300. The Artamonov Business

The Artamonov Business
Maxim Gorky
1925
Around 350 pages

300! Why, it seems like only yesterday...

Just kidding, it feels like I've been doing this forever. And will continue to do this forever since we still have 701 entries to go. But 300 is a cool milestone anyway. 

We celebrate with a dull family epic, designed to show us how capitalism is evil. With the rise and fall of the Artamonov clan, Gorky demonstrates how the massive societal upheavals at the time affected small communities. Naturally, he's only interested in exploring the lives of the male Artamonovs. 

In our 300 books, we've had plenty of pushy social justice novels. It's never fun being lectured, so when the author is able to pull this off without feeling like you are reading a pamphlet, it's pretty amazing (yes, I am thinking of Emile Zola, and no, I will never shut up about him). Gorky didn't really pull that off here.

And being in Stalin's good graces kind of bugs.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 1941 by Grigori Roshal.

UP NEXT: The Trial by Franz Kafka. Our first Kafka! I'm sure by the end of his entries, the brightness will be extinguished from my eyes.