Reviews

Kompromis by Sergei Dovlatov

xumepa's review against another edition

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5.0

Отличная книга. Дичь! Буш! (сознаюсь, слушала аудио-книгу в исполнении Хабенского, что тоже отлично). В общем рекомендую всячески.

carlelis's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

catacol's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

pavram's review against another edition

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5.0

„Altmjae je seo u kabinu. Bikover je celim putem ćutao. Kad smo stigli, filozofski je primetio:
-Čovek živeo, živeo, pa umro.
-A šta bi ti hteo? – kažem.“


Dovlatov je pre svega jedan jako zanimljiv tip, pa mu je tako zanimljiv i ovaj roman, jer sve što piše manjeviše je autobiografsko.

Elem, čovek se malo zapio i (iz Lenjingrada) završio u Talinu, Estoniji, gde je onda proveo potonje dve godine radeći kao novinar. Anegdotna, epizodna forma – data kroz naslovne „kompromise“ tojest njegove novinske članke – možda i najviše godi ovakvoj vrsti priče, jer je brza i koncizna (takav je i Dovlatovljev simpatični stil krcat dobrim aforizmima) i jakojakojako smešna. Mrtva trka izmedju Dovlatova i Pračeta za količinu smeha koju su mi izmamili, pri čemu, kao i Pračet, Dovlatov takodje ume da dodje do nekih zanimljivih, ali i ciničnih životnih istina.

Dok sam ja čitao ovu, baba je čitala Puškinova brda i njen utisak je dosta bledji nego moj. Da li je to do tematike tog drugog romana (koji čujem ima nešto izraženiji kritički sentiment) ili do moje i dalje velike čitalačke svežine, ne znam, ali sigurno ću saznati. Do tada, ovo je riznica zabave i „kad bi Hemingvej imao crnji smisao za humor“.

5-

impressionblend's review against another edition

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4.0

Довлатов - просто золото! И обхохочешься, и как-то грустно, и с ностальгией, и все так четко подмечено. "Чемодан" понравился больше, но "Компромисс" - очень хорошая книга. Обязательно буду продолжать читать автора!

dark_matter88's review against another edition

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4.0

The books represent a kind of a compilation of various sketches (called compromises in the book) that depict life in Estonia when it was a part of the Soviet Union. Dovlatov with cynism and specific humor describes how he as a journalist tries to succeed in his work but his honesty, inability to be bent by regime and bureaucracy stay on his way. Some situations seemed to be absurd and grotesque but they perfectly describe how even talented people cannot achieve much because nothing really matters as much as abiding by the ideology of the Soviet Communist party.
Dovlatov has a personal style of describing all the events in short sharp phrases with a bunch of dialogues that draw characters' unique features - how they express their feelings, their opinions about the regime, behavioral patterns, how they drink, how other people treat them.
A friend of mine compared Dovlatov style to Haruki Murakami's and I saw some similarities too. Dovlatov writes everything down as he is just a distant observer, not the participant of those events and this is something I noticed Murakami's books as well.
Although I'm not actually a fan of Russian literature probably because I studied it in school and sometimes school programs worsen the impressions of the works but I like this book. It is different in comparison to the works of classic Russian literature which describe the same time period. Maybe because Dovlatov does not restrain himself in expressing the actual opinions of the people about the Soviet ideology. Or maybe because he describes the life of the intelligentsia as it was - poor, dangerous and full of alcohol - with no embellishments and flattery.

in_vino_veritas_'s review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

nastiakarpova's review against another edition

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2.0

Humorous excerpt about Soviet Estonia and journalism back then. Unfortunately, it was not my type of humour at all.

satinrules's review against another edition

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4.0

— Генрих Францевич, что касается снимков… Учтите, новорожденные бывают так себе…
— Выберите лучшего. Подождите, время есть.
— Месяца четыре ждать придется. Раньше он вряд ли на человека будет похож. А кому и пятидесяти лет мало…

msgtdameron's review against another edition

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4.0

So what do you do if you were a newspaper man in Tallin Estonia and have now immigrated to White Plaines N.Y? You gather up all your old clippings and write the actual story behind what you wrote for the "Soviet Estonia" in the 70's. That's "The Compromise" a behind the scenes look at what actually happened to Dovlatov while he wrote for the paper. Many of the stories are funny, even to us westerners. Stories such as the funeral he attended where he gave part of the eulogy to a T.V. producer. A funeral where the people in charge had Dovlatov get the body from the morgue, be a pall bearer, give part of the eulogy, and write the story of the funeral for the morning edition. Oh by the way, Dovlatov's photographer, who was also drafted to be a pallbearer, recognizes that the guy in the coffin at the cemetery is not the T.V. producer but some one else. Or the horse fixing deal Dovlatov was involved in, until his jockey was arrested. Or the trip to a farm where a milk maid had milked an unholy amount of milk from her cows etc. The whole book will have you smiling and at the same time give you a window into how news is made and reported in a oppressive regime. An interesting window in our current age.