Learn Russian with Short Stories (2): Max Reads Grin

Subject: learning

Keywords: Aleksandr Grin literature Russian With Max stories

“Зелёная лампа” (The Green Lamp) is a short story from 1930 by Aleksandr Grin (1880-1932), the surname being an abbreviation. Regarding Aleksandr Grinevski (Russian: Александр Гриневский) and his work, Wikipedia offers a great recommendation: “Most of his writings deal with the sea, adventures, and love.”

Read!

“Зелёная лампа” tells the story of a beggar who, in exchange for money, must keep a lamp burning for several hours each day and stay by it. What seems like a cruel prank or humiliation turns out to present opportunities. If you just read.

Reading in Russian

Russian With Max has a series where short stories are read and explained: Reading in Russian. Some episodes include, besides the Introduction and Part 1 (51 mins), Fat and Thin by A. Chekhov (2019, 63 mins) and Princess Frog | Wisdom in Fairy Tales (2019, 59 mins). See also Reading Russian Contemporary Literature | A Short Story About Coffee (42 mins).

In the February 2019 episode, The Green Lamp by A. Grin (60 mins), Max reads Grin’s famous short story. You can also order a bilingual audiobook of The Green Lamp via Max’s website, supporting his work and keeping his lamp lit. Definitely worth checking out!

More about “Зелёная лампа”

Text and Summary

This 90-year-old story was also read in the podcast «Зелёная лампа» on Lampa.fm (June 2019, 29 mins) and (with violin music) on Akniga.org (2017, 13 mins). The full Russian text is available on Wikisource). Summaries and tests can be found on Obrazovaka.ru and Briefly.ru.

“Зелёная лампа” made into films

Two film adaptations of “Зелёная лампа” are entertaining to watch, but little more than that. In this sense, they serve as an encouragement for reading, which makes them successful in their own way. Check out this trailer (directed and produced by Юрий Тепляков, 2018) and the full adaptation below (2017). Directed by Берюх Евгений, with music by Kronos Quartet.

Meaning of ‘The Green Lamp’

Besides an ode to books and reading, there is more to be found in this seemingly simple short story. Check out The Green Lamp (Mihai Avram, Medium.com, 2018), where the author draws a parallel between Grin’s story and Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari. Stilton as a symbol for “capitalists and big profit-driven corporations.”

Aleksandr Grin Work and Bio

More from Aleksandr Grin at Аркадий Бухмин.