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Goatibex Constellation
The Goatibex Constellation is the story of a young newspaperman who returns to his native Abkhazia and is soon caught up in the publicity campaign for a newly produced farm animal—a cross between a goat and a West Caucasian tur. What follows is a vicious and hilarious satire of the Soviet Union’s top-down approach to agriculture, genetics…and just about everything else. Harshly criticized at home upon its publication in 1966, The Goatibex Constellation is as fresh, imaginative, and damning today as it was then.
132 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
10 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Fazil Iskander
155 books47 followersFazil Abdulovich Iskander, also known in Russian as Фазиль Искандер, arguably the most famous Abkhaz writer, renowned in the former Soviet Union for his vivid descriptions, mostly written in Russian, of Caucasian life. He has written various stories, most famously "Zashita Chika", which star a crafty and likable young boy named "Chik".
The most famous intellectual of Abkhazia, he distanced himself from the Abkhaz secessionist strivings in the late 1980s and criticised both Georgian and Abkhaz communities of Abkhazia for their ethnic prejudices. He warned that Abkhazia could become a new Nagorno-Karabakh.
He was probably best known in the English speaking world for Sandro of Chegem, a picaresque novel that recounts life in a fictional Abkhaz village from the early years of the 20th century until the 1970s, which evoked praise for the author as "an Abkhazian Mark Twain." Mr. Iskander's humor, like Mark Twain's, has a tendency to sneak up on you instead of hitting you over the head. This rambling, amusing and ironic work has been considered as an example of magic realism, although Iskander himself said he "did not care for Latin American magic realism in general". A section of the novel dealing with Sandro's encounter with Joseph Stalin was made into the Russian film Baltazar's Feasts, or a Night with Stalin in 1989.
Iskander lived in Moscow and was a writer for the newspaper Kultura.
The most famous intellectual of Abkhazia, he distanced himself from the Abkhaz secessionist strivings in the late 1980s and criticised both Georgian and Abkhaz communities of Abkhazia for their ethnic prejudices. He warned that Abkhazia could become a new Nagorno-Karabakh.
He was probably best known in the English speaking world for Sandro of Chegem, a picaresque novel that recounts life in a fictional Abkhaz village from the early years of the 20th century until the 1970s, which evoked praise for the author as "an Abkhazian Mark Twain." Mr. Iskander's humor, like Mark Twain's, has a tendency to sneak up on you instead of hitting you over the head. This rambling, amusing and ironic work has been considered as an example of magic realism, although Iskander himself said he "did not care for Latin American magic realism in general". A section of the novel dealing with Sandro's encounter with Joseph Stalin was made into the Russian film Baltazar's Feasts, or a Night with Stalin in 1989.
Iskander lived in Moscow and was a writer for the newspaper Kultura.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 12, 2018
Una piacevole piccola sorpresa trovata fra i libri bookcrossing durante un meetup.
Un sogno di innovazione culturale e produttiva ( quella dell’incrocio ai fini economici di una capra con un toro di montagna) che verrà inserito in una campagna di promozione che sfuggirà di mano al suo stesso ideatore.
la vicenda si svolge in uno piccolo stato dell’impero sovietico, l’Abkhazia, snodandosi tra impeti di entusiasmo, propaganda gonfiata e il complesso sistema burocratico. Ironico e dolceamaro.
“Di profilo, il muso del caprotoro assomigliava al viso di un aristocratico decaduto, con il labbro inferiore che sporgeva in un’espressione di profondo scetticismo. Visto di fronte, invece, con le corna possenti magnificamente attorcigliate, l’animale sembrava esprimere una certa perplessità, quasi non riuscisse nemmeno lui a comprendere chi fosse in definitiva: una capra o un toro e se dovesse trasformarsi in una capra o restare, invece, un toro.”
Un sogno di innovazione culturale e produttiva ( quella dell’incrocio ai fini economici di una capra con un toro di montagna) che verrà inserito in una campagna di promozione che sfuggirà di mano al suo stesso ideatore.
la vicenda si svolge in uno piccolo stato dell’impero sovietico, l’Abkhazia, snodandosi tra impeti di entusiasmo, propaganda gonfiata e il complesso sistema burocratico. Ironico e dolceamaro.
“Di profilo, il muso del caprotoro assomigliava al viso di un aristocratico decaduto, con il labbro inferiore che sporgeva in un’espressione di profondo scetticismo. Visto di fronte, invece, con le corna possenti magnificamente attorcigliate, l’animale sembrava esprimere una certa perplessità, quasi non riuscisse nemmeno lui a comprendere chi fosse in definitiva: una capra o un toro e se dovesse trasformarsi in una capra o restare, invece, un toro.”
August 15, 2016
Not as witty as 'Sandro of Chegem' is, this book is undoubtedly good; it makes serene but bittersweet impression while being read.
November 2, 2024
An interesting undertaking, to say the least...
September 11, 2022
Good satire. Pretty funny.
March 16, 2025
A beautiful mix of lyricism and satire. Bittersweet memories of past, childhood, the war, being in love, experiencing small humiliations, all served in such a lively and easy, confident manner. The writing is aphoristic. For example, there is an episode where the character enjoys cheap lemonade that tastes luxorious: "life is just: if you ever buy a lemonade that tastes as good as champagne, then later in life you're sure to be served champagne that will taste just as lemonade." One of the novel's themes is how good and bad experiences often mix up and balance each other. This idea was served in multiple humorous, fresh ways.
Iskander reminds us that one the challenges life provides is to make use of anger and bad obstacles, to create something out of them. For example, one the characters gained a free drink every night because of their difficult life history, and everyone liked the character's company because it was nice to know that there is someone with more life difficulties than oneself.
The novel seems to explore a world that feels chaotic, however, it feels as if navigating and living amidst such madness may be sometimes a beautiful experience.
The text immerses from page one, it is easy to read and has lots of humour and wordplay that I hope is not entirely lost in translation.
One quote:
"Я был почти неуязвим, потому что часть моей жизни, мое начало шумело и жило в горах. Когда человек ощущает свое начало и свое продолжение, он щедрей и правильней располагает своей жизнью и его трудней ограбить, потому что он не все свои богатства держит при себе."
Here's some kind of corrected Google translate version:
"I was almost invulnerable because part of my life, my beginning, was roaring and living in the mountains. When a person feels his beginning and his continuation, he gives from his life more generously and correctly. It is more difficult to rob him, because he does not keep all his riches to himself."
Iskander reminds us that one the challenges life provides is to make use of anger and bad obstacles, to create something out of them. For example, one the characters gained a free drink every night because of their difficult life history, and everyone liked the character's company because it was nice to know that there is someone with more life difficulties than oneself.
The novel seems to explore a world that feels chaotic, however, it feels as if navigating and living amidst such madness may be sometimes a beautiful experience.
The text immerses from page one, it is easy to read and has lots of humour and wordplay that I hope is not entirely lost in translation.
One quote:
"Я был почти неуязвим, потому что часть моей жизни, мое начало шумело и жило в горах. Когда человек ощущает свое начало и свое продолжение, он щедрей и правильней располагает своей жизнью и его трудней ограбить, потому что он не все свои богатства держит при себе."
Here's some kind of corrected Google translate version:
"I was almost invulnerable because part of my life, my beginning, was roaring and living in the mountains. When a person feels his beginning and his continuation, he gives from his life more generously and correctly. It is more difficult to rob him, because he does not keep all his riches to himself."
April 14, 2024
Reading Challenge: Read A Book From Every Inhabited Country and Territory
Book 2 of 245: The Goatibex Constellation by Fazil Iskander (1966; Abkhazia)
This is an enjoyable if a little meandering satire of Abkhazia during the time of the Soviet Union. I set out to do this reading challenge to try and learn more about the countries in question and unfortunately with its publication in 1966, Iskander documents more of what life was like in the now defunct Soviet Union as opposed to specifically the modern day disputed territory (although I do get a few tidbits here on the lifestyle and warm climate). This means that some of the satirical references Iskander includes have likely gone over my head and I don't quite have the context on why it was so controversial on publication.
Nevertheless, even with an English translation, the humour rings through loud and clear in this novella. The story documents a young journalist who after a comically described break-up, returns from Moscow to his native Abkhazia. He gains a job with the local newspaper where a nearby kolkhoz (basically a Soviet collective farm) have bred a goat and an ibex and have gained notoriety in the local community and see it as a way to boost agricultural production in the region. Across nine, somewhat self-contained chapters; we follow the unnamed protagonist as he interacts with a series of colourful characters; many of them corrupt or eccentric authority figures that show the slice of life nature in the Soviet Union. Fazil Iskander is often described as an Abkhaz / Soviet Mark Twain and that DNA is something that certainly can be ascertained from the novella. As mentioned, the story is a little meandering as we veer back in time to WWII and one chapter focuses on the protagonist trying to catch the eye of a beautiful tourist. I feel like I could have been more immersed in the story had I a little more knowledge of everyday life in the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Iskander's talent stands out and at a breezy 144 pages, this is certainly worth the purchase if you have any interest for life in the Caucasus or the old USSR.
Book 2 of 245: The Goatibex Constellation by Fazil Iskander (1966; Abkhazia)
This is an enjoyable if a little meandering satire of Abkhazia during the time of the Soviet Union. I set out to do this reading challenge to try and learn more about the countries in question and unfortunately with its publication in 1966, Iskander documents more of what life was like in the now defunct Soviet Union as opposed to specifically the modern day disputed territory (although I do get a few tidbits here on the lifestyle and warm climate). This means that some of the satirical references Iskander includes have likely gone over my head and I don't quite have the context on why it was so controversial on publication.
Nevertheless, even with an English translation, the humour rings through loud and clear in this novella. The story documents a young journalist who after a comically described break-up, returns from Moscow to his native Abkhazia. He gains a job with the local newspaper where a nearby kolkhoz (basically a Soviet collective farm) have bred a goat and an ibex and have gained notoriety in the local community and see it as a way to boost agricultural production in the region. Across nine, somewhat self-contained chapters; we follow the unnamed protagonist as he interacts with a series of colourful characters; many of them corrupt or eccentric authority figures that show the slice of life nature in the Soviet Union. Fazil Iskander is often described as an Abkhaz / Soviet Mark Twain and that DNA is something that certainly can be ascertained from the novella. As mentioned, the story is a little meandering as we veer back in time to WWII and one chapter focuses on the protagonist trying to catch the eye of a beautiful tourist. I feel like I could have been more immersed in the story had I a little more knowledge of everyday life in the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Iskander's talent stands out and at a breezy 144 pages, this is certainly worth the purchase if you have any interest for life in the Caucasus or the old USSR.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews