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A review by jdhacker
Monday Starts on Saturday by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
What if Terry Pratchet had been born in Soviet Russia instead of Englad?
What if the company from Office Space researched magic?
What if Terry Gilliam intentionally set out to design academia cum government agency in charge of magic then filmed it?
Any of those could be the elevator pitch for Monday Start On Saturday. As is par for the course with the Strugatsky's, we have some brilliant criticism of the Soviet system deftly embedded in fantastical settings and storytelling to help them get by. We experience the inept silliness of the government agency in charge of magical research through a programmer and mathematician everyman. A lot of the fun is built around references to and easter eggs of a wide variety of folk/fairy tale characters as well as some literary characters. Unfortunately, while I recognized the vast majority, I think a few references to russian or slavic folktales went a bit over my head. Rather than a novel, this is really a set of vignettes, presented as both 'chapters' and 'stories' of various goings on at the Institute. As such, it does feel a little incomplete and meandering. It also lacks the overall punch that the tighter narrative of Roadside Picnic possessed.
What if the company from Office Space researched magic?
What if Terry Gilliam intentionally set out to design academia cum government agency in charge of magic then filmed it?
Any of those could be the elevator pitch for Monday Start On Saturday. As is par for the course with the Strugatsky's, we have some brilliant criticism of the Soviet system deftly embedded in fantastical settings and storytelling to help them get by. We experience the inept silliness of the government agency in charge of magical research through a programmer and mathematician everyman. A lot of the fun is built around references to and easter eggs of a wide variety of folk/fairy tale characters as well as some literary characters. Unfortunately, while I recognized the vast majority, I think a few references to russian or slavic folktales went a bit over my head. Rather than a novel, this is really a set of vignettes, presented as both 'chapters' and 'stories' of various goings on at the Institute. As such, it does feel a little incomplete and meandering. It also lacks the overall punch that the tighter narrative of Roadside Picnic possessed.