Doorstop tradition revived in Russia

Thu Aug 10 12:07:54 CDT 2006

Also, given the political climate in Russia, I would say that it's
possible that while some critics probably did find it to be trash,
some may have said it out of fear...  something to consider, at least,
but I guess that's even worse than trying to dissect a 1000 page book
from nothing but a one-page blurb.

On 8/10/06, jd <wescac at gmail.com> wrote:
> Would a 1500 page book sell out in the US?  Possibly (and anyways it
> only ran 5000 copies for its first print run) - if only because a
> bunch of people wanted the fattest book around to display on their
> bookshelves, especially if it got critical acclaim.  Wasn't Infinite
> Jest a nationwide bestseller?  I wonder how many actually read it?
>
> I'm looking forward to what he does against the avant-garde artists -
> I hope he digresses back to the revolution and covers their influence
> during that period.  The book on the Russian revolution I was reading
> talked a bit about them - one of the most awesome things I've ever
> heard of was this song called Iron Foundries which was, I guess, an
> "industrial ballet" where instruments mimicked the noise of machinery,
> and "this was performed in Baku in 1922 using foghorns of the Caspian
> fleet, factory sirens, two batteries of artillery, machine guns and
> massed choirs".  Now THAT'S fucking MUSIC.
>
> But anyways I'd love to see him tie it all together through the years...
>
> On 8/10/06, Ya Sam <takoitov at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > The reviews of this novel are divided. Some trash it, some proclaim it to be
> > a masterpiece. One of the main strands of the text is an evil satire against
> > contemporary Russian avant-garde artists (a Whole Sick Crew of sorts). One
> > of the episodes mentioned in a review is really hilarious and Pynchonesque:
> > An artist publicly sodomises a ferret as part of performance and
> > subsequently falls in love with him.
> >
> >
> > >From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
> > >To: "Catherine Edwards" <catherinemarymary at yahoo.co.uk>
> > >CC: jd <wescac at gmail.com>, "Ya Sam" <takoitov at hotmail.com>,
> > >pynchon-l at waste.org
> > >Subject: Re: Doorstop tradition revived in Russia
> > >Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 10:37:10 -0400
> > >
> > >a bit on the didactic side sounds like
> > >1500 pgs of that would be insufferable
> > >
> > >black comedy works much better
> > >rich
> > >
> > >On 8/10/06, Catherine Edwards <catherinemarymary at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>According to a friend his agency in London is David
> > >>Godwin, so hopefully they'll get on the case with
> > >>translation into English.  It sounds brilliant.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>--- jd <wescac at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > I wonder if it'll ever be translated...
> > >> >
> > >> > On 8/9/06, Ya Sam <takoitov at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > >> > >
> > >> > > "A RUSSIAN artist is being heralded as the new
> > >> > Tolstoy after his debut novel
> > >> > > sold out within four weeks in Moscow despite being
> > >> > a daunting 1500 pages
> > >> > > long.
> > >> > > Maxim Kantor, 48, achieved fame on the Russian
> > >> > underground art scene of the
> > >> > > 1980s and 90s and has 140 etchings in the British
> > >> > Museum.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > He decided to write his modern-day War and Peace
> > >> > because he was
> > >> > > disillusioned by Russia's experience of democracy.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > "I always thought I'd write a big novel about what
> > >> > happened to my country
> > >> > > and to the world," he said.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > "It was obvious that in the last 20 years we were
> > >> > passing through a very
> > >> > > dramatic and important period and big questions
> > >> > needed to be asked about
> > >> > > freedom and civilisation.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > "I had been thinking about it for years. Then one
> > >> > day I was suddenly 44 and
> > >> > > I thought, if I don't start now, I never will."
> > >> > >
> > >> > > He spent four years on the epic work, The Drawing
> > >> > Textbook, which opens with
> > >> > > the emergence of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet
> > >> > leader in 1985 and follows the
> > >> > > subsequent 20 years of tremendous change in
> > >> > Russia.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > Although it traces the fortunes and thwarted loves
> > >> > of one family of
> > >> > > intelligentsia, it is also a political satire with
> > >> > a huge cast of artists,
> > >> > > critics, secret policemen, oligarchs and
> > >> > politicians, including Boris
> > >> > > Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > .....
> > >> > >
> > >> > > The book has an unusual structure. Each chapter
> > >> > begins with a couple of
> > >> > > pages on drawing, which together form a textbook.
> > >> > After every two fiction
> > >> > > chapters, there is a political chronicle
> > >> > commenting on the economy, the arts
> > >> > > and world events such as the war in Iraq".
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >>http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19134129-5001986,00.html
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> >
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> > >> >
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
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