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A review by rosseroo
The Lying Year by Marian Schwartz, Andrey Gelasimov, Андрей Геласимов
2.0
With the benefit of 10-20 years of distance, it's unarguable that the decade following the dissolution of the USSR was more or less a disaster for the average Russian. Treated to a series of bewildering economic and political reforms that rendered state services completely unreliable, their savings more or less worthless, the rule of law shaky at best, and funneled wealth and power into the hands of a select band of oligarchs/mafia, it's hardly surprising that the effects continue to resonate across Russian society today. This novel from one of Russia's more well-regarded writers revisits those uncertain times with a story set the months leading up to the 1998 Russian fiscal crisis (aka the "Ruble crisis").
Mikhail Vorobyov is a twenty-something screwup/slacker who's recently been fired from his job at a large industrial firm in Moscow for boozing on the job. To his astonishment, he is summoned to the boss's office, where he is made an offer he can't refuse. The boss (a budding oligarch) is concerned that his teenage son is some kind of deviant or sissy, as he spends all day in his room on his computer. The boss wants Mikhail to teach him to be a man, take him out on the town, introduce him to vodka and women -- for which he will be paid a very handsome salary and given the use of a shiny new Land Rover. Naturally, Mikhail jumps at the offer and wacky hi-jinks ensure. Or rather, somewhat wacky hi-jinks sometimes ensue.
After this promising setup, the book never picks up a head of steam, instead meandering all over the place with little urgency or focus. It turns out the teenager has a secret lover, but his father has pledged him to the daughter of an Italian concrete magnate, so that's one thread. Mikhail turns out to be attracted to the kid's lover, so that's another thread. There's plenty of deception (hence the title), plenty of intragenerational issues, plenty of "New Russia" problems (like a gangster who takes over a market stall), some comic set pieces, some gunplay, some diary excerpts, some other voices -- but none of it really adds up to anything really compelling. It's more a series of vignettes or impressions or moods, as opposed to a compelling story. Those who need their fiction to be plot-driven will likely be frustrated, while those who feed on character will find a little more to chew on -- a little, not a lot. Worth trying if you've got some connection to Russia or Russian fiction, otherwise I can't recommend it. It's never a good sign when I'm able to put a book down for a few days and completely forget about it, and that happened several times with this book.
Mikhail Vorobyov is a twenty-something screwup/slacker who's recently been fired from his job at a large industrial firm in Moscow for boozing on the job. To his astonishment, he is summoned to the boss's office, where he is made an offer he can't refuse. The boss (a budding oligarch) is concerned that his teenage son is some kind of deviant or sissy, as he spends all day in his room on his computer. The boss wants Mikhail to teach him to be a man, take him out on the town, introduce him to vodka and women -- for which he will be paid a very handsome salary and given the use of a shiny new Land Rover. Naturally, Mikhail jumps at the offer and wacky hi-jinks ensure. Or rather, somewhat wacky hi-jinks sometimes ensue.
After this promising setup, the book never picks up a head of steam, instead meandering all over the place with little urgency or focus. It turns out the teenager has a secret lover, but his father has pledged him to the daughter of an Italian concrete magnate, so that's one thread. Mikhail turns out to be attracted to the kid's lover, so that's another thread. There's plenty of deception (hence the title), plenty of intragenerational issues, plenty of "New Russia" problems (like a gangster who takes over a market stall), some comic set pieces, some gunplay, some diary excerpts, some other voices -- but none of it really adds up to anything really compelling. It's more a series of vignettes or impressions or moods, as opposed to a compelling story. Those who need their fiction to be plot-driven will likely be frustrated, while those who feed on character will find a little more to chew on -- a little, not a lot. Worth trying if you've got some connection to Russia or Russian fiction, otherwise I can't recommend it. It's never a good sign when I'm able to put a book down for a few days and completely forget about it, and that happened several times with this book.