My University

Author: Gu Shenggen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: The novel "My University" is the last part of the autobiographical trilogy completed by Gorky during his recovery abroad in 1923, and also one of his most important works written after the October Revolution. The novel tells the story of a sixteen-year-old protagonist who leaves his elderly grandmother behind, full of dreams of attending university, and travels from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan on the Volga River. Upon arriving in Kazan, the protagonist clearly sees that the harsh realities of life turn his beautiful dream of going to university into a bubble, as he must confront life and first take on employment just to survive. Thus, the slums, poor streets, and docks of Kazan become the first social university he steps into on his journey through life.