My Childhood

Maxim Gorky is one of the founders of socialist realism, and his works had a great influence on the writers who were his contemporaries, not only in Russia but also beyond its borders. His novels and plays still enjoy the attention of a wide audience of readers and viewers.
Critics believe that the events mentioned in his book “My Childhood” may not reflect the reality of his life in his grandfather’s house, and perhaps the writer gave free rein to his imagination to present a literary work rather than a documentary work, although those who knew him emphasized the excessive cruelty of his grandfather. Gorky mentioned many incidents that reflect his grandfather’s cruelty, but he owes him his memorization of the Psalms and passages from the Bible, as this allowed him to excel in the church elementary school he attended. Gorky gave his grandmother an aura of sanctity in his literary works, although his grandfather described her as a “wicked witch”; for him she was an example of tenderness and warmth, and she was a source of beautiful stories, although she was a simple woman who could not read or write.