My Childhood by maxim gorky

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

In my childhood, I read a lot. My childhood was also very beautiful, and it is still beautiful now. Gorky has become one of my favorite writers.

When I was a child, I was deeply attracted by his works. His vivid descriptions and profound thoughts made me feel a different world. Through his words, I could see the hardships and joys of life, the complexity of human nature, and the power of love and hope.

Gorky's works have had a profound impact on my growth. They have taught me to be brave in the face of difficulties, to cherish the good things in life, and to always maintain a positive attitude towards life. I believe that his works will always be an important part of my spiritual world.

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Holo9899

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

In one word: superior. "Childhood" by Maksim Gorki is a raw and captivating autobiographical portrait of a tough youth in 19th-century Russia. Gorki realistically describes the extreme poverty in which his family lives, with sharp observations and gripping events. His grandfather is a devil who wants to exploit everyone and sometimes even knocks Gorki unconscious as a child(!). On the other hand, his grandmother is a heroine. She shares beautiful stories, fairy tales, and poetry with him and is the personification of "the good."

There are very painful and idiotic scenes in this book that depict the brutality of poor Russian rural life. At the same time, we also see social themes such as secret marriages, the grip of religion, and stealing out of necessity. The number of family members and acquaintances that Gorki sees suffering borders on the absurd, but he himself defies his youth; the next book continues with his adolescent years.

"Childhood" is the crown jewel of Maksim Gorki. Every page is an example of his brilliant writing style, which makes you keep reading.

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Figva

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Maxim Gorky's childhood was extremely bitter, and the words used to describe it are truly in a sorry state.

He didn't even know which side was left and which side was right. He was transferred from his father's house to his grandfather's house, which was of course against his will and opinion.

He got to know his grandmother. He regarded her as a fairy in fairy tales, an angel in the sky, and a prophet in the holy books. He fell in love with her. His grandmother was kind and loved him very much, but of course she was also very superstitious.

What can be said about his mother? He saw in his writing that he didn't want to criticize her because no matter what, she was his mother and mother meant the whole world. But he saw her as an irresponsible and unrestrained woman. A woman who, after his father's death, left him in his grandfather's house and left after a while without him knowing where. Later, she came back and found a second husband, that is, another father, and of course, she left him alone again and went to Moscow and came back again with a husband who was addicted to gambling. He didn't like this mother very much.

The story of his grandfather is different. He felt very sorry for him. All his wealth and property turned to ashes, but he had to wait for such a day because in the story, he didn't see him as fair. He believed in God, but in those beliefs that a person only wants for himself. In some places, he was kind, such as selling his house to prepare equipment for his mother, and of course he knew that she would waste it, but he did it anyway. In some places, he was hateful, such as abandoning his friend and colleague who became blind in his later years and driving him out of the dyeing factory and not giving him a way out, and he had to beg with his blind eyes.

The last few pages of the book are very sad. He experienced real poverty. There was no longer any news of a clean house, nutritious food, electricity, and kind neighbors. He was hanging around in his grandfather's house and stepfather's house, sometimes here and sometimes there. He went to work with a group of friends who were really desperate and started to earn money from jobs such as collecting bones and even sometimes stealing.

I read the first part of your autobiography and it was excellent and full of feelings...

Completion date of reading: 2021/11/24

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Manganese

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Before Gorky delved into the realm of politics, he penned this remarkable book. It stands as his finest piece of writing, astonishing considering his limited formal education. What makes it truly amazing is its sheer beauty and power, as well as its complete lack of self-pity.

The story commences with a vivid memory of witnessing his father's lifeless body. Gorky, then just a small child, struggles to fathom the meaning of death. However, he can clearly distinguish between the father who once played "merrily" with him and the cadaver with its "set teeth." This is a writer who has an uncanny ability to get inside the mind of a child. It's the kind of writing that I truly adore. There is no sense of imposition from the adult author. The fine details create lasting impressions, much like the small teeth that leave an indelible mark.

Take, for instance, his description of his grandmother: "She had a peculiar way of singing her words that made it easy for me to remember them - words as vivid and luscious as flowers. When she smiled, the irises of her dark eyes expanded and shone with an inexpressible light; her smile revealed strong white teeth, and in spite of the numerous wrinkles on her swarthy cheeks, her whole face seemed young and bright."

Although the narrative contains elements of violence and cruelty, there is also a profound sense of love. This aspect always manages to touch my heart. The grandmother is exquisitely portrayed, the landscapes are brought to life with vividness, and the many characters seem to leap off the page. I would encourage you to skip Gorky's other works and give this one a try. It firmly holds a place on my top list of childhood memoirs in the literary sky.

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AFVU

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

My Childhood

My childhood began tragically. When I was just three years old, my father passed away.

In a narrow, darkened room, my father, dressed in a white and unusually long garment, lay on the floor under the window. The toes of his bare feet were curiously extended, and the fingers of his still hands, which rested peacefully upon his breast, were curved. His merry eyes were tightly closed by the black disks of two copper coins. The light had gone out of his still face, and I was frightened by the ugly way he showed his teeth.

After that, my mother and I returned to our family nest in Nijni. I stayed with my grandparents. My grandmother was the only kind soul in the entire family.

Until she came into my life, I seemed to have been asleep and hidden away in obscurity. But when she appeared, she woke me and led me to the light of day. Connecting all my impressions by a single thread, she wove them into a pattern of many colors, thus making herself my friend for life, the being nearest my heart, the dearest and best known of all. While her disinterested love for all creation enriched me and built up the strength needful for a hard life.

However, my grandfather was a cruel despot. He had everybody in the family under his thumb. He and his sons apparently had sadistic inclinations. He whipped his grandson half dead, so I couldn't rise from bed for days. And his both sons terrorized their wives to death. Right from the start, I couldn't help but loathe my granddad.

I was very well aware that grandfather's shrewd, sharp green eyes followed me everywhere, and I was afraid of him. I remember how I always wished to hide myself from that fierce glance. It seemed to me that grandfather was malevolent. He spoke to everyone mockingly and offensively, and, being provocative, did his best to put everyone else out of temper.

So since my early childhood, I was exposed to human meanness and cruelty. And my grandfather was also tutoring me.

“The gentlefolk, of course, are to blame, because they have more intelligence to back them up. But that can't be said of all of them, but only of a few good ones who have already been proved. As for the others – most of them are as foolish as mice; they will take anything you like to give them. We have plenty of nut shells amongst us, but the kernels are missing; only nut shells, the kernels have been devoured. There's a lesson for you, man! We ought to have learned it, our wits ought to have been sharpened by now; but we are not keen enough yet.”

If one's nature is mean and beastly, no social changes, however progressive, can eliminate bestiality.

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OctupletsPowah

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Gorki’yi çok beğendim. Adam çocukluğunda neler yaşamış be dedim. His works have always fascinated me. They are filled with vivid descriptions of life and deep insights into human nature. Through his words, I can almost see the hardships and joys that he experienced during his childhood. It makes me wonder how he was able to endure all those difficulties and still manage to become such a great writer. I think it's because of his strong will and his unwavering belief in himself. His stories have taught me a lot about life and have inspired me to keep going no matter what challenges I face. I will always cherish his works and continue to explore the world that he has created.

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___angel

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

The most horrific violence, terrible poverty and degradation are vividly described here. What is most frightening is that it is presented in the indifferent voice of a child. It is truly terrifying to witness how rapidly the horror of this reality becomes an accepted, almost ignored part of Alexei's life. Only on two occasions does the voice of the adult Maxim Gorky offer us a hint of the true impact of such experiences on a young child.

Maxim Gorky writes, "...I couldn't believe any longer that all this was in earnest and that tears came hard to them. All those tears and shouts, and all the suffering they inflicted on each other, all those conflicts that died away just as quickly as they flared up, had now become an accepted part of my life, disturbing me less and less, and hardly leaving any impression. Long afterwards I understood that to Russians, through the poverty and squalor of their lives, suffering comes as a diversion, is turned into a game and they play at it like children and rarely feel ashamed of their misfortune. In the monotony of everyday existence grief comes as a holiday..."

He also ponders, "When I try to recall those vile abominations of that barbarous life in Russia, at times I find myself asking the question: is it worth while recording them? And with ever stronger conviction I find the answer is yes, because that was the real loathsome truth and to this day it is still valid. It is the truth that must be known down to the very roots, so that by tearing them up it can be completely erased from the memory, from the soul of man, from our whole oppressive and shameful life."

Yet, despite the dark subject matter, this story is beautifully told, with charm and without bitterness, showing an appreciation for the happy times and for the love that exists even in the midst of such hardship.

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Euleriano

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 15,2025

Maxim Gorky was driven to write about his bitter childhood. He said, "When I sometimes recall that gloomy Russian life, I wonder if it is worth talking about. But after thinking, I am convinced that it must be presented because it represents the worldly truth that has not been eradicated to this day.

It represents a truth that must be known to its deepest roots so that we can then uproot it from our miserable lives full of shame.

We uproot it from the very heart of man and his memory.

Yes, we uproot it from the memory of the rising generation."

He admits at the beginning that he was often beaten by his cruel grandfather, and for unknown reasons. He said in his narrative that the mental pain he suffered was more severe than the physical pain. Once, he stole a rouble from his mother's husband and bought a book, "The History of the Tsar," and a fictional book, "Robinson Crusoe," which is known in Arabic as Robin Hood.

When his mother found out, she punished him not by beating but by depriving him of books. He said, "This punishment was more severe than flogging!"

This was the childhood he spent in his grandfather's house, far from his mother, who never even explained the reason for her departure before she married a man from Petersburg. He never openly said whether she worked as a prostitute, but he imagined her as the hero of his favorite book, Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

He lived in a house full of quarrels, tensions, beatings, insults, and curses. For example, he could imagine that his grandfather would beat his grandmother until she was covered with bruises, and then his grandmother would spend the day doing nothing. This was not the grandmother who used to spoil him with love and make him the closest person to her. As for his two uncles, who were addicted to trickery and meanness, they even tried to kill their father in order to obtain the inheritance, which forced their grandfather to leave the house and move to live in another house.

Then he moved again to live in his mother's husband's house. Once, when he saw his mother's husband beating his mother brutally, he tried to kill him. Then he left his mother's husband's house and was taken by his grandfather to his house for the last time. Poverty forced him to scavenge and collect rags and nails with a gang of neighborhood boys, and then steal at the end of the street. Finally, his grandfather asked him to leave the house after he became able to rely on himself.

"Well, my dear grandson!

I simply cannot keep you hanging around my neck.

You have no place here after today. You must go out into the world."

And so he went out into the world.

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Autobiography #1

My Childhood

maxim gorky

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