The Compromise

by Sergei Dovlatov

Book Overview

Based on Dovlatov's experiences as a journalist in the Soviet Republic of Estonia, this is an acidly comic picture of ludicrous bureaucratic ineptitude, which obviously still continues.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394528557
• ISBN13: 9780394528557
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

damaged

I bought three copies to give as presents. Therefore, it did matter that two of the copies had small damages that disqualified them. I have to find something else on short "notice". So, while the book is full of humor and much fun, I wish they knew what people who buy a NEW book expect.

The Politics of "Blah"

Sergei Dovlatov's The Compromise is set in Brezhnev-era Soviet Talinn, where, among other equally and even more absurd things, it was decided that "the four-hundredth-thousandth inhabitant of Talinn" would be born on the eve of a jubilee marking the anniversary of the city's liberation. This child would not only be born happy, but would even be "condemned to happiness" (p.27). The contradiction in terms between condemnation and happiness is lost on the Soviet news architects who will spare no expense in their ostentatious displays of pseudo-national pride and feigned socialist fulfillment. In addition to spotlighting official propagandist policies, The Compromise captures an important trend in the USSR under Brezhnev: the decay of ideological fervor among the population and the emergence of widespread cynicism and stoicism that people rely on to navigate the exigencies of an increasingly absurd everyday life. The Soviet Union was notorious for its reliance on propaganda. Typically, official propaganda masks deep-seeted paranoia on the part of the ruling elite. It is part of a concerted effort to create a national myth. Under Brezhnev, the Soviet Union struggled to form an identity. It found itself torn between a reality that was completely undesirable and a fantastic view of itself that was utterly untenable. This illusion of identity was advanced through propaganda. There was a partial rehabilitation of Stalin in the Brezhnev era. The characters' outright cynicism reflects the easing of controls under Brezhnev compared to those that had existed under Stalin. While this partial rehabilitation of Stalin did not involve a return to purges, it did become more difficult to publish works that could anyway be construed as disapproving of the regime. The corollary of that, of course, is the publication of works that flatter the regime. This is what Dovlatov was tasked with. Dovlatov, the narrator, is a newspaper journalist who does not read newspapers out of "simple hostility to the official side of newspaper work" (p. 11). In his work, he must balance reporting actual facts with fluff aimed at promoting the official party line--with the balance tipped more to the latter. Typically this involved a complete repudiation of reality. His work exacts a heavy toll: he is an alcoholic. Dovlatov has no romantic notions about the value of his work. He realizes that he is peddling lies, but continues in his line of work to make money that he generally spends on alcohol and fast women. Through it all, he "had to concentrate. Otherwise the contours of reality might become hopelessly lost" (p.31). He is deeply aware that most of his readers know very well that what they read in the newspapers are lies: "in general, no matter what the press comes up with, it's hard to surprise the average reader. He's used to everything" (p.32). The narrator's cynicism is not unique. Cynicism, which began to emerge in the open in the early 1970s over the Soviet system's

one of my favorite authors to read for amusement

I am Russian, so I got the English version as a gift for my friend, knowing it's one of the best to read about soviet times and Russian great drinking sport. The author immigrated in New York in the 70s, so some of his latest stories are about America. I would very recommend this book. I have a whole collection of his essays, and no matter what book of his I pick up, it makes me laugh to tears!

Uncompromising entertainment

An easy but thought provoking read, this book contains short stories of Sergei Dovlatov's true experiences with journalistic manipulation in the Soviet Union. This book will keep you laughing, and also make you wonder if newspapers are as accurate as you once believed.

Captures the emptiness and ironies of late Communism.

Living as a Russian journalist in Soviet Estonia, Dovlatov captures the cynicism, emptiness, irony, isolation, careerism, and dissonance of late Soviet communism. It is a work of powerful literary force and profound human awareness.