Двенадцать стульев

Автор Евгений Петров, Илья Ильф и Yevgeny Petrov

Это – книга, которую любят все: от интеллектуалов до обывателей.
Это – книга, раздерганная на цитаты сразу же, как только она появилась на столах читателей.
Это – «ДВЕНАДЦАТЬ СТУЛЬЕВ».
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Бывший богач, светский лев и «предводитель дворянства» Ипполит Воробьянинов после революции стал обычным делопроизводителем ЗАГСа в маленьком городе. Он не забыл своих прежних привычек и часто грезит о былой жизни. Однажды размеренный ход жизни оказывается нарушен – умирающая теща поведала Воробьянинову об огромном богатстве, во время революции спрятанном ею в один из стульев гостиного гарнитура. Он тут же бросается на поиски, вместе со встреченным им «великим комбинатором», мошенником и любителем денежных знаков Остапом Бендером. Сокровище найти будет нелегко, но обуянных жаждой богатства Бендера и Воробьянинова остановить будет невозможно!
Для предлагаемого издания за основу был взят самый ранний из сохранившихся вариантов, переписанный Петровым (РГАЛИ. Ф. 1821. Оп. 1. Ед. хр. 31). Поглавное деление дается по машинописному варианту, и структура комментария соответствует этим сорока трем главам (РГАЛИ. Ф. 1821. Оп. 1. Ед. хр. 32-33). В ряде случаев учтена чисто стилистическая правка машинописного варианта, но игнорируются правка идеологическая и сокращения. Орфография и пунктуация приведены в соответствие с нормами современного литературного языка. Объем издания примерно на 30% больше привычного всем, сокращенного.
Сюжет романа и саму идею соавторства Ильфу и Петрову предложил Валентин Петрович Катаев – брат Петрова, который к тому времени уже был литературной знаменитостью. По его плану работать надлежало втроем: Ильф с Петровым начерно пишут роман, Катаев правит готовые главы «рукою мастера», при этом литературные «негры» не остаются безымянными – на обложку выносятся три фамилии. Что из этого получилось? Всем известно…

• Язык: Русский
• Издатель: StreetLib
• Дата выпуска: 5 мар. 2017 г.
• ISBN: 9788826062266

Отзывы о Двенадцать стульев

[larryerick · Рейтинг: 2 из 5 звезд]

This book was a decidedly mixed bag for me. It's a rather Walt Disney-esque treatment of what becomes a seemingly never endless pursuit of something very valuable. In fact, I was rather reminded of the 1963 movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It was written and takes place during the early days of Soviet Russia. While I have seen descriptions of the book refer to its "heroes", I found not a single character of much personal appeal or respect. The "journey" that the lead characters follow is engaging for most of the book, but, about half way through, the authors seemed to have had a change of heart in how to present their story, almost as though one said to the other, "No, this is how we should have written this." After a few chapters, the first approach wins out again, and the story line continues as before. For the most part, it's a fun read, but I can't say I really recommend it.

[bzbooks · Рейтинг: 5 из 5 звезд]

Fantastic book, truly high class. This story of the search for 12 chairs concealing a great fortune in jewels is not only a great comedy, it also has great use of language and an exciting plot line. It even has a wonderful ending. The only regret I have in reading it is that I didn't get a lot of the references since I lack the cultural background of the place / era - The footnotes do help some with this though.

[thatotter-1 · Рейтинг: 4 из 5 звезд]

Very funny. Chapter titles were especially lolarious. Have Respect for Mattresses, Citizens!

[ocgreg34 · Рейтинг: 5 из 5 звезд]

"The Twelve Chairs" begins in late 1920's Soviet Russia. Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, a once wealthy man, learns from his dying Mother-in-law that she sewed the family jewels into one of the twelve chairs from their old drawing-room suite in Stargorod. The effects of the Revolution having removed him from his once-high position to that of an office worker in the city of N., the thought of jewels and wealth immediately set Vorobyaninov's senses spinning and upon his Mother-in-law's death, he sets out for his former home in Stargorod. But Vorobyaninov is not the only person she told of the jewels. She confessed also to Father Fyodor Vostrikov of their whereabouts. The potential wealth also piques his interest so he sets aside his duties and follows the trail of the jewels to Stargorod. The chairs have also fallen victim of the revolution and have been divvied up, sold to high-ranking Soviet officers and as well as to an acting troupe, scattered across Russia. Once in Stargorod, Vorobyaninov runs into a con-man -- a foreigner named Ostap Bender -- at his former home who blindsides him into joining together to find the jewels, taking control of the search, and somehow leading Father Fyodor on a wild goose hunt in the opposite direction.This darkly comic novel offers an interesting glimpse into Soviet Russia just after the revolution, showing how the country and the economy changed. Each of the characters -- and not just the main ones -- seemed to represent some aspect of society, from the dethroned nobility of Vorobyaninov to the corrupt church of Father Fyodor, the sly and manipulative foreigners of Ostap Bender and the change in members of the community. I found myself laughing not so much at what was said by the characters but by how they acted, shaking my head in disbelief at times when something went contrary to what I believed should have happened. Definitely a fun read.

[gbill_7 · Рейтинг: 5 из 5 звезд]

Wow, I loved this one. :) The premise is pretty simple: on her deathbed, Ippolit Matveyivich’s mother-in-law tells him of a fortune in jewels that she’s hidden in one of a set of twelve chairs to protect it at the time of the revolution. Unfortunately, the chairs have been dispersed all over Russia and must be tracked down, and on top of that it turns out that the secret has also been entrusted to Father Fyodor Vostrikov, who immediately sets aside his priestly obligations and acts in a decidedly non-holy manner. The race is on. Ippolit teams up with the unforgettable Ostap Bender, the ‘Smooth Operator’, a carefree crook who quickly becomes the master in the relationship, helping Ippolit with has crafty ways, but also using him and manipulating everyone he comes into contact with.The book’s humor, fantastic moments, fun characters, and subtle pokes at post-Revolutionary Russia make it feel like a Bulgakov’s The Master and the Margarita, albeit not supernatural and a lighter read. There are lots of great moments, including a guy getting locked out of his apartment, naked, and soaped up from his shower, a chess tournament where Bender takes on 30 young chess enthusiasts, and Ippolit’s clumsy and drunken adventures with a lady. The minor characters are skillfully weaved in and out of the story line and the final chapters are excellent, but I won’t spoil it. Very enjoyable from beginning to end. This edition was published in 1961 in the hey-day of the Cold War, and I found this quote in the introduction interesting given the context: “It has long been my considered opinion that strains in Russo-American relations are inevitable as long as the average American persists in picturing the Russian as a gloomy, moody, unpredictable individual, and the average Russian in seeing the American as childish, cheerful and, on the whole, rather primitive.” Friedberg’s point was that The Twelve Chairs would help show the playful side of the Russian character, which was otherwise hidden behind the Iron Curtain and whose more serious or brooding sides were more visible via the more popular works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. He was right.Quotes; these are not necessarily representative but just snippets I liked:On beauty, as Ellochka tries on a blouse, which makes her look like a goddess:“More simply, the emotions could have been expressed by the following: men will become excited when they see me like this. They will tremble. They will follow me to the edge of the world, hiccupping with love. But I shall be cold. Are you really worthy of me? I am still the prettiest girl of all. No one in the world has such an elegant blouse as this.”On life:“Life, gentlemen of the jury, is a complex affair, but, gentlemen of the jury, a complex affair which can be managed as simply as opening a box. All you have to do is to know how to open it. Those who don’t – have had it.”On passion, love this one:“’A passionate woman,’ said Ostap, ‘is a poet’s dream.’”And:“’Does your head ache?’‘Yes, slightly. I have worries, you know. The lack of a woman’s affection has an effect on one’s tenor of life.’”On vegetarianism, in this case, a bit more out of economic necessity, but a spirited debate:“’Try to understand,’ said Nicky, ‘a pork chop takes away a week of a man’s life.’‘Let it,’ said Liza. ‘Phony rabbit takes away six months. Yesterday when we were eating that carrot entrée I felt I was going to die. Only I didn’t want to tell you.’‘Why didn’t you want to tell me?’‘I hadn’t the strength. I was afraid of crying.’‘And aren’t you afraid now?’‘Now I don’t care.’ Liza began sobbing.‘Leo Tolstoy,’ said Nicky in a quavering voice, ‘didn’t eat meat either.’‘No,’ retorted Liza, hiccupping through her tears, ‘the count ate asparagus.’‘Asparagus isn’t meat.’‘But when he was writing War and Peace he did eat meat. He did! He did! And when he was writing Anna Karenina he stuffed himself and stuffed himself.’‘Do shut up!’‘Stuffed himself! Stuffed himself!’‘And I suppose while he was writing The Kreutzer Sonata he also stuffed himself?’ asked Nicky venomously.‘The Kreutzer Sonata is short. Just imagine him trying to write War and Peace on vegetarian sausages!’”Lastly, I liked the hominess of these jokes told by passengers on a train:“An old Jew lay dying. Around him were his wife and children. ‘Is Monya here?’ asks the old Jew with difficulty. ‘Yes, she’s here.’ ‘Has Auntie Brana come?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘And where’s Grandma? I don’t see her.’ ‘She’s over here.’ ‘And Isaac?’ ‘He’s here, too.’ ‘What about the children?’ ‘They’re all here.’ ‘Then who’s left in the store?’”And this one:“A Jew comes home and gets into bed beside his wife. Suddenly he hears a scratching noise under the bed. The Jew reaches with his hand underneath the bed and asks: ‘Is that you, Fido?’ And Fido licks his hand and says: ‘Yes, it’s me.’”

[diefledermaus · Рейтинг: 4 из 5 звезд]

I very much enjoyed this rollicking, absurd satire until the end, where it was like hitting a wall. Set in the 1920’s Soviet Union, the story follows former nobleman-turned-provincial clerk Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, searching for the family jewels of his recently dead mother-in-law, and Ostap Bender, an inventive con man. Bender’s nonstop schemes were extremely amusing and the secondary characters and ridiculous situations were fun as well. The authors make fun of various types, presenting a satiric portrait of Soviet society at the time. I probably didn’t get all the allusions or satire, but it was still funny anyway. Vorobyaninov could be annoying at time – the amoral anarchy of Bender is much more appealing. Unfortunately, the ending is unhappy for the pair, but also a pat Soviet morality conclusion, with a much different tone from the rest of the novel. It felt tacked on. The rest of the ride was good fun though.Vorobyaninov has been leading a dull life in a provincial backwater until his mother-in-law Claudia Ivanovna dies, revealing shortly before that she hid her jewels in twelve chairs that they formerly owned. He goes back to their old home in Stargorod and fortuitously meets Bender, who he confides in and who decides to join up in the search. But before she died, Claudia Ivanovna also told the secret to Father Fyodor. He has also come to look for the chairs, and there are several brawls between him and the pair. The chairs eventually get split up and Bender and Vorobyaninov have to go chasing them all over the Soviet Union. Along their trip – which takes them from Stargorod to Moscow to even further afield – the pair encounters a number of people. They form a fake secret resistance and meet unhappy vegetarians, stubborn bureaucrats, too-busy newspapermen, an engineer who gets locked out his flat while naked, an empty-headed woman who has a quixotic quest to compete with the Vanderbilt daughter, and a backwater chess club. Vorobyaninov and Bender are Soviet outcasts – Vorobyaninov as a former nobleman and Bender as a dishonest, apolitical swindler, so unfortunately, they have to come to a bad end. Father Fyodor’s final scene isn’t happy either, but it is wonderfully absurd.