Tag: russian writers

Review: The Village of Stepanchikovo by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants [1859] – ★★★★1/2 

When a young man named Sergei received a letter from his uncle, retired Colonel Yegor Rostanev, summoning him to Rostanev’s village to meet a potential bride, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine the absurd situation that would confront him at his uncle’s house – or the uncle’s strange, submissive state, all stemming from the immense influence and control that a mere “nobody,” a penniless, petty and resentful middle-aged man called Foma Fomich Opiskin, exercises over the whole house and village. But, who is this man really, and why does he have everyone under his thumb? This most Gogolian of Dostoyevsky’s works, which was first conceived as a play, is a whirlpool of dramatic events and nightmarish scenarios that introduces the most colourful of personages who each, in their turn, play their roles in a wild sequence of astonishing incidents, including romantic rendezvous, forced elopements and covert money-making schemes. This is a highly entertaining comedy revolving around insidious villainy and blind, cult-like worship that infected the whole village like a contagion.

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Review: The Yellow Arrow by Victor Pelevin

The Yellow Arrow [1993] – ★★★★1/2

“How could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?”, Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

This is a sci-fi gem from Russia that centres on Andrei, one of the passengers of the mysterious, seemingly endless, train The Yellow Arrow, that makes its way without stops. Its journey already numbers years, but the passengers inside the train seem to treat their endless trip as though it is the most natural course of events, and for them, it is simply their daily life. Andrei and his friend Khan are probably the only people who are slowly realising that something is amiss in their lives. However, other passengers are too distracted by daily trivialities to question anything or ponder over some fundamental questions: how they ended up on this train in the first place? Why their journey takes so long?, and when will they finally reach their destination, which some believe to be one collapsed bridge? And, then, Andrei discovers letters from unknown persons lying around that may have hidden meaning, shedding light on what their seemingly eternal journey actually means. Pelevin, once dubbed “Russian Vonnegut”, crafted an allegorical novella that is perceptive and deeply philosophical. It is a satire bold in content, but subtle in meaning – like the very best of them.

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