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Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia
In Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia , acclaimed author José Manuel Prieto has masterfully crafted a kaleidoscopic portrait of post-Communist Russia. Strikingly poetic and cleverly humorous, it's the story of two misfits caught between old world traditions and the lure of contemporary Western influences as they set off on an adventure to immerse themselves in the beauty of the world.
Thelonius Monk (not his real name) and Linda Evangelista (not her real name) meet in Saint Petersburg after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. They journey to Yalta, where Thelonius promises to make Linda famous in the fashion magazines. But in fact, he's drafting a novel about her. Over the course of their travels, the two indulge in all sorts of sensual amusements—extravagant dinners, luxury automobiles, seaside hotels—while they engage in grand discussions of love, art, celebrity, and other existential polarities.
Alphabetically organized from Abacus to Zizi, this book defies chronology and conformity. Finding the sublime in the trivial through meditations on wildly varied subjects of fact and fancy—from Bach and Dostoyevsky to Italian alligator shoes and fluoride toothpaste—Prieto ardently explores the crossroads of literature, philosophy, history, and pop culture in this singular novel that captures a nation straddling custom and innovation.
Thelonius Monk (not his real name) and Linda Evangelista (not her real name) meet in Saint Petersburg after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. They journey to Yalta, where Thelonius promises to make Linda famous in the fashion magazines. But in fact, he's drafting a novel about her. Over the course of their travels, the two indulge in all sorts of sensual amusements—extravagant dinners, luxury automobiles, seaside hotels—while they engage in grand discussions of love, art, celebrity, and other existential polarities.
Alphabetically organized from Abacus to Zizi, this book defies chronology and conformity. Finding the sublime in the trivial through meditations on wildly varied subjects of fact and fancy—from Bach and Dostoyevsky to Italian alligator shoes and fluoride toothpaste—Prieto ardently explores the crossroads of literature, philosophy, history, and pop culture in this singular novel that captures a nation straddling custom and innovation.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 9, 2017
Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia tells the story of Cuban immigrant Thelonious Monk (not his real name) living in post-Soviet Russia. Monk loves women, many of them, particularly beautiful women. In St Petersburg he meets a young woman named Linda Evangelista (also not her real name) and after brief affair and some correspondence the two strangers become an inseparable pair. He takes her to Yalta where he starts work on a new novel about her, his notes for this novel comprise of this Encyclopaedia.
This is a really tricky novel to talk about, let alone try to understand but I will try to do my best. The novel explores these two misfits as they try to explore through a world that is changing. They are caught between old traditions and modern consumerism. I suspect that Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia is semi-autobiographical as José Manuel Prieto spent twenty years in Russian. Not knowing much of José’s life only leaves me to speculate, but I have to wonder if he is Thelonious, then who is Linda (real name Anastasia Stárseva according to an entry in the ‘L’). She comes across as a really interesting and mysterious character, a modernist who in a past like was an unorthodox poet and bourgeois muse.
The novel is a fusion of history, philosophy, social-critique and in my opinion autobiographical fiction. Though, like many other postmodern novels, there is a degree of difficulty in reading it; the rewards are great but I can’t help wondering just what I’m actually reading here. It’s a satirical, philosophical, meta-fictional encyclopaedia which is evocative of the era in which it was compiled in. This makes it incredibly complex and that would require more knowledge to understand it better. There are references that range from Bach to Dostoyevsky but also consumerism. I found a lot of nods to Russian literature and a better knowledge of this (especially Checkov) would be a huge asset to this novel.
The characters think of themselves as avatars of consumer culture, navigating the border between art and commerce during the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. This means we get this interesting perpective of a changing Russia. Mixed in are conversations about advertisement copy and art criticism. This is invoking a blending (and changing) from the old traditional high art to a more commercial culture.
I love the way that the novel is broken into mock Encyclopaedia entries; it was an interesting narrative type but surprisingly informative. The book did force me to flip between entries, I often found myself going back and forth but this ended up creating an ever-deepening picture of the world they are living in. Reading Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia runs the risk of looking like an idiot while trying to understand this overly complex novel but the reward is far greater and in the end well worth the effort.
I did take me a while to get through this book and even longer to put together my thoughts from the notes I made (yes, I’m trying to write notes now, does it reflect in my reviews?) but I’m so glad I read this novel. The novel is packed with wit, irony, philosophical thought and the written in a poetic voice. This is a translated book from Spanish and I can’t help but be angry that something can sound so beautiful after being translated out of its original language. If you are not afraid of post modernist novels and are willing to put the time and effort into this book, then reading Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia will be highly rewarding experience.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-rev...
This is a really tricky novel to talk about, let alone try to understand but I will try to do my best. The novel explores these two misfits as they try to explore through a world that is changing. They are caught between old traditions and modern consumerism. I suspect that Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia is semi-autobiographical as José Manuel Prieto spent twenty years in Russian. Not knowing much of José’s life only leaves me to speculate, but I have to wonder if he is Thelonious, then who is Linda (real name Anastasia Stárseva according to an entry in the ‘L’). She comes across as a really interesting and mysterious character, a modernist who in a past like was an unorthodox poet and bourgeois muse.
The novel is a fusion of history, philosophy, social-critique and in my opinion autobiographical fiction. Though, like many other postmodern novels, there is a degree of difficulty in reading it; the rewards are great but I can’t help wondering just what I’m actually reading here. It’s a satirical, philosophical, meta-fictional encyclopaedia which is evocative of the era in which it was compiled in. This makes it incredibly complex and that would require more knowledge to understand it better. There are references that range from Bach to Dostoyevsky but also consumerism. I found a lot of nods to Russian literature and a better knowledge of this (especially Checkov) would be a huge asset to this novel.
The characters think of themselves as avatars of consumer culture, navigating the border between art and commerce during the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. This means we get this interesting perpective of a changing Russia. Mixed in are conversations about advertisement copy and art criticism. This is invoking a blending (and changing) from the old traditional high art to a more commercial culture.
I love the way that the novel is broken into mock Encyclopaedia entries; it was an interesting narrative type but surprisingly informative. The book did force me to flip between entries, I often found myself going back and forth but this ended up creating an ever-deepening picture of the world they are living in. Reading Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia runs the risk of looking like an idiot while trying to understand this overly complex novel but the reward is far greater and in the end well worth the effort.
I did take me a while to get through this book and even longer to put together my thoughts from the notes I made (yes, I’m trying to write notes now, does it reflect in my reviews?) but I’m so glad I read this novel. The novel is packed with wit, irony, philosophical thought and the written in a poetic voice. This is a translated book from Spanish and I can’t help but be angry that something can sound so beautiful after being translated out of its original language. If you are not afraid of post modernist novels and are willing to put the time and effort into this book, then reading Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia will be highly rewarding experience.
This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-rev...
February 15, 2013
Beware the Experimental Novel. Only grad students in Literature should be reading this. The adjective "pretentious" doesn't even begin to capture it.
Read
January 20, 2016Dnf, I barely manage 15% of it.
An experimental novel that defies order and chronological time; with encyclopedia like entries. The problem is not really the missing chronological order; but all this entries! I cannot see how they corroborate the whole story - I guess that comes at the end of the novel; but I cannot work out enough patience to continue. I was also annoyed by all the unknown(to me!) external/other novel/other domains referenced because the author didn't 'motivated' me in any way to research them...
Guess I'll have to draw the line here, definitely not for me...
An experimental novel that defies order and chronological time; with encyclopedia like entries. The problem is not really the missing chronological order; but all this entries! I cannot see how they corroborate the whole story - I guess that comes at the end of the novel; but I cannot work out enough patience to continue. I was also annoyed by all the unknown(to me!) external/other novel/other domains referenced because the author didn't 'motivated' me in any way to research them...
Guess I'll have to draw the line here, definitely not for me...
December 16, 2012
This is a spectacular book. As intellectually satisfying as Rex, if not more so, and pretty damn unique. As implied by the title, this is a novel that's actually an encyclopedia, one that lists various aspects of Russian life while detailing the author's attempt to create a novel out of an everyday love and consumerism. To do this, the author (who refers to himself as Thelonious Monk) convinces a redhaired woman (renamed Linda Evangelista) to play this role, let him buy her all the things, and then travel to Yalta. Along the way, he litters his notes with information about life in the Imperium from the unique perspective of a Cuban living in this walled off country. (The book takes place mostly before the implosion of the USSR.) Oh, and he's also pursued by a few people out to steal the money he supposedly has to pay for this created love fiction . . .
There are very few writers working in this smart, Nabokovian-tinged way as successful as Prieto. Kudos to Grove for continuing on with publishing him, and I can't wait for more of his works to come out.
Oh, and he gets an extra half-star because his brother owns one of the most curious nightclubs in Rochester.
There are very few writers working in this smart, Nabokovian-tinged way as successful as Prieto. Kudos to Grove for continuing on with publishing him, and I can't wait for more of his works to come out.
Oh, and he gets an extra half-star because his brother owns one of the most curious nightclubs in Rochester.
December 13, 2024
Really good but never makes it to be great. I managed to feel a deep fondness for this book anyway.
Almost reaches Umberto Eco levels of erudite pretentiousness (which I adore) and almost reaches The Master and Margarita level absurdist Soviet humor. But just almost for both of these. I loved the encyclopedia experimental format as well but it never quite mastered it. Also strongly reminded me of Disco Elysium (again for the Soviet reasons and the absurdist tinge to the humor).
People who love any or all of these things (experimental novel formats, academic pretentiousness, absurdism, a deep understanding of the late Soviet mindset) will probably enjoy this book.
Almost reaches Umberto Eco levels of erudite pretentiousness (which I adore) and almost reaches The Master and Margarita level absurdist Soviet humor. But just almost for both of these. I loved the encyclopedia experimental format as well but it never quite mastered it. Also strongly reminded me of Disco Elysium (again for the Soviet reasons and the absurdist tinge to the humor).
People who love any or all of these things (experimental novel formats, academic pretentiousness, absurdism, a deep understanding of the late Soviet mindset) will probably enjoy this book.
January 21, 2022
Hmm... what to say here
I enjoyed this book but I don’t feel as if I fully got it.
Lots of references / allusions to The Master and the Margarita (rip never finished) and other ~seminal~ works of Russian literature that maybe would have helped in the understanding of the story but like was there a plot? I honestly don't get it. Also very meta and experimental, kind of off-brand and not sure the framework worked for me. Interesting to read about the perspective of a Cuban in Russia and well-written work if extremely disjointed.
I enjoyed this book but I don’t feel as if I fully got it.
Lots of references / allusions to The Master and the Margarita (rip never finished) and other ~seminal~ works of Russian literature that maybe would have helped in the understanding of the story but like was there a plot? I honestly don't get it. Also very meta and experimental, kind of off-brand and not sure the framework worked for me. Interesting to read about the perspective of a Cuban in Russia and well-written work if extremely disjointed.
March 4, 2013
This book is magic. It has a sensory pull, just as strong as your grandmother's perfume, back to a certain time and place. I can't recommend it enough for anyone who has experience with an expat life in Russia - a maelstrom of memories, allusions and that bittersweet recognition of a love-hate relationship with a unique universe.
Equally beguiling is Prieto's form - a cross-referenced story that makes the reader assemble a narrative, a stage and a cast. Utterly original and erudite.
Equally beguiling is Prieto's form - a cross-referenced story that makes the reader assemble a narrative, a stage and a cast. Utterly original and erudite.
April 14, 2016
While reading this work, I was tempted to chuck it, in stead I found it was best to forego making sense of Monk and Linda's relationship and concentrate on the words added to Prieto's encyclopedia which semi explains some of the absurdities engulfing Russia shortly after the fall of communism. It got me through to the conclusion but I can't say I liked it any better.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews