Bookworms: Monthly Readings, December 2017
Books I read in December:
Strugatsky “Roadside Picnic”;
Jojo Moyes “Me Before You”;
Sergei Dovlatov “Pushkin Hills”;
Haruki Murakami “Kafka on the Shore”.
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Roadside Picnic
Country – Russia
Year – 1972
Language – Russian
Genre – Science Fiction Novel
Read in Russian
Being a big fan of Strugatsky brothers I keep reading and writing reviews for yet more of those fascinating takes on possible world designs and possible futures. Frankly, I fear the day when there is none left. As addictive as they are, Strugatsky novels keep you on the hook for good.
I don't play favorites with Strugatsky, but if I did, Roadside picnic would take a firm lead. The plot is rather simple - the earth got visited by extraterrestrials who spent only a few days in several spots of the planet and then took off, however, leaving "garbage" behind. These left overs and the new, often deadly, properties of the areas (the Zones) of visitations seem to be supernatural for humans who cannot understand the phenomena, yet find use for mysterious objects. Stalkers are the thieves who risk their lives to go into the Zones to steal those artifacts for profit. Frightening and bizarre events follow stalkers along their journeys.
The idea behind is as trivial as it is ingenious. The visitations get compared to a roadside picnic where extraterrestrials play humans and humans represent animals. In other words, what happened to be one of the most significant events for the humanity, was in fact a meaningless shindig for aliens. The earth was neither invaded, nor researched and the humans stayed neglected. Strugatsky brothers are masters of knocking the humanity off its perch.
But hey, here's a thought. The aliens get diminished by Strugatsky as much if not more and appear to be even bigger savages. I make this judgement by the trace they leave. No civilized creature would trash the place after a party, right?
Must read!
Year – 1972
Language – Russian
Genre – Science Fiction Novel
Read in Russian
Being a big fan of Strugatsky brothers I keep reading and writing reviews for yet more of those fascinating takes on possible world designs and possible futures. Frankly, I fear the day when there is none left. As addictive as they are, Strugatsky novels keep you on the hook for good.
I don't play favorites with Strugatsky, but if I did, Roadside picnic would take a firm lead. The plot is rather simple - the earth got visited by extraterrestrials who spent only a few days in several spots of the planet and then took off, however, leaving "garbage" behind. These left overs and the new, often deadly, properties of the areas (the Zones) of visitations seem to be supernatural for humans who cannot understand the phenomena, yet find use for mysterious objects. Stalkers are the thieves who risk their lives to go into the Zones to steal those artifacts for profit. Frightening and bizarre events follow stalkers along their journeys.
The idea behind is as trivial as it is ingenious. The visitations get compared to a roadside picnic where extraterrestrials play humans and humans represent animals. In other words, what happened to be one of the most significant events for the humanity, was in fact a meaningless shindig for aliens. The earth was neither invaded, nor researched and the humans stayed neglected. Strugatsky brothers are masters of knocking the humanity off its perch.
But hey, here's a thought. The aliens get diminished by Strugatsky as much if not more and appear to be even bigger savages. I make this judgement by the trace they leave. No civilized creature would trash the place after a party, right?
Must read!
"The hypothesis of God, for instance, gives an incomparably absolute opportunity to understand everything and know absolutely nothing. Give man an extremely simplified system of the world and explain every phenomenon away on the basis of that system. An approach like that doesn't require any knowledge. Just a few memorized formulas plus so-called intuition and so-called common sense."
Jojo Moyes
Me Before You
Country – United Kingdom
Year – 2012
Language – English
Genre – Romance Fiction
Read in Russian (print)
For once I took recommendation for the book choice and here I am, reading an unambitious romance novel about some girl, leading a simple life, waiting for that one event to overtake her routine ways, unveil hidden talents and bring her entire world upside down. I don't mean my irony to sound cruel, but the fact stays true - the plot would be unbearably cliche if it weren't tragic. The main protagonist is a paralyzed young man who decides to end his suffering with a euthanasia and not even newly found love makes him change his mind and find joy in life being trapped in a broken body. Some would say the author implies life is not worth living for a person with disabilities. I tend to think everyone has the right to live their lives in a unique way, which might go in an utterly opposite direction than others, even if that direction leads to ending their lives at their own will. I realize I disregard religious teachings here but if we are granted free will by the supernatural, doesn't forbiddance to end one's own life negate that freedom? In Me Before You euthanasia is portrayed as a peaceful happy ending rather then a tragic finale.
Year – 2012
Language – English
Genre – Romance Fiction
Read in Russian (print)
For once I took recommendation for the book choice and here I am, reading an unambitious romance novel about some girl, leading a simple life, waiting for that one event to overtake her routine ways, unveil hidden talents and bring her entire world upside down. I don't mean my irony to sound cruel, but the fact stays true - the plot would be unbearably cliche if it weren't tragic. The main protagonist is a paralyzed young man who decides to end his suffering with a euthanasia and not even newly found love makes him change his mind and find joy in life being trapped in a broken body. Some would say the author implies life is not worth living for a person with disabilities. I tend to think everyone has the right to live their lives in a unique way, which might go in an utterly opposite direction than others, even if that direction leads to ending their lives at their own will. I realize I disregard religious teachings here but if we are granted free will by the supernatural, doesn't forbiddance to end one's own life negate that freedom? In Me Before You euthanasia is portrayed as a peaceful happy ending rather then a tragic finale.
"You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible."
Sergei Dovlatov
Pushkin Hills
Country – USSR, USA
Year – 1983
Language – Russian
Genre – Novel
Read in Russian (print)
The novel is biographical and will not fascinate you with a complex plot or unexpected ending. A talented writer struggling with a personal drama of getting rejected print in Soviet Union for controversial ideas finds a summer job as a tour guide. He's got divorce issues, income problems and alcoholism to cope with besides career struggles. That's about it. Do I recommend Pushkin Hills? If you are a connoisseur of splendid writing skills, dry humor and always wondered about mysterious, ever contradicting Russian nature, do yourself a favor and find delight in Dovlatov's prose. The novel is one of those captivating works that get reread again and again, every time revealing another gem of figure of speech or sharpening your wit with poignancy.
Dovlatov is my personal great discovery of the year. I read one novel, went online and purchased the whole collection of his works. If this is not the best recommendation, I don't what is.
Year – 1983
Language – Russian
Genre – Novel
Read in Russian (print)
The novel is biographical and will not fascinate you with a complex plot or unexpected ending. A talented writer struggling with a personal drama of getting rejected print in Soviet Union for controversial ideas finds a summer job as a tour guide. He's got divorce issues, income problems and alcoholism to cope with besides career struggles. That's about it. Do I recommend Pushkin Hills? If you are a connoisseur of splendid writing skills, dry humor and always wondered about mysterious, ever contradicting Russian nature, do yourself a favor and find delight in Dovlatov's prose. The novel is one of those captivating works that get reread again and again, every time revealing another gem of figure of speech or sharpening your wit with poignancy.
Dovlatov is my personal great discovery of the year. I read one novel, went online and purchased the whole collection of his works. If this is not the best recommendation, I don't what is.
"A Russian drunk is a fascinating creature. Even when he has money, he still prefers poison at a rouble forty. And he won’t take the change."
Haruki Murakami
Kafka on the Shore
Country – Japan
Year – 2002
Language – Japanese
Genre – Novel
Read in Russian (print)
Haruki Murakami is my another favorite author. I fear the depletion of his novels just as much as I would fear global deforestation! I get shiver and goosebumps only thinking about the day I finish the last sentence of the last novel. I have two left. Brrr.
Kafka on the Beach has all those wonderful things I cherish in Haruki Murakami's books - minimalism of the language but opulence of the message; cats, loners, color blue and other wonderful symbolic elements which flow from one novel to another, becoming readers' good friends. I won't even try to unfold the plot. If you ever peeked into Murakami's surrealist worlds, you know the complexity is vast.
A very very good novel, just like the rest of them!
Year – 2002
Language – Japanese
Genre – Novel
Read in Russian (print)
Haruki Murakami is my another favorite author. I fear the depletion of his novels just as much as I would fear global deforestation! I get shiver and goosebumps only thinking about the day I finish the last sentence of the last novel. I have two left. Brrr.
Kafka on the Beach has all those wonderful things I cherish in Haruki Murakami's books - minimalism of the language but opulence of the message; cats, loners, color blue and other wonderful symbolic elements which flow from one novel to another, becoming readers' good friends. I won't even try to unfold the plot. If you ever peeked into Murakami's surrealist worlds, you know the complexity is vast.
A very very good novel, just like the rest of them!
"Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear."
Did you read any of these books?
What are your recent reads?
Thank you, as always, for spending your time on my page!
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