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How the Steel Was Tempered
by
Nikolai Ostrovsky
3.86 · Rating details · 3,753 ratings · 342 reviews
Yüz yıl sonra Ekim Devrimi ve ardından kurulan iktidarların bozulup çürüdüğü ve yıkıldığı, büyük emek ve özverilerle insanlığa armağan edilen kazanımların emperyalist kapitalist barbarlık eliyle yok edilerek insanın kendine düşman haline getirilmeye çalışıldığı bir çürüme çağında dönüp yeniden Ekime bakmak, onun insanın kendini gerçekleştirmesine yaptığı katkıdan esinlenmenin büyük bir değeri olacağı kanısındayız. Çünkü sosyalizm sadece insanı maddi-ekonomik zincirlerinden kurtarmakla kalmamış aynı zamanda ve bununla bağı içinde yeni bir insan tipinin de müjdesini vermiştir. Ve bu tarihsel serüveni en iyi anlatan şeylerden birinin de edebiyat olduğu su götürmez bir gerçektir.
Birçok insanı sosyalizm fikrine yaklaştıran, sosyalizmi kuru bir analiz olmaktan çıkararak kanlı canlı bir tarihsel deneyim halinde kavramasına yol açan devrim romanlarının dönüp dönüp tekrar okunmasının bu nedenle büyük bir önem taşıdığına inanıyoruz. (less)
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376 pages
Published September 1973 by Central Books Ltd (first published 1932)
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Jun 09, 2011Mariel Duarte rated it really liked it
i read this book years ago and i wasn't able to understand it because of my age, but now is really one of my favorites, i could believe the emotions of the character as if they were real and not something someone made up, even thought i´m not entirely sure if i like the character of pavel korchaguin due to the narrow minded in wich he is portraited and the fact that he has no toleration to other way of thinking that is not his own, and his true is the only true, but you can blame it to the history context in wich he lived.
i like this book because there's not really a strugle between good and evil but just people trying to do what they thing is the right thing and get a better life. (less)
flag28 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
May 13, 2012Emgi rated it it was amazing
I read this book long ago. I was maybe ten years old. (30 y ago..?)wow!!!
it was my dad who started reading it. he read a few pages aloud to me and my sisters. we were so "enamored" of Pavel and his adventures alot.
when Dad was at work, we read a few pages ... and then after a few days I red it by myself alone! I could not leave it from me, this amazing book. a year later I saw the movie at a cinema in Tehran.I have strong memories of the book. it is well writen.Yes it does propaganda but it shows a picture of the old Soviet. things that happens in the book, people and environment descriptions.... everything and everything is just so clear, so real! still remember some scenes from the book ... and see. the book is like a part of my childhood. (less)
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Jul 21, 2015Richard Thompson rated it did not like it
Shelves: russian-lit-history-culture
This book is probably the most famous example of Socialist Realism, which was the only approved writing style of the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. Ostrovsky vigorously toes the party line, extolling the virtues of the Red Army, the Bolsheviks and collectivization of farms while condemning the Whites, the bourgeoisie, the Trotskyites, bandits, wreckers and a variety of other imaginary enemies of the Soviet state.
This book is also famous for being bad. As literature it gets a solid F. The vocabulary and imagery are beyond tired and trite, and the character development is non-existent. The book is filled with groaners and howlers, from the scene where Pavel meets his first girlfriend, the hopelessly bourgeois Tonya - he the barefoot boy fishing; she the schoolgirl in a sailor outfit - to that great line "a fierce and merciless class struggle gripped the Ukraine". When I took a Soviet literature class in college, we read another famous bad work of Socialist Realism, Gladkov's "Cement" and we were told by our professor that we should thank him for sparing us from Ostrovsky. But he was wrong. This book is so bad that it is good. It would be wrong to give it more than one star, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It may not be literature, but it was fun, and perhaps no worse than similar pieces of literary tripe on the other side of the political spectrum, such as the garbage purveyed by Horatio Alger.
I find it interesting to see how many people on Goodreads have given this book four or five stars and have written reviews saying that they found the book to be good or inspirational. It just goes to show how the inspirational power of communist ideas and mythologies can continue to endure despite the horrors of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot and the downfall of every communist government outside of China and Cuba. I get it. On one level it moved me too and made me wish that there might be a way to keep the good stuff in communism, but throw out the bad. (less)
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Jun 14, 2013Harry Saini rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
It is not your classic page turner, but for me, it was simply the passion of Pavel Korchagin (the protagonist) that drove me through this book. Read the latter 200 pages in one sitting. You may want to feel a little sorry for Pavel by the end but his enthusiasm makes you realize that feeling sorry would be an insult to him.
flag13 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Jun 07, 2016Sandy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: physical-books
01. Leave all your political views aside before touching this book.
02. Stop looking at the book as another Soviet propaganda
03. You will fall in love with it if you follow 01 & 02
Pavel became one of my earliest 'men in books'. Ostrovsky used Pavel to portray his own life in 2nd person. I've read it few times in Sinhalese many years ago and every single time it managed to capture my heart a little bit more. Found the English Translation accidentally and I just had to read it no matter what. Memor ...more
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Nov 29, 2011Antara Ghosh rated it it was amazing
This is one of those books, that shaped my childhood dreams.
Nikolai Ostrovsky is definitely my all time hero ...
flag10 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Apr 06, 2008Shahid Akhtar rated it it was amazing
This is a book by a person who"burnt the candle of his life from both ends." One of the greatest biography written in a novel form. I read this book in English, Hindi and Marathi. (less)
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Feb 28, 2018Kamalika Mukherjee rated it it was amazing
Everybody should read it. I mean EVERYBODY. It's not about an ideology though the book was famously written by a person with strong socialist ideological leaning and many, many people will tell you this is propaganda. Well, it's not. It's a tale of indomitable courage under the impossible odds, of a boy who was born and brought up in poverty and squalor and ignorance and how he rises above his station through sheer force of will. It's even more heart-wrenching if you consider the fact the boy was Nikolai Ostrovsky himself and there is no attempt to glorify himself here. He believes himself to be the foot-soldier for a revolution that will bring massive changes to the world. No matter what your personal believes are, Nikolai believed he was a force of goodness. And you can call him stupid, blind or naive, but that doesn't make his entire life a lie: because he was illiterate and he taught himself letters and he fought his entire life against real injustices which he saw and experienced in his own way and he gave his life up for an ideal and when he was half-blind, his body destroyed by war he fought for Motherland, for a cause in which he believed in (not because it will benefit him personally but because he wanted to change the lives of those milliions of boys like him whom he didn't want to go through what he have gone through)...he wrote the book with his last remaining life-force. And he died before he reached forty. What kind of courage makes you do that? When you know you are going to die and still you spend your last days to write something which you think will bring a change, to make the world a better place for future. It's brilliant. Utterly brilliant and you must read it to realise how far that poor, illiterate boy who was beaten up by his father regularly came and how really the steel was tampered. Please give it a read and you will see what I mean. (less)
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Jan 26, 2014Dmitriy rated it did not like it
Shelves: past, waste
Yet another merde of propaganda, making heroes out of the idiots and idiots out of the readers.
No need to mention that this trite tale of heroic deeds of late blind cretin Pavka Korchagin can excite only a very simple proletarian mind that ready to dash for some vague idea, lusting to "expropriate expropriated" and enthrone mediocrity at the global level. (less)
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Nov 08, 2012Aman rated it really liked it
think of inspiration and this is one of few books that come to my mind.
a very good description of building of socialist russia and the spirit behind it. but moreover this also entails a great autobiographical adventurous journey of the author. it has so many incidents that we could only wish for, right from the childhood to the youth of the author. more importantly it is a story of endless energy, strength, and spirit to achieve something dear to ones heart. it is story which teaches you how the odds are to be won and move on...... (less)
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May 19, 2015LULU lee rated it it was amazing
: The most precious thing is life and we only have life once. The person's life should be spent this way: When he looks back, he does not regret for wasted years, not because of mediocrity and shame —the quote from the book How the steel was tempered.
Speaking of Paul, my admiration can not help that he was a hero, he is a stubborn man when he had to withdraw from the battlefield wounded occasion, he still kept trying to contribute in the rear. When he was diagnosed with the nerve had trouble, he did not flinch, as always, work for the community and selfless dedication. He has been struggling with his legs paralyzed, blind, but he still did not give up, determined to pick up the pen, and the fate of combat. So these just make me think about sometimes when you feel like you will fail and just keep telling you “ you can do it and don’t give up, you close to the succeed.”
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Jan 24, 2014Julia rated it it was ok
I am very disappointed by this book and believe that it became so famous because of its Soviet propaganda. It may be somewhat interesting from historical point of view, but if you want to read about revolution in Russia, there are definitely better historical and fiction books on the topic. "How the Steel Was Tempered" doesn't have much value as a work of art, so I would recommend to save your time and read something else. (less)
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Apr 16, 2019Zacki Kino rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Fucking hell , what a journey i wanna thank my dearest friend for suggestion this book to me
man, if this man doesn't make you ashame for faltering in the face of difficulties i don't know what will
one of the realest examples of the life in ukrain both the good and the bad
now as a novel it kinda has its down moments and i admit at parts it became rather difficult to keep up with the names and such but man i've read part two in one day , it's that good
and hasta siempre nikolai <3 (less)
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May 27, 2015Tony Wang rated it it was amazing
I will recommend a very good book for everybody,it named how the steel was tempered. Do you think this book is about “Steel”? You must be wrong.Just read it, and know what it about.You will love it,trust me.The story is a fictionalized autobiography. It is about a person only in the revolution to defeat the enemy in the difficulties and hardships can overcome their own,only in their pursuit and the motherland,the people's interests linked together,will create a miracle,only the growth of the iron soldier.I think the story line is .I think the author-Nikolai Dostoevsky did pretty well on this book.For example,this novel was written by his true life,and the book made readers know what his true life looked life.And the author teach everybody how to make ourselves be stronger and more tough.The readers can learn many things from his book,because he was not only telling his life to readers ,but also teach the attitude of facing hard life. I think the only place can be better is describe more heart activity of leading role.Then the reader can see what he or she feel at that moment.The author showed readers many interesting stories in this book,so it might be page turner I think the potential audience should be people not strong enough and like historical novel.I think the people who is weak and scared fail would like this book.Because they can see opposite of them in this book,then they can learn something.
(less)
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May 21, 2015Sam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: ussr, classic, russia, adventure, historical-fiction
Here we have the classic Soviet story which is by all accounts an autobiographical historical fiction work. Many reviews often dismiss this novel due to its Bolshevik tone. In doing so, they miss the main gist of the entire novel: what makes an average person into a giant?
Pavel Korchagin begins a life of struggle working in a kitchen with abusive employers during the time of Tsar. As the winds of history change, so too Pavel grows along with them. As the story progresses, Pavel endures many trials in life: on the battlefield against human enemies, in the forests against nature's forces, and in his own personal life.
Through it all he maintains his firm belief that life is worth the struggle insofar as one is doing something useful for humanity. He is not perfect; in fact, his self-reflection and inner struggles are part of what build him into a stronger person. He loses the arrogance of youth and gains the inner strength of one who takes the time to reflect on his or her own life, and honestly assesses their own victories and their own flaws to enable them to keep marching forward on the correct path.
The e-book edition has numerous typographical errors in it which can make it annoying to read at times, but it is definitely one of the most uplifting and strengthening books I have read to date. (less)
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Feb 18, 2019Kitty rated it it was amazing
The graphic novel ”How the Steel Was Tempered” by Ostrovsky us about Pavel born poor family of railway workers, he hates the rich who spend their days. He is a warrior who dares to charge and is also an excellent political promoter on the battlefield. His physical condition prevented him from returning to the front. Paul took up new weapons and started a new life.
At the beginning of the story: Pavel born poor family of railway workers.
At the middle of the story: Pavel participated in the Red Army. And he It is a warrior who dares to rush and is also an excellent political promoter.
At the end of the story : The raging disease finally tied this warrior-filled warrior to the bed. But Paul took up new weapons and started a new life.
This story show us In the hardships and hardships, defeating the enemy and defeating oneself will create a miracle. (less)
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Jul 11, 2017Farha Crystal rated it liked it
Although I'm unable to understand the depth of the main character Pavel Korchagin (who seems to pet hatred, violence, and dogmas) but I understand how the immense passion of the young writer ( 1904-1936) to write the book, lying in the bed blind and half paralyzed made the book worth reading.
It's a semi-biography novel of Ostrovsky portraying how the Bolshevik revolution became a need of that time. The socialist realism he feels in earlier Russia, the wartime violence, murder, rape, plunder , robbery, psychological iron strength, vulnerable points, breaking points, gray area of moral codes of people in war zones remind me of the thousand of years trending average depressing pattern of rise and fall of entire human society. (less)
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Mar 13, 2012Yiming li rated it it was amazing
Say to the steel is you this book, it is not strange for everybody! The book speaks a strong and brave hero, Paul till golden.
Read the steel is you this book, I realized that a person's life is for his perseverance has a great influence on. He said the book, Paul was the hero's gold, his life is tough, but by what he himself to survive? Is perseverance. Perseverance gave his boundless strength, god has made him a three times since the understanding of life. ZhuHe sailors came, he was attracted by communist. After a few comments twists, he finally fulfiled, a communist party member, stopping. He kills him. In war by a lot of hurt. The worst hit by the head, promptly is alive. After recovery, Paul did not forget the party, picked up a new weapon, return to battle, started a new life!
He is ShaChang based on teenagers, brave, love the motherland, on the battlefield, he cut all survived several dao, why still is perseverance. Young he later illness, but he kept working holiday, there stands the healing chance he is not willing to give up work, persistence is a kind of tenacious spirit!
This is a moving story, my heart like water left in a large stone, be calm. I admire Paul, till golden bravery, indomitable spirit. Hate stories that small dimension but outside more noble. Paul, till golden shadow always in my mind, and encourage me to emerge as a strong like him, brave man.
We are living in peace, in a little difficulty in life, as long as nothing bravely, etc. Have a thing, you will find that he is perseverance. Paul, till golden spirit, I never learn. (less)
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Apr 22, 2014Paul rated it liked it
I'm not sure that Ostrovsky's semi-autobiographical novel of a young man growing up in Ukraine through the Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war between the Whites and Red Army, has aged well. As a child my mother read this to me and my brother and I remembered it as more of a ripping yarn than it actually is.
The first part tells the story of our hero, young Pavel's town through the occupation by first the Germans, then the Bolsheviks, the White army of Ukrainians and Poles, then the Bolsheviks again. The brutality, revenge, executions, rapes and pogroms maybe show where the roots of some ongoing battles in Ukraine today came from. In light of the current conflict in Ukraine these passages made for interesting reading, with the blue and yellow flags of the Whites being chased out by the red flags of the Bolsheviks. The second half of the book is more episodic and disjointed as young Pavel struggles against illness to build up the Komsomol, put down the Trotskyites and educate himself in Communism. The roles of women throughout the book are quite noteworthy, they are quite independent characters and Pavel lashes out at some fellow communists for their sexist "banter".
It is often summarised as a novel in the "Socialist Realism" style, but doesn't quite have some of the panache of this artwork, and he attempts to give a lot of the characters human failings. Maybe I was looking for a bit more square-jawed ruggedness, staring off into an optimistic Socialist future than there actually is in this book. (less)
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Sep 24, 2019Thành Nguyễn rated it it was amazing
Even though the book is about Paven- a young man deeply believes in the Socialism which is considered no longer suitable in the 21st century, I still truly aspire the burning desire of this soldier. The desire to live without torturing regrets, no wasted time, no easy work, upon all, the desire to contribute to the Liberation of Mankind. There is no evidence to say that the life of Paven is also the life of the author but we can assure that at some extent, it was exactly how Nikolai Ostrovsky lived his extraordinary life.
“Man's dearest possession is life. It is given to him but once, and he must live it so as to feel no torturing regrets for wasted years, never know the burning shame of a mean and petty past; so live that, dying, he might say: all my life, all my strength were given to the finest cause in all the world──the fight for the Liberation of Mankind” (less)
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Nov 30, 2015Jacky Tan rated it it was amazing
It is really a classic that it worth reading. Like what the title reveals, the strength, the will, are hard like steel.
It gives me an idea that a country and an era that I have ever experienced, I do remember my grandpa tells me how his life was like thirty or forty years ago, which is definitely away from me, but I can make some connections between these two scene, which is kind of fantasy for me, and think about it for a while, the picture is also clear and I can even imagine the harsh environment. What's more it shows the strong man with the strong power at that time.
That's the book deserve to read. (less)
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Feb 07, 2014Shuvro Das rated it it was amazing
A powerful and thumping testimony of the hailed Bolshevik Revolution of Soviet Union and I think this is one of the most knowingly written novel regarding this event. Pavel Korchagin earns our sympathy as a tragic hero but his life of relentless works towards righteousness teaches us profoundly to remain in the path of justness and integrity.Sure, his ending is pathetic but the closing of the novel gives us a glimpse of hope. Long live the comrades and the revolution. Proud to complete the novel ...more
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May 25, 2015Raigo Loide rated it really liked it · review of another edition
This one is written by a fanatic. The author is so obsessed with his dogmas that he seems religious rather than political, and yet it's politics he is dedicating his life to. The communism as he understands and practices it.
So it's a great book. I dislike the main character and most of the moral principles in the book seem to be from medieval times, but it has strength and the book is enjoyable to read. Fanatics do have power in their words. Belief is the heart of life and sometimes it may not be easy to keep the head dominating. (less)
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May 03, 2014Ima Charu rated it it was amazing
An autobiography of Nikolai Ostrovsky, which portray how the Bolshevik revolution became a need of the society. The author became more of a storyteller and sketched the political,social and economic scenario in Russia. One of the most evident novels which imply Bolshevik revolution was a part of people's life back then. The emotional involvement of the author with his struggle overpower the story. But once someone starts reading it,it's hard to put off. (less)
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Jul 21, 2014Fadwa Qamhia rated it really liked it
I just finished reading the first part of the book, it filled me with the spirit of revolution. Pavel is no strange person to me, I know and hear of heroes that resist and fight for their cause since I was a child and until now. The collaborative work, the mutual eager for freedom, the fight for your cause are present both in the book and in my life. I know I would have been great friends with Nickolai Ostrovsky, because revolutionaries are the same no matter where or when.
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Jan 02, 2019Ngoquy120100gmail.Com rated it really liked it · review of another edition
As a student studying in Russia, I can feel the value of this novel somehow. It's just not about the passion, but the love for the country, love for the peace of world, for relatives of Pavel. This novel succeeded in describing the image of Soviet soldiers, who are brave, strong and smart. This novel also brings to us the real value of peace. (less)
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Aug 25, 2010Ling rated it really liked it
I read the Chinese version. Animal Farm is written from an european educator's perspective, but this book is from a Russian worker perspective.
I think, when learning about Russia, this book is one of the best choices. ...more
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Aug 19, 2014Tarun Rattan rated it it was amazing
Power of love, fatal attaction of women & resolution of men are so beautifully captured in this novel. One of the books that leaves its imprint all over you once you finish it. It teaches you about life, love, passion, loyalty & determination.
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Sep 23, 2014Aruna Athukorala rated it it was amazing
The land of the workers and peasants loves its Red Army. It is
proud of it. And on that Army’s banners there shall not be a single
stain.
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