Childhood. In the World. My University (Color Illustrations Edition)

Author: Maxim Gorky (Russia)
Translators: Zhang Huifan, Li Pan, Zhang Xiaochuan
Country: Russia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: "Childhood, My Childhood, My University" is Gorky's famous trilogy of autobiographical novels. It depicts a colorful historical panorama of Russia's social life in the 1870s–80s, based on Gorky's own life journey. It is an outstanding artistic treasure. The protagonist, Alyosha, not only reflects Gorky's early life but also represents the artistic archetype of the Russian working class who, after enduring harsh and complex trials, embark on a new path in life. "Childhood" portrays Alyosha's years spent with his mother in his grandmother's home after his father's death. During this time, he receives the love and care of his grandmother, is nurtured by the beautiful fairy tales she tells, and witnesses his two uncles quarreling and fighting over their inheritance, as well as their selfishness and greed in daily life. The good and evil, love and hatred in real life leave a deep impression on his young heart. Alyosha spends his childhood in this "oppressive, frightening small world."
"My Childhood" is the second volume of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy. When Alyosha is 11, his mother dies again, and his grandmother goes bankrupt. Unable to continue living in someone else's shadow, he steps into society and earns a living independently. He works as an apprentice in a shoe store and an icon workshop, and later as a laborer in an artist's home and on a ship, enduring the hardships of the world. While working as a dishwasher on a ship, Alyosha meets the honest cook Smerya, who helps him start reading and inspires his determination to pursue justice and truth. Five years later, Alyosha sets off for Kazan with the hope of attending university.
"My University" is the final volume of Gorky's autobiographical trilogy. The book tells the story of Alyosha's life in Kazan. At the age of 16, he leaves home to study in Kazan. After his dreams are shattered, he struggles for survival. He lives in a crowded boarding house, does hard labor, associates with vagrants, interacts with all kinds of petty bourgeoisie and intellectuals, and enters a vast "social university." In this university, he undergoes a complex spiritual journey, faces various life challenges, and begins to explore the meaning of life and the complexity of the world.
I lay on a wide bed, tightly wrapped in a thick quilt folded into four layers, listening to my grandmother praying to God. She knelt, one hand pressed to her chest, the other slowly and intermittently drawing crosses. Outside, the cold was biting; the green moon shone clearly through the frost on the window glass, illuminating her kind face with large nostrils and dark, phosphorescent eyes. A silk headscarf covered her hair, which shone like iron; her black clothes trembled and slid down her shoulders, spreading across the floor. After finishing her prayers, my grandmother quietly took off her clothes, folded them neatly, and placed them in a chest in the corner of the room before coming to the bedside.
I pretended to be asleep. "You're lying, wait and see, little thief, you're not asleep?" she whispered. "I say, you're not asleep, right? Good boy! Come, give me the blanket!" I had anticipated her next move and couldn't help but laugh. Then she exclaimed, "Ah, you dare to tease your grandmother!" She grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it swiftly, lifting me into the air and tossing me around before I landed with a thud on the soft feather mattress. She burst into laughter.
On days when there was trouble, arguments, or fights, the time for praying would be longer. It was interesting to listen to her prayers. My grandmother would detail all the happenings in the house to God. She was stout and clumsy, kneeling like a small mountain. At first, she murmured softly, speaking quickly and incoherently, but later she began to complain loudly: "Lord, you know very well that everyone wants more; Mikhail is the eldest and must stay in the city. If we force him to move to the other side of the river, he'll feel wronged, and it'll be unfamiliar to him—what will happen in the future? But Father prefers Yakov. How can one favor a child over another? The old man is stubborn. Lord, please guide him." With her large, bright eyes fixed on the darkened icons, she advised her God: "Lord, please give him a good dream, so he can learn how to divide the inheritance fairly!"
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