Roadside Picnic Revisited: Seven Articles on the Soviet Novel that Inspired the Film "Stalker"

by Michael Andre-Driussi

A collection of essays and a book review relating to "Roadside Picnic," the Soviet science fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Six of the pieces were originally published in "The New York Review of Science Fiction," and the seventh is previously unpublished. The subject is the novel, and there is nothing about the movie beyond a brief mention. This book is approximately 12,200 words and about 43 Kindle pages long. Topics *Close reading of the novel to unlock its mysteries. *Translation triumphs and errors. *A British novel that had a profound influence on "Roadside Picnic." *The critical reception of "Roadside Picnic" in the West. *The original plan for "Roadside Picnic" and the terrible compromise that came. The "A 'Roadside Picnic' Triptych" "Notes on the New Translation of 'Roadside Picnic'" "The Politics of 'Roadside Picnic'" "Stalky v. Stalker, or, 'Stalky & Co.' against 'Roadside Picnic'" "The Lost Strugatsky Triptych 'Unintended Meetings'" "Searching for the Worst Edition of 'Roadside Picnic'" Review of "The Dead Mountaineer's Inn"

Genres: Essays, Science Fiction, Fiction

58 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2016

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this in an hour after finishing Roadside Picnic, and it doesn't add much. There's an essay on the idea that the Strugatsky brothers were pro-Soviet, and that the book is pro-Soviet/anti-capitalist as well, which is an interesting idea that then sort of gets beaten to death in the essay itself. Using the idea as a 'magic key' to the story, it amounts to sucking the magic out of the story.

There's a lot about mistakes in previous translations, which again is more interesting as an idea, and less so when you get down to the nitty gritty, comparing bits of text with eachother..

Turns out I read the most recent, corrected translation, so I win at reading Roadside Picnic.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I've always been interested in Tarkovsky's films (despite his overt misogyny), I was glad to have received a Kindle edition from a Goodreads giveaway. It clarifies translation issues of the original text.