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A review by caliesha
Envy by Yuri Olesha
3.0
…Yes, envy. Here a drama must unfold, one of those grandiose dramas in the theater of history that have inspired the lament, ecstasy, sympathy, and fury of mankind. Without even knowing it, you are a bearer of a historical mission. You are a clot, so to speak. A clot of envy in the dying era’s bloodstream. The dying era envies the era that’s coming to take its place.
The immediate effects of this novel on me were twofold in nature: on one hand, appealing to my romantic sensibilities, I was struck with the desire to write poetry on a bench and listen to the bells toll in Moscow town square; on the other hand, characterized by a strong sense of revulsion, I was struck by the overwhelming desire to go vegan. I am not interested in knowing how the sausage is made, even when it is a metaphor for the envy of the eras and Olesha’s central focus on gluttony and power. I respect the satirization and flowery prose, but overall not my fave.
The immediate effects of this novel on me were twofold in nature: on one hand, appealing to my romantic sensibilities, I was struck with the desire to write poetry on a bench and listen to the bells toll in Moscow town square; on the other hand, characterized by a strong sense of revulsion, I was struck by the overwhelming desire to go vegan. I am not interested in knowing how the sausage is made, even when it is a metaphor for the envy of the eras and Olesha’s central focus on gluttony and power. I respect the satirization and flowery prose, but overall not my fave.