Dermo!: The Real Russian Tolstoy Never Used

by Edward Topol

Book Overview

Not even Tolstoy would dare use the eyebrow-raising Russian you'll find in this wickedly humorous language guide by one of Russia's bestselling novelists today. Whether you're traveling to Russia for the first time or you are a student of the language, this indispensable book is your entree to the real and new Russian that has never been taught. You'll be armored with triple-decker curses and insults, endearments and expressions for situations ranging...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452277450
• ISBN13: 9780452277458
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Great book!

So I wanted to study Russian after playing GTA IV PC so much... This book series has to be one of the best for language slang. Zakennayo, Niubi, and now Dermo I have purchased, and I haven't regretted them one bit. The business section I found so funny, I laughed until until my eyes teared up.

A Wonderful Little Book

I really like this book in spite of its few shortcomings. Like at least one other reviewer, I would rather not see the transliterated captions with the cartoons, and I could use stress marks on the cyrillic words, but it's still a great book! It's really entertaining and interesting. Certainly not for children, and no, I wouldn't get carried away trying to use many of these words and phrases with Russian people I didn't know very well. But hey, what a hoot around non Russian speaking people! You will have a new-found "freedom of speech".

Excellent tool for not "sounding" like a foreigner...

I am an intermediate Russian speaker. I found this book extremely useful in breaking the ice with my Russian-speaking friends and business contacts. It got me to a level of friendship that I could not have achieved speaking only "proper" Russian. It was also a hoot to read for pure entertainment's sake with other Americans. I definitely recommend it.

A beautiful guide to the underbelly of the Russian language

Although this book is not for the faint of heart, it is a wonderful guide to some of vulgarities in which Russians find so much joy and expressiveness. I am currently living in the southern Ukraine where Russian is the dominant language. I bought this book to help me unlock the slang and colloquialisms which I have been picking up piecemeal from my friends. For this purpose, Mr. Topol's book has been wonderful. He not only provides a list of expressions to improve your shadow vocabulary, but he also provides lively and informative background. This additional information puts the expressions in their cultural context and allows the reader to have a much deeper understanding of the meaning behind the language.This book has been a joy to page through and I have gotten a kick out of sharing my new enlightenment with my Ukrainian friends. They are shocked when they discover it comes courtesy of one of Russia's best-selling novelists. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in expanding their understanding of Russian language and culture, and having a little fun while doing so.

The book explains Russian obscene words that are used daily.

This book really helps to understand the modern day obscene Russian. It is not only a dictionary, but also more of an encyclopedia. The author describes the meaning of the phrases, words; and how and where they are used. This book is very useful for non-Russian speakers who are planing to visit Russia and don't want to be embarrassed.