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hanntastic's review against another edition
2.0
Global Read 194- Uzbekistan
I didn't enjoy reading this book, but I think a lot of that could be the translation. There was a ton of wordplay and it is very hard to translate that, but it just didn't work. There were a lot of times when I thought that a section would probably be better in Russian. Secondly, although the story was partially about how difficult it was to grow up black in Moscow, the book came off as racist rather than describing racism. I think again it is possible that it was the word choice of the translator. I could have dealt without every chapter describing his decomposing body- that was not the translator's fault.
I didn't enjoy reading this book, but I think a lot of that could be the translation. There was a ton of wordplay and it is very hard to translate that, but it just didn't work. There were a lot of times when I thought that a section would probably be better in Russian. Secondly, although the story was partially about how difficult it was to grow up black in Moscow, the book came off as racist rather than describing racism. I think again it is possible that it was the word choice of the translator. I could have dealt without every chapter describing his decomposing body- that was not the translator's fault.
ancab's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
eclectictales's review against another edition
3.0
This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/08/19/review-the-underground/
Ismailov’s novel is quite reminiscent to Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, which is not surprising given the title of this novel and the amount of reflection on Russian literature present throughout. It’s interesting to read and see how the author connects a character’s memory or experience with a station in Moscow, providing a rather dark and dank sort of atmosphere to the novel.
The novel itself introduces the reader to the hardships that Mbobo faces as a haf-Siberian, half-African living in Soviet Russia and in the lower rungs of Soviet society in the 1980s. For a society whose ideology includes the notion of friendship of nations and being equal with their fellow comrade, much of Mbobo’s experience is similar to many people of his race and parental heritage in the West during the century. He’s met with curiosity and revulsion, mockery and dismissal. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a stable family life as his mother takes him along from one house to another, trying to find work, trying to find a partner, making her way however she can.
The novel also reflects on society and Russian literature over the course of the chapters, sometimes reflected through Mbobo’s thoughts and his experiences in certain stations. Like the rest of the book, it doesn’t feel as fully-developed as they could be, serving more as snapshots and passing thoughts much like Mbobo’s memories and expeirences. It ultimately does not come out as a very hopeful book, despite of the open-ended ending, as Mbobo feels further isolated over the course of the book.
The Underground is a very interesting novel set at an interesting and tumultuous period of Soviet and Russian history. The storytelling also kept me quite engaged to the book; despite of all of Mbobo’s bad experiences and hardships, you can’t help but turn the page and find out what will happen next or what conclusion he will draw from these experiences. Readers interested in Russian and Soviet literature will want to check out this novel.
Ismailov’s novel is quite reminiscent to Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground, which is not surprising given the title of this novel and the amount of reflection on Russian literature present throughout. It’s interesting to read and see how the author connects a character’s memory or experience with a station in Moscow, providing a rather dark and dank sort of atmosphere to the novel.
The novel itself introduces the reader to the hardships that Mbobo faces as a haf-Siberian, half-African living in Soviet Russia and in the lower rungs of Soviet society in the 1980s. For a society whose ideology includes the notion of friendship of nations and being equal with their fellow comrade, much of Mbobo’s experience is similar to many people of his race and parental heritage in the West during the century. He’s met with curiosity and revulsion, mockery and dismissal. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a stable family life as his mother takes him along from one house to another, trying to find work, trying to find a partner, making her way however she can.
The novel also reflects on society and Russian literature over the course of the chapters, sometimes reflected through Mbobo’s thoughts and his experiences in certain stations. Like the rest of the book, it doesn’t feel as fully-developed as they could be, serving more as snapshots and passing thoughts much like Mbobo’s memories and expeirences. It ultimately does not come out as a very hopeful book, despite of the open-ended ending, as Mbobo feels further isolated over the course of the book.
The Underground is a very interesting novel set at an interesting and tumultuous period of Soviet and Russian history. The storytelling also kept me quite engaged to the book; despite of all of Mbobo’s bad experiences and hardships, you can’t help but turn the page and find out what will happen next or what conclusion he will draw from these experiences. Readers interested in Russian and Soviet literature will want to check out this novel.
sharongrigg's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This was real struggle to get through. Seemingly jumping around with little sense as to why, other than describing events occurring at various metro stations in and around Moscow. Left me wondering as to the point?
abookishtype's review against another edition
2.0
And now for the second book this week that puzzled me so much that I had to write a post about it. The Underground, by Hamid Ismailov, is a reflective story narrated by a dead child from Moscow. Mbobo, sometimes called Kirill or “Pushkin,” was probably doomed from the start. He’s the son of a Uzbek woman who came to Moscow to work during the 1980 Olympics and an athlete from an unnamed African country. His mother is disowned by her parents and makes a living on the margins of social acceptance. Mbobo’s mother and his various “step-fathers” are alternately abusive and solicitous to him. This didn’t confuse me. What confused me was Mbobo’s narrative style. The boy is a voracious reader. One of his step-fathers is a writer (but mostly a drunk). Mbobo tells his story with plenty of rhetorical and literary flourishes that make things hard to follow, while also raising the specter of an unbelievably precocious and self-aware juvenile narrator...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this ebook from Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this ebook from Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
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