the poor and the well off. The relationships between servant and master are very well portrayed, with sympathy but strength. I enjoyed the story and the presentation which on the second listening became part of the pleasure.Well worth the listening and it has given me a desire to try more audio books of which I have had only a limited number.

[nikkipierce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An absolute classic, Mumu gives a wonderfully vivid picture of life for the poor in Russia, can't be faulted. It is great to have an audio book version, which really brought the story to life. I really enjoyed listening to this, but the real star is Turgenev's writing.

[niecierpek · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A poignant story of a deaf-mute peasant who gets a job on an estate in Moscow. Wonderful storytelling and great portrayal of the main character. Even though it's only a short story, there is a wealth of social issues presented in it that plagued life in Russia at the time.Read in English, but with a very distinct Russian accent by Max Bollinger.

[artymedon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Deeply intense story of Mumu, the dog and deaf mute Gerasim, whom one might suppose a serf transplanted from a country estate near Moscow where "he did the work of four men" to duties as courtyard porter of the Moscow's house of a recluse elderly female landowner, whom one might suppose a member of the Aristocracy. All is intimist and social critic tschekovian in tone, never overt. Gerasim is Russia, lost in a city in his peasant blouse among the "German coats" worn by domesticity and visitors to the town house. With great empathy for the human condition and his characters, Turgenev depicts a courtyard kept meticulously clean of weeds, dust and drunkards by Gerasim. After loosing a potential wife to a shoemaker through a marriage of convenience arranged by the landowner, Gerasim reports all his affection on his dog Mumu. When Mumu rejects the unwanted attention of the insomniac and paranoiac old lady secluded in her second floor apartments, disaster strikes prompting Gerasim's return to his village and the eternal values of mother Russia, its land and its people. This audio book is beautifully presented. The narrator convincing and sincere in conveying the gentleness of Gerasim and yet his inalterable strenghth opposed to the cruelty and stupidity of the other members of the household. A short story but great in emotion and meaning that makes you want to read his other books. What a successful introduction to a great writer.

[wandering_star_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Mumu is a short story, dealing with a deaf-mute majordomo and his domineering employer. I am not sure that short stories really suit the audiobook format - certainly, the slightness of this story seemed to be emphasised by the fact that I was listening to it. The reader, Max Bollinger, had a heavy Russian accent. I don't know if this is his normal accent or a deliberate choice. If the latter, it did the book no favours.

[kmv_7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As an animal lover, I found this story particularly sad. But that's pretty much what one seems to get from many Russian short stories. Still a good story though. I think I would have preferred to read this story rather than listen to it. I like audiobooks, but sometimes the narration just doesn't mesh with what I would have heard/pictured in my head.

[magnuscanis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I requested this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers, I didn't realise that it was an audio book edition. I don't often listen to audio books so I don't have much experience to draw on as a baseline for comparision. As far as I know, this is an unabridged reading of Constance Garnett's translation of the story. I'm not familiar with any other translations of Mumu and have read very little of the original, but this seems to be a competent translation of a very good story.The narrator, Max Bollinger, is Russian. According to the CD packaging he "has a light Russian accent that lends credibility to the stories". At times it was necessary to concentrate quite hard to follow the accent but it didn't significantly enhance or impede the listening experience.The CD runs for 74 minutes, so it is short enough to listen to in one sitting.

[dheintz_3 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

To a certain degree the politics of translation and presentation of this audiobook are incredibly interesting. A dated translation by a translator oft accused of blurring authorial voices is read in the B language of a native speaker of the language from which the text originated. Honestly speaking, I am not really sure how that lends authenticity to the text. If anything, it increases the synthetic nature of the text, compels the listener to contend with another layer of distance from the original /Mumu/. That said, the actual execution of the audiobook is a bit challenging. On one hand Mr. Bollinger's voice is nicely stylized and his diction is clear. On the other hand, his cadence and pronunciation are way off and occasionally very difficult to understand.

[erasmusbee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'Mumu' is a charming story about a deaf and dumb man who, rebuffed by a lover, turns his affection towards a stray dog, named in the title. The man, Gerasim, who is a servant in the house of an elderly, attention-seeking widow, brings Mumu home to live in his quarters. Mumu returns Gerasim's love, but is not as affectionate towards the rest of the household. In particular, the dog seems to dislike the lady of the house, which could prove disastrous.Ivan Turgenev was born into a rich, land-owning family, but through 'Mumu' he gives the impression that he did not think highly of his class. The lady of the house is spoiled and, frankly, annoying whereas the staff arereasonable, sensible, down-to-earth people. Turgenev was opposed to serfdom and he makes a compelling case against it through this story.I listened to Max Bollinger's audio book version of 'Mumu'. It is based on the translation by Constance Clara Garnett which is highly regarded by scholars. The unabridged story is a nice length, fitting onto a single CD, and is well presented. I enjoyed 'Mumu' and found the CD to be an entertaining way to pass an hour in the car.

[charlesboyd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first time reviewing an audio book. I would assume that normally there are two things to consider when reviewing an audio book. The first consideration, the work itself, is it good or bad, compelling or something to just "get through," to finish? The second, is the presentation by the reader, a plus, minus, or not a factor. Reviewing "Mumu," by the somewhat underappreciated in the USA, Ivan Turgenev, brings a third element into play, that being the translation. Turgenev is mostly known in America for "Fathers and Sons," but he has a whole body of wonderful work to explore. I've always found his stories right up there with the greats in Russian literature, not excepting Tolstoy and Chekhov. In addition, I find his stories more compelling. "Mumu" is the story of a deaf mute serf named Gerasim and how he is a victim of that serfdom. Mumu is the dog he acquires during the course of the story and comes to love. The telling of this short story is sympathetic to Gerasim without spilling over into melodrama. As a short story it comes in under an hour, so can be listened to in one session.When I was 14 I read "War and Peace," then in my 30's tried it again, but couldn't finish it. The first translation was by Clifton Fadiman--I'm remembering this after 46 years, so I may be mistaken as to the name, but it was a male translator--the second translation was by Constance Garnett. So I was a bit uneasy to find that this audio was a Garnett version. It turned out that it wasn't a problem for the most part. But occasionally I was pulled out of the story by characters saying "mate" rather than friend.Russian-born Max Bollinger reads the story. As with Garnett's occasional "mate," Bollinger's accent disrupts the story for me. Part of the problem is that I had to listen to "Mumu" over three sessions. It would have worked better if I'd been able to listen to it all at once. That's because the distraction of Bollinger's accent faded after a few minutes each time I listened to it. I don't feel the Russian accent makes the story feel any more authentic. In a way, the reading is part of the translation. So, having a native accent is somewhat like a story only partially translated into English. I have a copy of "War and Peace," translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky that is quite readable. Yet, they too do a partial translation in a way. The Russian is translated into English, but the French is in French. To find out what the characters are saying in French, one has to drop down to the bottom of the page for the translation. In a novel that runs over 1,200 pages it is frustrating to have to do that, though luckily the majority of the pages don't have French dialogue. Still, why not just have a note at the beginning of the novel saying that French dialogue is in italics? Overall, this audio book of "Mumu" does whet my appetite for audio books that this company and this reader have produced of stories by another great Russian writer, Anton Chekhov.

[jotoyo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ivan Turgenev wrote Mumu in 1854 and this story, with other works, is credited with influincing public opinion in favour of the abolition of serfdom. I can see why, as the main character, Gerasim, a deaf and mute giant of a man is taken from his home village and made the porter in the estate fo the landownder, a widow at the end of her life. She is miserable and demanding and controls her servants as if the were animals. She decides when and whom they will marry, and the serfs have no choice but to obey. Mumu, the stray dog adopted by Gerasim, is treated with more respect. It is a poignant story which brough me close to tears. But it made me think as well.The narrator has done a very good job with his choice of translation and his slight accent adds to the story. Not having read the original story I cannot comment on his adaptation, but this edition has whet my appetite for Turgenev on the page.

[grist_9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An affecting story of deaf servant who drowns his dog Mumu before his "mistress" can have it killed for waking her up at night. Turgenev's characterizations are dead-on as usual. His observation of the inequities of the Russian social system of the day is unerring and unsparing. An excellent short work by one of the greats.

[saroz_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is unlistenable (and if that's not a word, it should be). Although I applaud a small company producing an audiobook of a classic Russian short story, the translation, reading and packaging all appear to have been prepared by non-native English speakers. The packaging has several glaring typos, and within the first minute of the audio recording, there's a major error in English tense ("she was living" used in an otherwise past tense clause instead of "she lived"). The reading itself is performed by someone with a heavy Russian accent who appears to have limited experience with English pronunciation and word/syllable emphasis. As a result, this makes it tricky to understand the reading on top of the awkward translation. Sadly, I cannot recommend this production.

[nickelini · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mumu is a empathic story that criticizes the social structure of feudal Russia of the 19th century. This subtle tale takes place on the estate of a selfish and thoughtless old widow who treats her serfs as animals and treats her animals worse. The Mumu of the title is a little dog who belongs to a Gerasim, a deaf-mute serf who works on the estate.I have never read Turgenev before, and this story makes me interested to try more of him.As for the audiobook, I found that the narrator had an oddly computerized sounding voice--it was as if I was listening to this on my GPS and I'd set the accent as Russian-British. However, within a few minutes of listening, the distraction disappeared and I didn't notice it anymore. However, I had to listen to the book in 20 minute periods, so each time I started I noticed this. This was a minor distraction.Recommended for: people who are new to 19th Russian literature but want to give it a try. Also, people looking for short audiobooks.NOT recommended for: people who get upset about sad animal stories. I'm not one of those people, but this story was more than a little troubling.

[peterclack · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am not ordinarily a ,lover of fantasy fiction, but this novel is rather different. While it does not overtly say so, it seems to be set in northern France and southern England. But I could be wrong. It is set in the twentieth century between 1939 and 1960. However, the place is unrecognizable to the modern eye because the author has carried the Norman conquest of the area in the late 11th century forward to the present and assumes that that rule still continues today. So we have castles, defended towns and lots of armoured soldiers. There are inns aplenty and young people running amok. The country is ruled by dukes and their courtiers.However, running parallel to this society are the Wizards who spend many years in apprenticeship followed by seven years of practicing their skills on long journeys during which they must remain completely pure. Once that has been completed they pass on to become full wizards.That is the background to this story. The real story concerns a wizard who has a son by a serving girl in a north French inn. When she dies he adopts the son and brings him up himself in his castle. In time, he apprentices him to learn the wizard’s craft. In the mean time the wizard has another son by a passing actress with whom he has been having a long running affair. In time Orlan, his first son, is sent to Storm Port. He is taken under the wing of the Mayor and her weak husband. He runs riot with the young of the town. Eventually the Mayor – who trained as a wizard – tries to abduct Orland and kill him. The Wizard of the story appears and, in an epic battle with the Mayor, kills her.Orlan then leaves his father and goes wandering. He stays with a lesser wizard for a time and then lives with a woman called Alen. They have a daughter and, when Alen is having their second child, she dies because no one can, not even her father-in-law, can help her. The wizard and his son finally come to terms with one another.This is a superb novel, beautifully written. Once you have started it, you won’t want to put it down.

[ncgraham_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I consider myself a fairly well-read person, but readily admit that there are large gaps in my literary diet, one of the largest being Russian literature. Somehow I’ve never quite talked myself into taking the jump and making the commitment to read Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky— Actually, that’s not quite true. I have tried Dostoyevsky twice, but at sixteen I didn’t feel I was quite up to the demands of Crime and Punishment, and my assigned reading of Notes from Underground last spring ended up being more of a skimming than anything else.So I was quite pleased when I received the audiobook of Ivan Turgenev’s Mumu from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. It was short (a novella, maybe even a short story), seemed to tell a simple story without much deep philosophizing, and moreover would be spoon-fed to me in audio form.The story consists of two major episodes, both involving Gerasim, a giant deaf-mute who works as porter to a wealthy female landowner. In the first section, he falls for Tat’jana, a washerwoman, but she is frightened of him, and moreover is promised by the mistress to another of her worthies. Later, the lonely Gerasim takes in a stray dog he names Mumu, and she, unlike Tat’jana, returns his affection. But not all is sunshine and flowers. The tale ends on a markedly bleak note, and one wonders whether enduring happiness is even possible for a person like Gerasim.What I most liked about Mumu was how real the characters were. One could read them as symbolic, certainly—with Gerasim representing the serfdom and his mistress the aristocracy—but these are not a mere backdrop for philosophical ramblings (which Turgenev never embarks on): they are living, breathing people. Tat’jana is not an angelic creature, except in Gerasim’s eyes, but then, neither is she a brazen hussy. And the mistress of the estate, who might very well have become a deplorable villainess, is softened with touches of humor and humanity. I wanted to judge her, but I also saw parts of myself in her.But when all’s said and done, I can’t say I was moved much. Others have talked about the piece’s ripe comedy and potent tragedy. I didn’t once laugh or cry. It is a pleasant, occasionally thought-provoking read, and that is all.I am surprised at how much unmitigated praise Max Bollinger has been receiving as a narrator. I myself have very mixed feelings about his work. On the one hand, it is lovely to hear all those Russian names and terms pronounced by a native speaker. Unfortunately, much of his English is oddly phrased, and at times inaccurate. He pronounces coaxing “co-axe-ing,” and he occasionally gets verb tenses wrong. This is the sort of narration I can deal with when listening for free (I can’t imagine narrating an audiobook in any language but my first!), but I wouldn’t want to pay for it.I wish I had been able to take to Mumu as readily as some of the other reviewers here. I simply couldn’t. It just wasn’t there for me. But it served its purpose: I have now been introduced to the world of Russian literature. My next stop will probably be Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, but I can see myself coming back to Turgenev eventually.