missjaward's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ahinks's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fatamo's review against another edition
4.0
What can I say? I have a bias for Russian satire, and I freely admit that. I've been thinking about this for a couple of days, about why this particular genre speaks to me. I think a big part of this is because I feel like I, and my entire generation, cannot bear to hear the truth in its pure form. It needs to come to us as a parody, even a caricature, of itself, and that is why satire is so forceful and stays with us long after we've finished reading.
The premise is ludicrous. Tolya decides that he has had it with his life. He doesn't seem to do much other than moan about his unhappy wife, and he doesn't seem to have a job either. He decides to end it all. He is most likely too cowardly to take a gun to his head or jump off a rooftop, so he hires a contract killer to find him and kill him.
After the killer is hired, he decides he rather likes this whole living business, but is now stuck with a hired assassin targeting him.
As with all satire, everything brilliant in it is read between the lines. And in between the lines, you can read some pretty hardcore truths. One of my favorite parts of the story was in the beginning where he learns about a Western game where people try to connect themselves with celebrities through a chain of people (akin to six degrees of Kevin Bacon, etc). He thinks that this is amusing, and when he tries to do it, he finds that he can only link himself to the big names in his country through contract killers. I guess for reading between the lines this one sort of jumps out of the page and yells at you; a direct assault against the government that is linked to its people through blood. This was published in 1996, and so Russia was still recovering from the Soviet era, still sort of in a daze, as though waking up from a long slumber. A lot of this book is like that; there are references to mist, dimness - my favorite phrase was "Out of the dimness into grey lighting." How maudlin!
There are so many good questions and ideas that this book raises, out of just over 100 pages. Why can't Tolya value his life until he thinks it is going to end?
When he gets his life back, what does he do about it to make it better? Does he cherish his family or friends any more? No. Does he get a job or go pursue a life-long ambition? He doesn't seem to have any.
I was going to give this book five stars, but I changed my mind, because I think that the ending was slightly disappointing, and when I think about the fact that I gave Bulgakov and Gogol five stars for their books... this doesn't quite achieve that level of razor-sharp irony and satire and all-round kookiness. Still, four stars, and Kurkov is now officially on my radar.
The premise is ludicrous. Tolya decides that he has had it with his life. He doesn't seem to do much other than moan about his unhappy wife, and he doesn't seem to have a job either. He decides to end it all. He is most likely too cowardly to take a gun to his head or jump off a rooftop, so he hires a contract killer to find him and kill him.
After the killer is hired, he decides he rather likes this whole living business, but is now stuck with a hired assassin targeting him.
As with all satire, everything brilliant in it is read between the lines. And in between the lines, you can read some pretty hardcore truths. One of my favorite parts of the story was in the beginning where he learns about a Western game where people try to connect themselves with celebrities through a chain of people (akin to six degrees of Kevin Bacon, etc). He thinks that this is amusing, and when he tries to do it, he finds that he can only link himself to the big names in his country through contract killers. I guess for reading between the lines this one sort of jumps out of the page and yells at you; a direct assault against the government that is linked to its people through blood. This was published in 1996, and so Russia was still recovering from the Soviet era, still sort of in a daze, as though waking up from a long slumber. A lot of this book is like that; there are references to mist, dimness - my favorite phrase was "Out of the dimness into grey lighting." How maudlin!
There are so many good questions and ideas that this book raises, out of just over 100 pages. Why can't Tolya value his life until he thinks it is going to end?
When he gets his life back, what does he do about it to make it better? Does he cherish his family or friends any more? No. Does he get a job or go pursue a life-long ambition? He doesn't seem to have any.
I was going to give this book five stars, but I changed my mind, because I think that the ending was slightly disappointing, and when I think about the fact that I gave Bulgakov and Gogol five stars for their books... this doesn't quite achieve that level of razor-sharp irony and satire and all-round kookiness. Still, four stars, and Kurkov is now officially on my radar.
tommooney's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. It's alright. But it ain't Death and the Penguin.
wieporzellan's review against another edition
4.0
Die Geschichte eines gebrochenen Mannes, die dann plötzlich eine ganz andere Wendung nimmt. Bizarr, traurig, aber unglaublich schön geschrieben.
mariethevege543's review
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lou1sb's review against another edition
4.0
I'm on a bit of a novella kick at the moment. Maybe it's the heat, and a baby keeping me occupied, which both make books I can finish in one commute pretty attractive prospects. Maybe it's the thought of tackling one of the bricks I've had sitting on my shelves for ages next year (Moby Dick, War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, A la Recherché de Tempus Perdu...I think that's all) and the time I've spent with the Mishima that makes finishability enticing, but whatever. It's good. I love it. This was the first Kurkov where I could almost definitely remember which name belonged to which character. I'm not good with Russian names.
I've almost read all of Kurkov's books, and in the lovely vintage editions too. I hope they don't do something awful like change the design for the small format version of his new book.
I've almost read all of Kurkov's books, and in the lovely vintage editions too. I hope they don't do something awful like change the design for the small format version of his new book.