La muerte de su padre es el primer recuerdo de Aleksei. Con ella da comienzo una nueva vida por la que irán desfilando una serie de singulares personajes: la abnegada abuela, el autoritario abuelo, los embrutecidos tíos, el Gitanillo... Todos ellos marcarán de modo imborrable el carácter del niño, guiándolo, a veces con violencia, otras con extrema ternura, a través de los primeros años de su despertar al mundo. Infancia, para muchos la obra maestra de este gigante de la literatura rusa, ofrece un testimonio sin igual de su época, narrado con la crudeza y sinceridad propias de la mirada de un niño.

I bought this, and My Apprenticeship from a second hand bookstore because I have enjoyed most of the Russian literature I have read up to this point. It was my first work by Gorky and apart from recognising his name I knew nothing about him or his work. This book covers his early life living and growing up in a hard family environment and it is the first part of an autobiographical trilogy.

Being a book originally written in a language other than English a lot rides on the quality of the translation. I tend to favour Penguin Classics because in my experience their translations are better than some of the cheaper alternatives there. Whether this is down to a long history working with translators or something else entirely, I cannot say, however, I was a little concerned that my edition, being published in 1966, may not have been up to scratch. In the end my concern came to nothing, the translation is superb and the introduction by the translator serves as a very good taste of Gorky's life and work.

The book itself is quite harrowing when compared to modern life, especially considering that we are seeing it all through the eyes of a child. Life for normal Russians was extremely hard and this results in family feuds, regular beatings, petty theft and a whole host of infections and diseases. The fact that Gorky is able to recall this so well many years later is very impressive especially as he maintains the innocence that would be experienced by a child. In the early pages he is speaking about his father's funeral and his inability to gasp the seriousness of the situation. Despite the hard times there are some moments of joy, in particular the time spent listening to his grandmother's stories. He also forges some very strong friendships which form the most important relationships outside his immediate family. The writing is relatively easy to read and I really enjoyed my time spent with this book. ( )

I read this book in Russian--and a fairly simple Russian it was, as I recall. From Maxim Gorky's Trilogy, (Moskva, 1975), Детство (this book) began it, followed by "Among the People," and "My University." One sentence I admire, even aspire to: at his father's grave he did not cry. "Я плакал редко и толко от обиды, ни от боли" (17) I cry very rarely, and only from insults or outrages, never from suffering or pain. Moreover, his father would laugh at his tears.
When his bereaved mother comes on deck to see her own mother singing Aida to vodka-smashed sailors, Mother says, "They're laughing at you, Mamasha!" "God Bless them!" her mother replies, "Let them laugh...It's good for their health." (21)

This was decades ago, so what I principally recall is seeing Gorky's house on Capri! What a shock that this avatar of the simple life, this hero of socialist realism, this denizen of economic sequestration, actually lived in splendor quite a few years on the Isle of Capri (1906-13, before the Revolution, then again in the 1920s). Wrote one of his best novels there, at his own villa Pierina. A couple years ago, Capri named one of its streets for him, as did Norway, Maine for my grandfather, Ralph W Richardson. (Even has his middle initial.) ( )

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Gorki-Ma-vie-denfant/152399
> Bouquineux : http://www.bouquineux.com/index.php?telecharger=2047&Gorki-Ma_vie_d_enfant

Maxim Gorky, hailed as the father of Russian literature, shares his firsthand account of Russian life in the late nineteenth century in this book, the first of three memoirs he would produce. This beautiful, if tragic account, paints a window for the reader to peer through time into an era of struggle and despair, told in the dispassionate voice of a child. It reveals the both the resilience and the fortitude needed by the Russian people.

This is not a book with plot, action or humor. What it is is a series of eloquent descriptions and hard realism, laced with priceless Russian fairy tales, folklore and songs as told to Gorky by his Grandmother. It is a quick read, and one I'd recommend to those interested in memoir, history, realism, and to writers. Five stars. ( )