Fragments From My Diary Author:Maxim Gorki The work of Maxim Gorki spanned two Russias--Russia of before the Revolution and after. — This book brilliantly reflects this profound change in Russian life. The impending Revolution and its aftereffects give what is basically a loose collection of notes from his journals the tension and dramatic development of a Gorki novel. — But more importan... more »t than this superb social reporting are the snapshots of individual Russians. Seen through Gorki's eyes, unknown peasants and tramps and local eccentrics become just as fascinating and as important as the celebrities he meets, who include Tolstoi and Chekhov.
The book is in face perfect support for his claim that "however foreign all nationalism, patriotism and other diseases of the spirit may be to me, my vision of the Russian people as exceptionally gifted and uncommon does not fail me. Even the fools in Russia are peculiarly foolish, foolish in a way of their own, just as the sluggards have a genius of their own."« less