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echan1910 's review for:
Moscow to the End of the Line
by Venedikt Erofeev
This book was nearly incomprehensible to me, because it was so intellectual. On every page was some sort of reference to a famous author or work, it was like a reading list caught up in a story.
This had a structure very unlike any book I've read. It was almost stream-of-consciousness, like a diary entry. And it was pseudo-autobiographical, a strange choice—I don't really know much about the author, I wish I did. But apparently this book is legendary, and it did feel like something that could be enjoyed by an entire population because it captured the "spirit" of the country.
The story made me laugh out loud. It was often very funny, and then abruptly philosophical. It definitely felt too smart for me, there was a lot I didn't understand. And the plot was deliberately muddled; I was so concerned with the linear progression of the plot that I would get annoyed and confused at the book. Once I was able to let that go, it was much easier to enjoy. But the philosophical stuff—I should come back to this book when I'm older and wiser, or when I take a philosophy class eventually. I'll amend the rating once I come back and understand the book better.
Surprised about how little the devil showed up, though I do think I could've been missing it. Satan was there for like two paragraphs, and all he said was, "Maybe you should jump off the train" and Venichka was like, "No." Wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
After one semester and four famous books from Russian literature, I can say that I need a little bit of a break from it. I loved it, I felt like I am better for it, and it was definitely one of my favorite classes this semester, but it was exhausting—especially Dostoevsky. Yikes! There are books I want to eventually read, more Dostoevsky and I need to read some Pushkin. But I had the best time checking these books off my list, and checking out books from the library!! What a thrill!!!
This had a structure very unlike any book I've read. It was almost stream-of-consciousness, like a diary entry. And it was pseudo-autobiographical, a strange choice—I don't really know much about the author, I wish I did. But apparently this book is legendary, and it did feel like something that could be enjoyed by an entire population because it captured the "spirit" of the country.
The story made me laugh out loud. It was often very funny, and then abruptly philosophical. It definitely felt too smart for me, there was a lot I didn't understand. And the plot was deliberately muddled; I was so concerned with the linear progression of the plot that I would get annoyed and confused at the book. Once I was able to let that go, it was much easier to enjoy. But the philosophical stuff—I should come back to this book when I'm older and wiser, or when I take a philosophy class eventually. I'll amend the rating once I come back and understand the book better.
Surprised about how little the devil showed up, though I do think I could've been missing it. Satan was there for like two paragraphs, and all he said was, "Maybe you should jump off the train" and Venichka was like, "No." Wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
After one semester and four famous books from Russian literature, I can say that I need a little bit of a break from it. I loved it, I felt like I am better for it, and it was definitely one of my favorite classes this semester, but it was exhausting—especially Dostoevsky. Yikes! There are books I want to eventually read, more Dostoevsky and I need to read some Pushkin. But I had the best time checking these books off my list, and checking out books from the library!! What a thrill!!!