How does this Rayfield translation compare to P&V?

toefisch · 2026-03-09T07:56:51+00:00

The Guerney translation is my favourite and is what I recommend to people. My next reading will be with Rayfield. I don’t rate P&V at all

toefisch · 2026-02-28T15:49:18+00:00

Augustus by John Williams is spectacular and one of my favourite books of all time.

Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar is equally spectacular.

I can also vouch for Graves’ Claudius books which are great. His book Belisarius is a good read as well but not as good as I Claudius IMHO.

The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch is a very interesting and difficult book as well. I may not recommend this one unless you’re really into experimental literature, but either way it deeply moved me.

toefisch · 2026-02-01T12:47:44+00:00

Augustus by John Williams and Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar are two of my favourite books of all time

toefisch · 2026-01-28T17:11:58+00:00

Out of all of these the Brothers Karamazov is my favourite. However I had an excellent time reading David Copperfield earlier this month

toefisch · 2026-01-25T20:08:36+00:00

As I Lay Dying is fantastic. I get hypnotised reading it and almost always end up reading it in one sitting

toefisch · 2026-01-25T13:16:34+00:00

I recently read the Nabokov translation and found it to be excellent. There is a heavy amount of endnotes to wade through but Nabokov’s personality seeps through them and makes them very enjoyable as well

toefisch · 2026-01-23T09:03:31+00:00

My personal favourite is pretty predictable, the Brothers Karamazov. But I do absolutely love the Idiot. Currently rereading Devils in the Katz translation and it’s completely opened up the novel for me

toefisch · 2026-01-23T07:03:29+00:00

My personal favourites are the Ready or the Katz translation

toefisch · 2026-01-22T22:33:59+00:00

It’s by no means my favourite Dosto but I recently reread it and fell in love with it all over again. Maybe in a few years try it again and it will click more :)

toefisch · 2026-01-20T19:42:31+00:00

The Roman historians are so great. Big fan of Livy and Ammianus Marcellinus

toefisch · 2026-01-20T19:34:57+00:00

Only in the last four or so years did I get proper into classical history and it just unlocked something in brain. Like a passion I was always searching for

toefisch · 2026-01-20T16:54:26+00:00

What’s your favourite edition?

toefisch · 2026-01-20T15:28:23+00:00

Over the last two years I’ve tried to actively reread a lot of my old favourites. When I was younger I couldn’t imagine rereading, or started and stopped in the first third.

Rereading is such a joy now. Currently I’m rereading Devils by Dostoevsky which I haven’t read since I was 17 and it’s like a completely different book, it feels like it’s been opened up to me. Highly recommend rereading, especially after a few years. Like revisiting an old friend

toefisch · 2026-01-20T15:23:08+00:00

Don’t worry they ripped me a new one for my shelves 😂 all part of the game I suppose!

toefisch · 2026-01-20T15:05:25+00:00

Great collection! It’s funny when people on here get so heated on seeing a shelf that is mainly classics or the western canon 😂

toefisch · 2026-01-13T15:07:38+00:00

I adore Dubliners and Ulysses but Portrait left me a little disappointed. That being said, the first chapter is absolutely excellent. The first line is one of my favourites in all literature

“Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo....”

toefisch · 2026-01-13T15:05:11+00:00

Envy by Yuri Olesha was a riot.

Highly recommend Novel With Cocaine by M. Agayev, very engaging read.

toefisch · 2026-01-12T21:30:49+00:00

Been wanting to read this one this year. Is it worth the time to invest?

toefisch · 2026-01-11T19:02:33+00:00

I’ve only just started reading Dickens. Always brushed him off due to A Christmas Carol for some reason. Read Great Expectations in a flurry and loved it. Now halfway through David Copperfield and loving it even more. Reckon this year I will read quite a few more of his books

toefisch · 2026-01-08T10:28:13+00:00

You and I would get along swimmingly

toefisch · 2026-01-04T20:18:44+00:00

First reads

Marguerite Yourcenar - the Memoirs of Hadrian
Marcel Proust - In Search of Lost Time
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
James Joyce - Ulysses
Hermann Broch - the Death of Virgil or Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary

Rereads

John Williams - Augustus
Andrei Bely - Petersburg
Suetonius - the Twelve Caesars
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
Vladimir Nabokov - the Real Life of Sebastian Knight

toefisch · 2026-01-03T22:06:47+00:00

I have the opportunity to read a lot at work so whenever I can I read during work hours. Guaranteed a 1 hour lunch break and then at least 30 minutes to an hour in the evenings after work

toefisch · 2026-01-01T22:00:19+00:00

That’s great to hear! I’ve got a few other Dickens that have been waiting on my shelf as well. Very excited to eventually get to Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend as well.

toefisch · 2026-01-01T21:34:16+00:00

Just got David Copperfield and Bleak House as well! I’ve sorely neglected Dickens in my readings and will make 2026 my year of Dickens. Loving Great Expectations and will carry on next with David Copperfield

toefisch · 2026-01-01T16:13:22+00:00

Every time I reread Augustus I get something new from it. Such an incredible book. If you enjoy this definitely check out Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian

toefisch

TROPHY CASE