2017

by Olga Slavnikova and Slavnikova Ol'ga Aleksandrovna

Book Overview

Professor Anfilogov, a wealthy and emotionless man, sets out on an expedition to unearth priceless rubies that no one else has been able to locate. His expedition reveals ugly truths about man's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590203097
• ISBN13: 9781590203095
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.6" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Not perfect, but complex and original

I am glad I finished this book. I enjoyed it immensely though it very difficult to get through the first chapter. The language there is overloaded with analogies that are overly conspicuous to the point of being a distraction. After that it seemed the author forgot about trying so hard to write, relaxed and wrote the rest of the story-- which is imaginative, complex, and vivid. I really enjoyed the blending of myth, sci-fi, romance, and adventure. I'll admit that there were aspects of these that were just touched on, and then not followed up on very clearly-- so you'll have to fill in some blanks with your own imagination. The characters are almost archetypal in nature; they are clearly under the control of fate and destiny-- a strong theme of the novel. The characterization lends itself well to the authenticity theme of the novel as well (none of them are authentic-- they are universal puppets). The Riphean mountain area is beautifully imagined and vividly created for the reader (my favorite part of the book). It is contrasted sharply with the city-- which was equally vividly described as dull, dreary, even rotten. The sci-fi gadgetry was somewhat ridiculous-- and very uneven given the lack of other technology that does actually exist but seemed not to in the novel. I don't think it was necessary to the plot and could have been omitted. Overall I thought it was an unusual & totally original book with writing that ranged from awful to genius (not sure how much the translation played a role here). It was a challenging read, and even now that I've finished it I don't completely understand the political aspects of it (possibly due to my 0-knowledge of modern day Russia). I would recommend this book to anyone who is patient enough to take in it's complexities and is tired of the lightweight formulaic novels that American writers are churning out these days. 4 stars

A Novel of Ideas

Krylov is a young and extremely talented gem cutter who is obsessed by transparency, with the luminous quality of rubies and other precious stones. He is also obsessed by the mysterious Tanya, with whom he has a prolonged, bizarre affair founded on exceptional uncertainties, and who -- he fantasizes -- will help him (as soon as he has enough money) escape the prison that is his life. But this is the centenary of the October Revolution, and reality and fantasy, past and future, hopes and hazards, are getting hard to separate. This is a Russia of the future, where the country's harsh realities, ecological disasters and criminality have become amplified with time. Krylov, who just wants to slough off his violent, criminal exoskeleton, finds instead that his life is getting increasingly complicated, that the noose is tightening and there may be no way out. 2017 is a novel of ideas in the tradition of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, yet set in the mineral- and myth-rich Urals. Slavni­kova's prose is dauntingly dense in the first third of the novel, and it is difficult to slog through her layering of back stories, but the payoff is well worth it. Marian Schwartz's translation is opulent and lucid, belying the countless linguistic knots she had to unravel in order to birth this dense Booker-winning novel into English. In short, a gem. As reviewed in Russian Life.

Russian dystopian fiction

Russian fiction has been full of writers that capture that existential angst that is prevalent in Russian fiction from Tolsty and Dostoevsky, to the modern with Olga Slavnikova. The long cold winters, and the harsh climate, seem to bring out this existential angst about life, society, and the world. And this is prevalent in //2017//. Which follows Krylov in a fictional Russian town one hundred years after the rise of Communism in Russia. We follow Krylov as he has a love affair with a colleagues wife, who is away searching for rare gems that will make them rich. Krylov's not quite estranged ex-wife is keeping tabs on him and his new lover, as society breaks down around him, and Krylov barely notices. All Krylov is concerned with is gems and women. This novel is full of long descriptive passages, that almost run entire chapters. The descriptions of the land, people, and psyche. Slavnikova delves into the psyche of the modern Russian mind, that nothing is more important than yourself and possibly a few friends. This is definitely a Russian novel, and not for the faint of heart. Reviewed by Kevin Winter