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angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
3.0
A glance at the banality and faults of the former Soviet Union which tried for 70+ years to “make Communism work.” Not as funny as I was hoping although likely because it had a pretty serious underlying social commentary. Recent poll showed that 87% of Millennials believe that humanity needs to “give Communism a try.” Uh...not sure what that’s a more serious commentary of, perhaps education. Read this book and be educated.
slothroptightpants's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
pernille_branden's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tobsi's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? It's complicated
sarapalooza's review against another edition
3.0
A surreal romp. The Le Monde review likened it to Ionesco and I can see the parallels. Stranger than fiction, Vadim’s adventures are inspired by the challenges of a planned economy. Unique and irreverent. Sorokin is a strange one.
dlberglund's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't ever read a book like this before, and I bet you haven't, either. It's all dialogue. No dialogue tags or attributions, no action description, no identification of speakers, just the overhearing of dialogue from an unnamed number of 1980s Soviet folks standing in line for....something. We use our powers of deduction to suss out some of the frequently heard from characters, some of whom have names, some whose names we will never know. It feels absurdist (what are they hoping to get at the front of the line? Do they even know?) and symbolic and also mundane. Interesting, for sure.
jovannareyesc's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
wshier's review against another edition
3.0
Very creative, funny, and not long. I actually witnessed some of these lines, which probably added to my enjoyment.
vanjr's review against another edition
1.0
The idea of this book sounds interesting. And maybe it is interesting in it's original language and/or to those who lived thru this era. But to me, a simple, Non-academic Russian literature-ophile this is at best a yawner.