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smugliankafransujenka's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
capricorn_books's review against another edition
2.0
Sorokin schreibt in diesem Werk über eine dystopische Zukunft für Russland aus den Augen von 2006 - und bleibt dabei nicht ganz im Unrecht. Es ist erschreckend, wie zutreffend viele Elemente dieses Buches in den letzten Jahren geworden sind. Besonders die Rückorientierung an die Zarenzeit durch Putin schießt mir hier in den Kopf.
Trotzdem hat mich dieses Buch enttäuscht und kommt mMn über die zwei Sterne leider nicht hinaus. Die Darstellungen von Gewalt, Brutalität und Orgien sind stumpf, vielleicht sogar absichtlich, und dienen ausschließlich zur Untermalung des dystopischen Themas. Es gibt keine inneren Konflikte und keinen Tiefsinn. Wem das gefällt, dem ist dieses Buch sicher zu empfehlen.
Für eine "schmerzhafte Satire im Sinne von Huxley, Orwell und Burgess" fehlt mir hier das gewisse Etwas. Retten konnte sich die Geschichte durch die geniale Übersetzung von Andreas Tretner, welcher den umgangssprachlichen Stil beachtlicht umsetzt und durch Wortwahl wenigstens die Erzählweise interessant macht.
(Außerdem: die letzten fünfzig Seiten waren unfassbar verstörend. Die "brüderliche Orgie" sowie das "Anbohren" haben weder Sinn ergeben noch waren sie bedeutend für die Handlung. Für mich waren diese Passagen einfach nur verstörend.)
Trotzdem hat mich dieses Buch enttäuscht und kommt mMn über die zwei Sterne leider nicht hinaus. Die Darstellungen von Gewalt, Brutalität und Orgien sind stumpf, vielleicht sogar absichtlich, und dienen ausschließlich zur Untermalung des dystopischen Themas. Es gibt keine inneren Konflikte und keinen Tiefsinn. Wem das gefällt, dem ist dieses Buch sicher zu empfehlen.
Für eine "schmerzhafte Satire im Sinne von Huxley, Orwell und Burgess" fehlt mir hier das gewisse Etwas. Retten konnte sich die Geschichte durch die geniale Übersetzung von Andreas Tretner, welcher den umgangssprachlichen Stil beachtlicht umsetzt und durch Wortwahl wenigstens die Erzählweise interessant macht.
(Außerdem: die letzten fünfzig Seiten waren unfassbar verstörend. Die "brüderliche Orgie" sowie das "Anbohren" haben weder Sinn ergeben noch waren sie bedeutend für die Handlung. Für mich waren diese Passagen einfach nur verstörend.)
souljaleonn's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
mariushh's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
justnei's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jon_mckenney's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really know how I feel about it. Clever and chilling in parts, prophetic in others (the book is circa 2011). But maybe the translation or cultural references resulted in me feeling like I was missing pieces. Enjoyable and if the second is available in English I will deff check it out, but not groundbreaking
williamaowen's review against another edition
I encountered either one of two problems with this book: either there are crucial elements of Russian society which someone looking in with no awareness of are too subtly deconstructed to make any impact or hold any relevance on the actual events of the story – or the story lacks the depth to achieve an effective satirizing or skewering of the past-as-future re-imagining taking place here.
The book lacks no tension for the characters, which leaves the reader waiting only to find out what lifeless absurdity is waiting on the next page. We follow people free of self-awareness, self-reflection, who at no point in the story ask anything of the reader. A story like this almost intrinsically demands at least a nod toward moral consequence in order to complete and solidify the general dislike for the characters it must inevitably end with, but unlike the more masterful Burgess that crucial element is again either too hidden to see, or is simply lacking.
The book lacks no tension for the characters, which leaves the reader waiting only to find out what lifeless absurdity is waiting on the next page. We follow people free of self-awareness, self-reflection, who at no point in the story ask anything of the reader. A story like this almost intrinsically demands at least a nod toward moral consequence in order to complete and solidify the general dislike for the characters it must inevitably end with, but unlike the more masterful Burgess that crucial element is again either too hidden to see, or is simply lacking.
empressmarsha's review against another edition
3.0
Russia in the not-so-distant future has restored its monarchy and the Tsar rules as an almost successor of Ivan the Terrible. You need to know a bit of his reign to understand this book and the role of the oprichnik. The oprichnik is a state henchman who rapes, kills, and pillages in the name of his majesty. Parts of this book are brilliant: revisiting the death-squads of the 16th century and Soviet terror of the 1930s but set in 2028. I won't give too much away in this review but expect to be a tad shocked at the violence the women suffer, injecting odd drugs (fish) and an interesting group scene at the end involving the oprichniki and genitalia that glowed in the dark.
One note on the translation: some sections were confusing and unclear. I suspect some of the satire and humour that was supposed to accompany this book was lost in translation. Some words are even italicized for an unknown reason. I would recommend this book but research Ivan IV first and his oprichnina (complicated term but you can start with state terror). This book has its moments.
One note on the translation: some sections were confusing and unclear. I suspect some of the satire and humour that was supposed to accompany this book was lost in translation. Some words are even italicized for an unknown reason. I would recommend this book but research Ivan IV first and his oprichnina (complicated term but you can start with state terror). This book has its moments.
imjroll's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5