мастер и маргарита

[nitaq.livejournal.com]

Hello,
I'm trying to read the book мастер и маргарита and I can't translate the following sentence (on the first page): Этот был в блузе, носящей нелепное название "толстовка",...

Can you help please?

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

What exactly causes you difficulties? I.e. are there specific words that you don't understand, or the overall construction of the sentence, or something else?

[kozavr.livejournal.com]

Just skip it and move forward. Trying to translate all the words you are going to read this book like 5 years :)

[khloe-ua.livejournal.com]

He was in a blouse awkwardly called Tolstoi shirt.

[spiritrc.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! I am Russian, but apparently I'm young (and
probably illiterate) enough to have never heard about the roots of
"толстовка", which I as well consider extremely awkward.

It was a discovery for me to learn that it was named after Leo Tolstoi.
Probably, I never actually realized what that "толстовка" looks like,
as being a man I'm not a big specialist in various names for clothes.
For me there are just "рубашка", "майка" and "куртка". :)

The word "толстовка" itself sounds awkward to my ear because
it resembles more of "толстый" (fat) than of Толстой. :)

[khloe-ua.livejournal.com]

IMHO it's the lack of cultural environment. Good luck in reading Bulgakov and learning Russian.

[kikimorra.livejournal.com]

http://www.aksi-m.ru/images/tekstil/foot/622060.gif this kind of shirt. Блуза here means sort of a crude working shirt.

A poor-peasant style bluse, ugly named after Leo Tolstoi

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
http://futbolki.dp.ua/blog/articles/sweatshirts-over-shirts/attachment/tolstovki-v-proshlom/
http://futbolki.dp.ua/blog/articles/sweatshirts-over-shirts/

[kikimorra.livejournal.com]

А чего Вы мне это говорите? 8)) Я, кстати, не уверена, что во времена Булгакова толстовка имела такой же вид, как во времена Толстого.

[oryx_and_crake]

Please note that the working language of this community is English. Thank you.

Just in case...

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
The image you introduced is not from 1930s; I wanted to correct that. Beside that, there is "ковбойка" not "толстовка" in the very beginning of the Bulgakov's text... Ivan got this "толстовка" after his self-baptism dive into the Moscow-river.

[sashka-vyshka.livejournal.com]

also "нелепое"

[adelaidastar.livejournal.com]

He was wearing the shirt-blouse, which has an absurd name "Tolstovka".

There is a typo in "нелепное". It should be "нелепое"; absurd.

Leo Tolstoy was always wearing this kind of shirts, at the age after 50 (just look at his photos, to see how it looks like). As there was a lot of followers of Tolstoy's phylosophy , they used to wear "tolstovka" s as well.
Without Leo Tolstoy, it would be just a usual peasant's shirt)

[nitaq.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your help.
I knew the word блузка, but not блуза, and I didn't get that the shirt is called something.
All I could figure out is that he was wearing something.

And sorry for the typo.

Just curious

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
Could you show some more lines of the original text where there this word "толстовка" is in use? You said that is on the very first page, so I am a bit confused.

[nitaq.livejournal.com]

Now that you mention it, the actual (hardware) book I have, doesn't say anything about Tolstoi.
The software book I have (I don't remember where I got it) uses that word.
Good, that you pointed that out... I guess I'd rather read the other version.
IIRC I googled for the text. so I'm sure you can find it if you google for the beginning of the book.

Have a look

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
This "толстовка" is a link to the famous Russian writer's name and it adds more to a strong taste of Christian Religion customs in the Ivan's night swim scene later on, in the Chapter IV:

>>
Когда мокрый Иван приплясал по ступеням к тому месту, где осталось под охраной бородача его платье, выяснилось, что похищено не только второе, но и первый, то есть сам бородач. Точно на том месте, где была груда платья, остались полосатые кальсоны, рваная толстовка, свеча, иконка и коробка спичек. Погрозив в бессильной злобе кому-то вдаль кулаком, Иван облачился в то, что было оставлено.
<<
>>
When a wet Ivan came tripping up the steps to the spot where the bearded fellow had been safeguarding his clothes, it soon became clear that not only the latter had been kidnapped, but the former as well, that is, the bearded fellow himself. Where the pile of clothes had been, there was now only a pair of striped long johns, a torn Tolstoyan-style shirt, a candle, a paper icon, and a box of matches. After shaking his fist at someone in the distance in a gesture of feeble outrage, Ivan proceeded to put on what had been left behind.
<<

I guess it will not be a problem for you to download a copy of the original text in Russian from

http://royallib.ru/book/bulgakov_mihail/master_i_margarita.html

In addition I would recommend to find this book in English, I think this interpretation is really good one:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Master-Margarita-Mikhail-Bulgakov/dp/0679760806

[marsianka-selma.livejournal.com]

I guess "tolstovka" is called an absurd name here because to the Russian ear the connection with the word "толстый" is obvious. But, in the times of Bulgakov it was a cotton or flax shirt, quite thin. Although in the recent years many people started called that a hoody (made of closely woven fabric). So, the meaning is kinda back to normal. :)

[kittycute.livejournal.com]

Нistorically "Толстовкa" - Tolstoy blouse. But nowadays it's a shirt of thick jersey, worn over underwear :) It's just a cardigan

Good luck in reading "Мастер и маргарита"! It's my favorite author ;)