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The Yellow Arrow
Set during the advent of perestroika , a surreal, satirical novella by a critically acclaimed young Russian writer traces the fate of the passengers on The Yellow Arrow , a long-distance Russian train headed for a ruined bridge, a train without an end or a beginning--and it makes no stops. Andrei, the mystic passenger, less and less lulled by the never-ending sound of the wheels, has begun to look for a way to get off. But life in the carriages goes on as always. This important young Russian author's first American translation garnered rave reviews. The main character, Andrei, is a passenger aboard the Yellow Arrow, who begins to despair over the trains ultimate destination and looks for a way out as the chapters count down. Indifferent to their fate, the other passengers carry on as usual ― trading in nickel melted down fro the carriage doors, attending the Upper Bunk avant-garde theatre, and leafing through Pasternak’s Early Trains . Pelevin's art lies in the ease with which he shifts from precisely imagined science fiction to lyrical meditations on past and future. And, because he is a natural storyteller with a wonderfully absurd imagination. The Yellow Arrow is full of the ridiculous and the sublime. It is a reflective story, chilling and gripping.
92 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
29 people are currently reading
1895 people want to read
About the author
Victor Pelevin
212 books1,983 followersVictor Olegovich Pelevin is a Russian fiction writer. His books usually carry the outward conventions of the science fiction genre, but are used to construct involved, multi-layered postmodernist texts, fusing together elements of pop culture and esoteric philosophies. Some critics relate his prose to the New Sincerity and New Realism literary movements.
RU: Виктор Пелевин
RU: Виктор Пелевин
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
January 27, 2025
The Yellow Arrow is an absorbing novelette and it has the subtle mysterious air about it. It is my favourite tale by Victor Pelevin.
Trains have become a metaphor of movement and existence in the modern literature quite a while ago but Victor Pelevin managed to use this allegory in the new poetical and even pleasantly mystical way.
How many of us are just passengers? Who is an engine driver?
“Maybe I seem just like one of these yellow arrows falling on the tablecloth to someone and life is nothing but the dirty window that I’m flying through: and here I am falling, falling for God knows how many years already onto the table, right there in front of the plate, while someone looks at the menu and waits for breakfast…”
Trains have become a metaphor of movement and existence in the modern literature quite a while ago but Victor Pelevin managed to use this allegory in the new poetical and even pleasantly mystical way.
When Andrei finally made up his mind to open the letter, it was already dark, and the wall of trees was still drifting by outside. He turned away from the window, took the envelope out of his pocket, and tore off the edge. Inside was a carefully torn piece of graph paper, with several lines neatly written in ink:
“Is the past history of locomotion pulled on into the future? The past always used to be someone else’s or your own. Looking backwards, things seem to have disappeared from sight. Where is the key held, and who can you show it to? The pounding wheels write our journey’s story. The postscript is the squeaking of the door.”
How many of us are just passengers? Who is an engine driver?
November 17, 2022
"The past is the locomotive that pulls the future after it"
Backward chapters. I was curious if the last chapter will be 1 or 0. :))
The plot is an excuse for this experimental novel that, for me, was successful at showing the difficulty of eastern european countries to renounce their communist past.
Backward chapters. I was curious if the last chapter will be 1 or 0. :))
The plot is an excuse for this experimental novel that, for me, was successful at showing the difficulty of eastern european countries to renounce their communist past.
September 8, 2021
Pelevin is wacky but in a disarming way. This was a more subdued read than the other short novel of his I have read. Recommended, but not pure Pelevin. Unadulterated Pelevin reads a little like good César Aira, which reads like mid-tier-Calvino. I have a fond and sensitive and hush-hush soft spot for train novels. They tickle me pink. Do it on a train, and I'm in. If more Victorian novels had taken place on trains, I'd read more Victorian novels.
I like how the Yellow Arrow represents at least three components of the novel's reality.
I like how the Yellow Arrow represents at least three components of the novel's reality.
Read
January 16, 2023I was staring at a bookcase in my house, and I saw this small book and saw that I had not read it, although I had it for 20 years, so I read it and did not understand much of it. That’s not to say it wasn’t good. It probably was, and it was just over my head. I won’t rate it.
I did understand that the Yellow Arrow had something to do with sunlight shining through a train window, so they looked like yellow arrows... and it was also the name of the train...and it was a train that never stopped, and people threw dead bodies out of the windows. Eventually it did stop to let the narrator, Andrei, off of it (so it did stop). Chapters started at 12 and counted down to 0.
Blurbs on the inner and back cover of the dust jacket were enthusiastic (Times Literary Supplement, Publishers Weekly, The San Francisco Review).
Note: Somebody compared him to Mikhail Bulgakov...
Reviews:
• https://kinnareads.com/2011/08/16/the...
I did understand that the Yellow Arrow had something to do with sunlight shining through a train window, so they looked like yellow arrows... and it was also the name of the train...and it was a train that never stopped, and people threw dead bodies out of the windows. Eventually it did stop to let the narrator, Andrei, off of it (so it did stop). Chapters started at 12 and counted down to 0.
Blurbs on the inner and back cover of the dust jacket were enthusiastic (Times Literary Supplement, Publishers Weekly, The San Francisco Review).
Note: Somebody compared him to Mikhail Bulgakov...
Reviews:
• https://kinnareads.com/2011/08/16/the...
July 15, 2023
کتاب پیکان زرد میتوانست اثر خوب و جدیای باشد، اگر اینقدر حرفهایش، استعارههایش و لفافههایش را از هم باز نمیکرد. این کتاب مصداق کمدینیست که مدام، جوکهایش را توضیح میدهد. ادبیات (یا بهتر بگویم، شعری که امروزه مجاز از انواع هنر است) هنر صناعات ادبیست. هیچکس با توضیح تکنیکهای هنریاش، ارزش کارش بالاتر نمیرود؛ جالبتر آنست که مخاطب خودش بتواند تکنیکهای ادبی اثر را رمزگشایی کند. بدین صورت، هم مخاطب از دانش ادبی خویش رضایتمند میگردد هم نویسنده تکنیکهایش را بهرخ میکشد. پرطمطراقبودنِ بیشازحدِ کتاب هم، جنسِ دولتآبادی را دارد که آدم کهیر میزند. و نکتهی آخر اینکه، علیرغم نوشتهی پشت کتاب (چاپ انتشارات نون) این اثر هیچ شباهتی به نویسندگان کلاسیک روس ندارد، بلکه بیشتر صبغه فرانسوی داشت.
August 26, 2021
"... gradually transforming today into one more yesterday"
Isn't it what the great majority of people are sadly doing in their frustrating lives everyday.
Symbols and metaphors are impressively used in Russian stories, from the classics to the modern ones, this purposeful use of them gives the narrative a wonderfully specific tone and voice.
Consciousness is definitely the key to see where we are while riding in our own Yellow Arrow.
Isn't it what the great majority of people are sadly doing in their frustrating lives everyday.
Symbols and metaphors are impressively used in Russian stories, from the classics to the modern ones, this purposeful use of them gives the narrative a wonderfully specific tone and voice.
Consciousness is definitely the key to see where we are while riding in our own Yellow Arrow.
March 12, 2022
(+هیچکس ازمون نمیپرسه میخوایم ادامه بدیم یا نه. حتی نمیتونیم به یاد بیاریم چطوری اومدیم اینجا. داریم سفر میکنیم و فقط همین رو میدونیم. هیچ انتخابی در کار نیست.
-هست اما سخت ترین چیز توی زندگیه. سفر کردن توی قطار بدون اینکه مسافر باشی.)
پیکان زرد اسم قطاری است به مقصد پلی ویران شده. هیچکی نمیدونه کی و چطور سوار قطار شده و هیچکی هم نمیدونه اون بیرون چی هست. در قطاری که سر و ته اون دیده نمیشه آدم های زیادی زندگی میکنن. آدم هایی با فرهنگ های متفاوت. زندگی های متفاوت و در قسمت های متفاوت. یکی در کوپه ای زندگی میکنه که همه چیز تمیز میشه و در ها هم قفل محکمی دارن. یکی دیگه هم جایی میخوابه که حتی تو روز هم رد شدن از اونجا خطرناکه. بعضیا تو زندان هستن و بعضی ها هم مست یه گوشه افتادن. تو قطار مردم میمیرن و عزیزاشون مراسم میگیرن و گریه میکنن. بعضی ها بچه بزرگ میکنن و بعضی ها به دنبال پول بیشتر میگردن. مسافر های قطار به زندگیشون ادامه میدن بدون اینکه حتی صدای قطار رو بشنون(چون عادت کردن) یا بدون اینکه حتی بدونن مسافر هستن.
(((بعد از انحلال شوروی و اصلاحات. خیلی از مردم امیدوار به سیستم بهتری بودن. ولی متاسفانه کار به جایی میرسه که مردم شک میکنن و به این فکر میفتن که شاید این انقلابی که کردیم یه شکست بزرگ باشه.
گفته میشد که فساد و فقر و مشکلات اقتصادی از بین میره ولی در عمل تغییری ایجاد نمیشد.
آزادی واقعی وجود نداشت.
در قطار و بین مکالمه هایی که بین شخصیت اصلی و دیگر مسافر ها میبینیم به این موضوعات اشاره میشه.)))
اولین کتابی بود که از ویکتور پلوین خوندم و خیلی راضی بودم. حتما پیشنهاد میکنم.
-هست اما سخت ترین چیز توی زندگیه. سفر کردن توی قطار بدون اینکه مسافر باشی.)
پیکان زرد اسم قطاری است به مقصد پلی ویران شده. هیچکی نمیدونه کی و چطور سوار قطار شده و هیچکی هم نمیدونه اون بیرون چی هست. در قطاری که سر و ته اون دیده نمیشه آدم های زیادی زندگی میکنن. آدم هایی با فرهنگ های متفاوت. زندگی های متفاوت و در قسمت های متفاوت. یکی در کوپه ای زندگی میکنه که همه چیز تمیز میشه و در ها هم قفل محکمی دارن. یکی دیگه هم جایی میخوابه که حتی تو روز هم رد شدن از اونجا خطرناکه. بعضیا تو زندان هستن و بعضی ها هم مست یه گوشه افتادن. تو قطار مردم میمیرن و عزیزاشون مراسم میگیرن و گریه میکنن. بعضی ها بچه بزرگ میکنن و بعضی ها به دنبال پول بیشتر میگردن. مسافر های قطار به زندگیشون ادامه میدن بدون اینکه حتی صدای قطار رو بشنون(چون عادت کردن) یا بدون اینکه حتی بدونن مسافر هستن.
(((بعد از انحلال شوروی و اصلاحات. خیلی از مردم امیدوار به سیستم بهتری بودن. ولی متاسفانه کار به جایی میرسه که مردم شک میکنن و به این فکر میفتن که شاید این انقلابی که کردیم یه شکست بزرگ باشه.
گفته میشد که فساد و فقر و مشکلات اقتصادی از بین میره ولی در عمل تغییری ایجاد نمیشد.
آزادی واقعی وجود نداشت.
در قطار و بین مکالمه هایی که بین شخصیت اصلی و دیگر مسافر ها میبینیم به این موضوعات اشاره میشه.)))
اولین کتابی بود که از ویکتور پلوین خوندم و خیلی راضی بودم. حتما پیشنهاد میکنم.
September 17, 2014
What a deceptively concise story. Who knew that it would aim to encompass the concept of life and the 'yellow arrow' that it is for so many people. The locomotive of I, to use one of the stories terms, brings to mind Plato's cave, inherent restrictions on life that are rarely observed and yet remain in plain sight. To only know a second of the present before it is shunted to the past by a succeeding second, to never observe fully the succession of moments, to be inextricably bound to life speeding you through the future without a chance of escape before the final plunge. It is all too easy to focus on the small universe at hand, rarely reminded of the world existing at large beyond the confines of the forward traveling through time. Definitely one of the more interesting philosophical meanderings, and one from which it is a joy to learn and draw one’s own conclusions.
April 14, 2020
Πρώτη επαφή με το έργο του ιδιαίτερου Ρώσου συγγραφέα Βίκτορ Πελέβιν. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι δεν ξετρελάθηκα κιόλας, από την άλλη όμως η περίεργη ατμόσφαιρα τούτης της αλληγορικής νουβέλας με κράτησε από την αρχή μέχρι το (μάλλον απότομο και άχρωμο) φινάλε. Θα έλεγα ότι το βιβλίο αυτό διαβάζεται για τα αλληγορικά του στοιχεία και την υποδόρια σάτιρα της σοβιετικής και μετασιοβετικής κοινωνίας και πολιτικής, παρά για την πλοκή ή τους χαρακτήρες. Γιατί θα έλεγα ότι η πλοκή λίγο έως πολύ απουσιάζει, ενώ οι χαρακτήρες είναι προσχηματικοί και καρικατούρες που ουσιαστικά εκπροσωπούν τις διάφορες κοινωνικές τάξεις. Η γραφή είναι αρκετά καλή και ευκολοδιάβαστη, ενώ επίσης σχετικά λιτή στις περιγραφές και τις σκέψεις των χαρακτήρων. Υποθέτω ότι υπό προϋποθέσεις θα μπορούσα να του βάλω τέσσερα αστεράκια, γιατί εδώ που τα λέμε δεν με χάλασε κιόλας, αλλά έτσι θα αδικούσα πολλά βιβλία. Οπότε του βάζω τρία.
September 14, 2023
به نظرم از لحاظ بعضی فاکتورها بهتر از «اومون را» دیگر رمان این نویسنده بود؛ چون مفهوم و محتوای فشرده تر ولی غنی تری داشت…
پلوین باید بیشتر از اینها خونده شه و خوشبختانه چندین اثرش ترجمه و چاپ شده توی ایران؛
علاوه بر اومون را و پیکان زرد و البته داستان کوتاهِ «نیکا» از مجموعه داستانِ «رفتیم بیرون سیگار بکشیم، هفده سال طول کشید…» که من خوندمشون، زندگی حشره ای و نسل پی هم هست که در آینده می خونم.
پلوین باید بیشتر از اینها خونده شه و خوشبختانه چندین اثرش ترجمه و چاپ شده توی ایران؛
علاوه بر اومون را و پیکان زرد و البته داستان کوتاهِ «نیکا» از مجموعه داستانِ «رفتیم بیرون سیگار بکشیم، هفده سال طول کشید…» که من خوندمشون، زندگی حشره ای و نسل پی هم هست که در آینده می خونم.
January 24, 2018
This was my first Victor Pelevin novel. I'm excited to find another modern day Russian writer that I enjoy. This novel packs a lot of interesting philosophical ideas into a very short book. The Yellow Arrow is a train that everyone is stuck riding forever, but they can't remember how they got there.
December 18, 2011
This book received good reviews from a number of quality sources, so I was surprised to see how utterly devoid of content and thought this novella was. Like so many other postmodernists who have aped the tricks of the avant-garde without understanding the purpose behind those tricks, Pelevin writes a story that looks as if it should be interesting, but cannot do anything with the material. The entire effort reads as a sustained metaphor for the changes wrought by Yeltsin's deregulation, but its themes are so obvious and underdeveloped that I felt like a nail being beaten repeatedly with a hammer. Oh, you mean we are not in control of our country but most people don't care? And criminals like Grisha use public servants to sell off public enterprise to private businesses-- sometimes legal and sometimes not-- at the expense of the people? And artists like Anton are apathetic to these political issues, while workers are more interested in profiting from corruption than from standing up for what is right? What is said in these ninety-two pages that wouldn't have been done just as well in a five-page essay on corruption in post-communist Russia?
The problem is that Pelevin is not telling a story but using the format of the novella in order to illustrate a problem. Because all of the characters are drawn to reflect a specific problem, there is no depth to the story, and none of the characters are memorable. It is only the novella's brevity that allowed me to remember the names of the characters; it didn't hurt that half the cast only appeared in one scene, never to be seen or heard from again. Likewise, each event is designed to act as a singular reflection of a problem in society, so that the novella never develops into a story but rather looks like a series of vignettes imbued with heavy-handed moral implications.
However, these failings are not by themselves enough to make me want to give this a rating of zero stars. Many great works of literature have tried to address moral and political issues by engaging them. However, Pelevin does not even engage these issues, but rather presents them with the eye of a passive observer who is only casually interested in them. There is, in other words, no conflict, no tension, just a recognition of what sucks about Russia, which-- to be fair-- is a worthy topic for a book. Sadly, nonfiction books like "The Patriotism of Despair" do a better job of both discussing the problems of contemporary Russia and creating realistic characters to use as illustrations. Naomi Klein's chapters on the fall of Communism in "Shock Doctrine" are a better discussion of the social issues, and fellow Russian Ludmilla Petrushevskaya does a far finer job using fairy tales as political or social metaphors.
SPOILERS AHEAD
As for the ending, like the rest of the book, it seemed designed to present an idea rather than to tell a story or develop characters. In the end, escape from the train is easy: it stops, mystically, and Andrei gets off. It would be a valuable discussion to question whether or not personal freedom in the form of a rejection of society and its problems is a valid solution to a corrupt civilization-- this is the crux of Weiss' play, Marat/Sade-- however, this book doesn't even consider such a topic. It would be a powerful ending if something of significance occurred that allowed Andrei to escape. However, to stop time and steal the key from the conductor to get off is a contrivance that would work only in a comic book. Its ease undermines any attempt at dramatic tension-- don't worry, there wasn't any-- but more importantly, it fails to address the institutional problems that exist within Russian society. If getting off is so easy, then why do these problems exist? The answer, Pelevin implies, is that people are not even aware of the possibility of a better solution. However, if this is a political and social metaphor, what does the ending offer, other than an argument in favor of exile? Like the Old Believers, Pelevin seems to state that one should simply abandon civilization as a failure, but such logic ignores the nature of the train itself. As Huxley pointed out in Brave New World, civilization is inescapable. If one is to leave, where is there to go?
The problem is that Pelevin is not telling a story but using the format of the novella in order to illustrate a problem. Because all of the characters are drawn to reflect a specific problem, there is no depth to the story, and none of the characters are memorable. It is only the novella's brevity that allowed me to remember the names of the characters; it didn't hurt that half the cast only appeared in one scene, never to be seen or heard from again. Likewise, each event is designed to act as a singular reflection of a problem in society, so that the novella never develops into a story but rather looks like a series of vignettes imbued with heavy-handed moral implications.
However, these failings are not by themselves enough to make me want to give this a rating of zero stars. Many great works of literature have tried to address moral and political issues by engaging them. However, Pelevin does not even engage these issues, but rather presents them with the eye of a passive observer who is only casually interested in them. There is, in other words, no conflict, no tension, just a recognition of what sucks about Russia, which-- to be fair-- is a worthy topic for a book. Sadly, nonfiction books like "The Patriotism of Despair" do a better job of both discussing the problems of contemporary Russia and creating realistic characters to use as illustrations. Naomi Klein's chapters on the fall of Communism in "Shock Doctrine" are a better discussion of the social issues, and fellow Russian Ludmilla Petrushevskaya does a far finer job using fairy tales as political or social metaphors.
SPOILERS AHEAD
As for the ending, like the rest of the book, it seemed designed to present an idea rather than to tell a story or develop characters. In the end, escape from the train is easy: it stops, mystically, and Andrei gets off. It would be a valuable discussion to question whether or not personal freedom in the form of a rejection of society and its problems is a valid solution to a corrupt civilization-- this is the crux of Weiss' play, Marat/Sade-- however, this book doesn't even consider such a topic. It would be a powerful ending if something of significance occurred that allowed Andrei to escape. However, to stop time and steal the key from the conductor to get off is a contrivance that would work only in a comic book. Its ease undermines any attempt at dramatic tension-- don't worry, there wasn't any-- but more importantly, it fails to address the institutional problems that exist within Russian society. If getting off is so easy, then why do these problems exist? The answer, Pelevin implies, is that people are not even aware of the possibility of a better solution. However, if this is a political and social metaphor, what does the ending offer, other than an argument in favor of exile? Like the Old Believers, Pelevin seems to state that one should simply abandon civilization as a failure, but such logic ignores the nature of the train itself. As Huxley pointed out in Brave New World, civilization is inescapable. If one is to leave, where is there to go?
November 30, 2021
کتاب اندیشه و مفهوم زدگی بیش از اندازه داره
این نماد سازی عینی و خودآگاهی آزار دهنده میشه
بنظرم این توصیف نماینده فاخر از ادبیات روسیه یکم مسخرس
این نماد سازی عینی و خودآگاهی آزار دهنده میشه
بنظرم این توصیف نماینده فاخر از ادبیات روسیه یکم مسخرس
April 17, 2018
It's an existential novella from 1993 Russia that seems apropos today. I think a longer piece could have done more justice to the author's topics & thoughts, but this was still a decently thoughtful little work. I did like the nice touch of the backward countdown of chapters. I would be interested in finding longer works by this author to try.
October 31, 2019
The past is the locomotive that pulls the future after it - Sometimes this past might even not be your own - you are traveling backwards and see only what has already disappeared.
"Remember, when a man stops hearing the sound of the wheels and just wants to keep on moving, he becomes a passenger. Nobody asks us whether we want to keep moving. We can't even remember how we got here. We're traveling along, and that's all there is to it. There's no choice..."
"Maybe I seem just like one of these yellow arrows falling on the tablecloth to someone," he mused to himself," and life is nothing but the dirty window that I'm flying through; and here I am falling, falling for God knows how many years already onto the table, right there in front of the plate, while someone looks at the menu and waits for breakfast..."
"Remember, when a man stops hearing the sound of the wheels and just wants to keep on moving, he becomes a passenger. Nobody asks us whether we want to keep moving. We can't even remember how we got here. We're traveling along, and that's all there is to it. There's no choice..."
"Maybe I seem just like one of these yellow arrows falling on the tablecloth to someone," he mused to himself," and life is nothing but the dirty window that I'm flying through; and here I am falling, falling for God knows how many years already onto the table, right there in front of the plate, while someone looks at the menu and waits for breakfast..."
August 16, 2020
Although it has been sitting on my shelf for 25 years (i have the first hardcover English edition for godsakes), it took for me to jump down a novella rabbit hole for me to finally pick it up. Granted it might be living the lockdown life, but The Yellow Arrow is a near-perfect absurdist satire of the seemingly endless (and beginingless - yeah, that's a word NOW) trajectory of life in contemporary society. Kind of funny, in that uncomfortable surreal way, kind of scary, and conceptually very playful and interesting. A really great little book.
February 5, 2025
What in the snowpiercer is happening
September 11, 2020
Игра ума с поездом, конечно, не нова - тут тебе и "Ле Трансперснеж", и образ из дневников Кокто: опийный поезд, с которого не сойти и не выпрыгнуть. Не говоря о совсем очевидном поезде известно в чем.
С английским тут легкая беда тоже и есть безграмотные опечатки, которые не могут самозародиться.
С английским тут легкая беда тоже и есть безграмотные опечатки, которые не могут самозародиться.
June 19, 2018
Everybody who knows me, knows by now that I'm a big fan of Victor Pelevin. Buddha’s Little Finger, Omon Ra and Homo Zapiens are just some of my favorite novels of all time, but I've never read the novel of which first came to international attention. Until now, when I came across a sweet little used hardcover edition at an estate sale in Arlington in February. With other books that I had coming in, and trying to meet the demands of my other book club picks, I kept this always on the night stand but waited to pick it up when I really had the time to dedicate to it (if you’ve read anything from Pelevin, you know why). I don’t know why today, of all days, I decided to chuck this into my handbag and took it to work with me and proceeded to devour this whole novel in one day. At 92 pages, it’s slim but it did not lack or waste any words.
The Yellow Arrow is the name of this train, crossing the wild post-Soviet frontier but never actually reaching its possibly no-longer-existent destination. The train has been travelling for so long that most of its passengers no longer remember their lives before boarding it; indeed, many seem no longer to believe that they had lives before becoming passengers. A whole slightly Kafkaesque culture has developed on board, complete with histories, competing mythologies, secret societies and yes, black market economic cartels based around the strip mining of the train itself for raw materials. There is a news media, a secret governing cabal, even a set of peculiar funeral customs that, bizarrely, do not involve treating the bodies of the dead as more raw material for recycling and reuse; though the train never stops to take on supplies, some kind of basic carbon/nitrogen/water inputs are coming in from somewhere, even though we are assured there is no inhabited world outside the train anymore.
Pelevin is still kind of finding his voice here (this work was originally published in 1993), but already playing well with his themes of absurdity and willful ignorance and misplaced faith and trust and the way in which mass media manipulates reality. Its protagonist, Andrei, feels very much like an early sketch of his later hero, Babylen of Homo Zapiens fame, somewhere between a naif and a sophisticate in the ways of his world, not sure he should trust his friends, not sure if they are his friends, but willing to do what he has to in order to make it all work for him somehow. If it's not quite as wickedly funny as Pelevin's later works, it's plenty philosophical, impossible not to read as a parable of both Soviet and post-Soviet Russia (masterfully and weirdly, it manages to be both at once), and enjoyable. I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to Pelevin -- I still think that should be Omon Ra -- but if you've found you've liked his other works and curious to have a peek at his beginnings, this is a must read
The Yellow Arrow is the name of this train, crossing the wild post-Soviet frontier but never actually reaching its possibly no-longer-existent destination. The train has been travelling for so long that most of its passengers no longer remember their lives before boarding it; indeed, many seem no longer to believe that they had lives before becoming passengers. A whole slightly Kafkaesque culture has developed on board, complete with histories, competing mythologies, secret societies and yes, black market economic cartels based around the strip mining of the train itself for raw materials. There is a news media, a secret governing cabal, even a set of peculiar funeral customs that, bizarrely, do not involve treating the bodies of the dead as more raw material for recycling and reuse; though the train never stops to take on supplies, some kind of basic carbon/nitrogen/water inputs are coming in from somewhere, even though we are assured there is no inhabited world outside the train anymore.
Pelevin is still kind of finding his voice here (this work was originally published in 1993), but already playing well with his themes of absurdity and willful ignorance and misplaced faith and trust and the way in which mass media manipulates reality. Its protagonist, Andrei, feels very much like an early sketch of his later hero, Babylen of Homo Zapiens fame, somewhere between a naif and a sophisticate in the ways of his world, not sure he should trust his friends, not sure if they are his friends, but willing to do what he has to in order to make it all work for him somehow. If it's not quite as wickedly funny as Pelevin's later works, it's plenty philosophical, impossible not to read as a parable of both Soviet and post-Soviet Russia (masterfully and weirdly, it manages to be both at once), and enjoyable. I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to Pelevin -- I still think that should be Omon Ra -- but if you've found you've liked his other works and curious to have a peek at his beginnings, this is a must read
August 22, 2011
the yellow arrow (Желтая стрела) is a slim philosophical parable set in post-soviet russia, but one easily applied to a much wider context. victor pelevin, acclaimed russian novelist and short story writer, wrote this existential novella nearly twenty years ago, following gorbachev's perestroika. the yellow arrow, a speeding train without station stops and destined for disaster as its terminus, is an apt metaphor- one that also captures the indifference and unquestioning nature of the train's passengers. while the philosophy may have benefited from a bit more subtlety, the yellow arrow is still a thoughtful and resonant little book.
khan laughed. "if we don't deceive ourselves," he repeated slowly. "if we don't, we'll only be deceived by others. and anyway, the ability to deceive what you call 'myself' is a great achievement, because usually that 'self' is what is doing the deceiving. it doesn't matter in the least whether anything else exists apart from our train. what matters is that we can live as though there is something else. as though it really is possible to get off. that's the only difference. but if you try to explain that difference to any of the passengers, they won't understand."
February 1, 2021
I am trying not to overthink my words so as not to disturb the unique impression and aftertaste left by this beautiful parable… in my mind, I’m still wandering in the dimly lit narrow corridors of the never stopping train that is rushing to some unknown destinations….
"The Yellow Arrow" is an authentic Pelevin… with so many allegories and so much of symbolism… it is delirious and psychedelic (in general Pelevin is quite psychedelic)… and it can be interpreted in so many ways...
You might think of it as a contemplation on the meaning of life… and then it would be undoubtedly echoing the ideas that can be found as well in Pelevin's "Hermit and the Six-Toes (Затворник и Шестипалый)"… but then you might also consider it as a perfect allegory of the Soviet life… and like me, start drawing parallels between it and Yerofeyev’s “Moscow to the End of the Line (Москва-Петушки)" - the Russian Odyssey… or maybe you'll discover a completely different meaning for yourself...
Or maybe that was exactly what the author himself had intended in the first place... that every reader will find something unique.... something very personal for him/her... will make his/her own journey on that mysterious train named "Yellow Arrow"... maybe...
"The Yellow Arrow" is an authentic Pelevin… with so many allegories and so much of symbolism… it is delirious and psychedelic (in general Pelevin is quite psychedelic)… and it can be interpreted in so many ways...
You might think of it as a contemplation on the meaning of life… and then it would be undoubtedly echoing the ideas that can be found as well in Pelevin's "Hermit and the Six-Toes (Затворник и Шестипалый)"… but then you might also consider it as a perfect allegory of the Soviet life… and like me, start drawing parallels between it and Yerofeyev’s “Moscow to the End of the Line (Москва-Петушки)" - the Russian Odyssey… or maybe you'll discover a completely different meaning for yourself...
Or maybe that was exactly what the author himself had intended in the first place... that every reader will find something unique.... something very personal for him/her... will make his/her own journey on that mysterious train named "Yellow Arrow"... maybe...
February 8, 2018
A postmodern novella taking on contemporary Russia and post-Soviet anxieties, not to mention life, the universe and all of us, really. On a train bound for a broken bridge with most passengers oblivious to wheels hammering rails under their feet, the reader rides, for a brief while.
I have petty gripes regarding some translational choices and there's a real issue with the abrupt nature of the philosophical interludes (probably also attributable to translation), but still, this is an enjoyable dense little read that should appeal to pretty much everyone and yet probably won't. This is an example where concept outweighs narrative style. If you can allow this, permit the story to trundle along on its terms, rather than yours, I think you'll be pleased. In some ways, this is the hand in the dark that lets you know, yes, life is a broken lonely wasteland, most of the time, but hold on, hold on.
I have petty gripes regarding some translational choices and there's a real issue with the abrupt nature of the philosophical interludes (probably also attributable to translation), but still, this is an enjoyable dense little read that should appeal to pretty much everyone and yet probably won't. This is an example where concept outweighs narrative style. If you can allow this, permit the story to trundle along on its terms, rather than yours, I think you'll be pleased. In some ways, this is the hand in the dark that lets you know, yes, life is a broken lonely wasteland, most of the time, but hold on, hold on.
September 10, 2014
Completely different.Will write a review after I have thought this one over.
October 6, 2024
Honestly the fact that I'm still thinking about this book says a lot
If you like a good philosophical book you'll love this
Curse the noose that is the 5 star rating scale 😔
If you like a good philosophical book you'll love this
Curse the noose that is the 5 star rating scale 😔
March 8, 2016
Warning, if you have not read the book, do not read this review. This is a thorough review I wrote for my Russian history class during my undergraduate degree. I am not sure if I were to read it again, whether my thoughts or any part of this review would change. I don't remember how I faired with this review (I think I got a B+), in any case, I hope this helps.
Although only a novella comprised of ninety-two pages, Victor Pelevin’s The Yellow Arrow has seems to captivate post-Soviet Russian society just as well as any other book twice or thrice its size. Pelevin is noted of course for his post-modernist approach to Russian literature as such was the trend in post-Soviet Russia. In fact, Pelevin’s works are considered to be the most ‘postmodern’ of contemporary Russian prose (source).
Set during the Perestroika years, the story takes places on a moving train deemed “Yellow Arrow,” headed towards a ruined bridge with no beginning or end to the journey in sight. This is characteristic of Pelevin’s works. In fact, there seems to be a constant similar pattern in all of Pelevin’s novels as he depicts a false image of reality and allows for the reader to sink in to that reality or ‘game’ only to discover that there is never any end to the ‘game,’ never any return to ‘reality’ and no possibility of winning (source). The ruined bridge represents of course death, and the train represents life in post-Soviet Russia. Pelevin cleverly creates an entire ‘culture’ in association with life on a train, among others, funeral rites, and a whole culture of dialogue between passengers. Such culture is then socially constructed whereby all passengers of the train all continue their lives not actually knowing they’re passengers. Of course, “how can they [passengers] understanding something they know too well (Pelevin, 1996: 18).” The only difference in this novel compared to Pelevin’s other works, is that his protagonist, Andrei who is also caught on this never ending train will eventually, with the help of his mentor Khan and a few of his other companions, realize that there may possibly be a way to leave the ‘train’ and to survive. This realization occurs only when he begins to question the significance of the ‘yellow arrow’ believing then that the universe constitutes millions of yellow arrows,’ which he [Andrei] refers to them as, “light rays on a journey to the unknown or infinite void only to be extinguished in the revolting remains of yesterday’s soup (Ibid: 7).” These yellow arrows or light rays may be referring to people, who may be hoping for a better tomorrow, a better future than yesterday’s past but are deceived when they realize that nothing really changes and that their hopes were groundless, meaningless and in fact doomed for disappointment or as Pelevin notes, ‘suffering’ (Pelevin, 1996: 8).
Here, it is believed that with the collapse of the Soviet Uinon and with the introduction of reforms, many Russians were hoping that the system would change for the better. However, it seems as if this is not the case and that in a sense, there is a feeling of failed revolution or failed reforms. For instance, Pelevin reveals in the novel that corruption, poverty, economic relapse, prostitution and real freedom among other things remain transient in speech and passive in action. Some references to such themes are prevalent in discussions between the passengers of the train. An example of corruption, : “[…]You know the way it is, one greasy wop gets his foot in the door, and then he moves the whole family in […] (Pelevin, 1996: 23).” With regards to censorship and freedom of speech, : “[…] there was music playing in the restaurant […] the cassette always ended half-way through “Bridge Over Troubled Waters […] (Ibid, 26). Finally, an example of the state of Post-Soviet Russia is best exemplified in a dialogue between Andrei and Peter Sergievich, Andrei’s compartment companion: “We used to have thieves who stole things, [Sergievich is robbed of his possessions], but this is a different business altogether. They’re selling off the Motherland, that’s what […] It’s the young girls I feel sorry for, our pure girls, who have to sell themselves to all sorts of scum on the open carriages […] Those bare-faced bandits are not afraid of anything […] they got the authorities in their pocket (Ibid: 47).
To return now to the true essence of the novel, although at first the proganoist believes that there is no choice but to remain on the train, towards the end of his journey he comes to terms with reality and discovers that there may actually be a way off the train, therin lies the beauty of Pelevin’s novel. Andrei’s discussion with Khan is arguably one of the most if not the most significant of dialogues in the novel in seeking this reality:
Andrei: Nobody asks us whether we want to keep moving […] we can’t even remember how we got here […] we’re traveling along, and that’s all there is to it, there’s no choice!” Khan: “There is, but it’s the most difficult thing in life […] riding in a train without being a passenger.” With this, Andrei begins to piece together his observations of yellow arrows, his discussions with other passengers on the train notably of the meaning of true happiness, in which a passenger mentions that in order to find happiness, one needs to see the reflection of the supreme harmony in everything he does, in what he sees around him day by day […] Gnosticism in a sense (Ibid: 11). Here Gnosticism may be referring to ideological cages or restrictions which seem to be present on the ‘Yellow Arrow’ train, and therefore in to seek true happiness, one needs to break free from such superfluous contraptions and allow himself to become an ‘individual,’ or allow himself to step away from what is socially constructed as reality. This is precisely what Andrei was able to do it seems. Shortly before the bridge heads towards its destination which is the bridge, Andrei jumps off and begins a new journey. Pelevin however makes a clear point to the reader that all journeys are perhaps over before they begin, calling into question then the validity of Andrei’s new journey.
Pelevin’s message seems then to be evident; man is a passenger of time travelling 'towards a destroyed bridge', i.e. towards death, and the question of whether one can alight from this train is moot. With a new journey comes a new period in history and a new set of socially constructed theorem and ideology, that which is post-Post Modernism. Russia has not reached a state of post Post Modernism.
Critical Commentary:
I am not all that familiar with Russian literature and life in Post-Soviet Russia. Most of my research has been on ex- Soviet Central Asian countries. However, the reforms have proven ineffective especially with the erosion of democracy and a seemingly critical economic situation as the Russian economy suffered from economic depression in the 1990s and a financial crash in 1998, as a result of the unsuccessful reform policies for its stabilization and liberalization. It is argued that reform also diminished the quality and standard of living. Such factors produced an anti-reform movement and a constitutional crisis in 1993. Pelevin seems to have touched on most of these major trends in post-Soviet Russia, albeit with vagueness and discontinuation at times. I found that it was difficult to make a definite link to the situation of Russia at the time, for this novel may be interpreted as man’s general journey throughout life to seek the ultimate truth. Pelevin seems to then apply a universal message to his novel and to the circumstances of the post-Soviet era. I would recommend this novel to a student of Russian literature and history and who is pretty familiar with the subject matter more so than to a person who is taking an introductory course on Russian culture and history.
Although only a novella comprised of ninety-two pages, Victor Pelevin’s The Yellow Arrow has seems to captivate post-Soviet Russian society just as well as any other book twice or thrice its size. Pelevin is noted of course for his post-modernist approach to Russian literature as such was the trend in post-Soviet Russia. In fact, Pelevin’s works are considered to be the most ‘postmodern’ of contemporary Russian prose (source).
Set during the Perestroika years, the story takes places on a moving train deemed “Yellow Arrow,” headed towards a ruined bridge with no beginning or end to the journey in sight. This is characteristic of Pelevin’s works. In fact, there seems to be a constant similar pattern in all of Pelevin’s novels as he depicts a false image of reality and allows for the reader to sink in to that reality or ‘game’ only to discover that there is never any end to the ‘game,’ never any return to ‘reality’ and no possibility of winning (source). The ruined bridge represents of course death, and the train represents life in post-Soviet Russia. Pelevin cleverly creates an entire ‘culture’ in association with life on a train, among others, funeral rites, and a whole culture of dialogue between passengers. Such culture is then socially constructed whereby all passengers of the train all continue their lives not actually knowing they’re passengers. Of course, “how can they [passengers] understanding something they know too well (Pelevin, 1996: 18).” The only difference in this novel compared to Pelevin’s other works, is that his protagonist, Andrei who is also caught on this never ending train will eventually, with the help of his mentor Khan and a few of his other companions, realize that there may possibly be a way to leave the ‘train’ and to survive. This realization occurs only when he begins to question the significance of the ‘yellow arrow’ believing then that the universe constitutes millions of yellow arrows,’ which he [Andrei] refers to them as, “light rays on a journey to the unknown or infinite void only to be extinguished in the revolting remains of yesterday’s soup (Ibid: 7).” These yellow arrows or light rays may be referring to people, who may be hoping for a better tomorrow, a better future than yesterday’s past but are deceived when they realize that nothing really changes and that their hopes were groundless, meaningless and in fact doomed for disappointment or as Pelevin notes, ‘suffering’ (Pelevin, 1996: 8).
Here, it is believed that with the collapse of the Soviet Uinon and with the introduction of reforms, many Russians were hoping that the system would change for the better. However, it seems as if this is not the case and that in a sense, there is a feeling of failed revolution or failed reforms. For instance, Pelevin reveals in the novel that corruption, poverty, economic relapse, prostitution and real freedom among other things remain transient in speech and passive in action. Some references to such themes are prevalent in discussions between the passengers of the train. An example of corruption, : “[…]You know the way it is, one greasy wop gets his foot in the door, and then he moves the whole family in […] (Pelevin, 1996: 23).” With regards to censorship and freedom of speech, : “[…] there was music playing in the restaurant […] the cassette always ended half-way through “Bridge Over Troubled Waters […] (Ibid, 26). Finally, an example of the state of Post-Soviet Russia is best exemplified in a dialogue between Andrei and Peter Sergievich, Andrei’s compartment companion: “We used to have thieves who stole things, [Sergievich is robbed of his possessions], but this is a different business altogether. They’re selling off the Motherland, that’s what […] It’s the young girls I feel sorry for, our pure girls, who have to sell themselves to all sorts of scum on the open carriages […] Those bare-faced bandits are not afraid of anything […] they got the authorities in their pocket (Ibid: 47).
To return now to the true essence of the novel, although at first the proganoist believes that there is no choice but to remain on the train, towards the end of his journey he comes to terms with reality and discovers that there may actually be a way off the train, therin lies the beauty of Pelevin’s novel. Andrei’s discussion with Khan is arguably one of the most if not the most significant of dialogues in the novel in seeking this reality:
Andrei: Nobody asks us whether we want to keep moving […] we can’t even remember how we got here […] we’re traveling along, and that’s all there is to it, there’s no choice!” Khan: “There is, but it’s the most difficult thing in life […] riding in a train without being a passenger.” With this, Andrei begins to piece together his observations of yellow arrows, his discussions with other passengers on the train notably of the meaning of true happiness, in which a passenger mentions that in order to find happiness, one needs to see the reflection of the supreme harmony in everything he does, in what he sees around him day by day […] Gnosticism in a sense (Ibid: 11). Here Gnosticism may be referring to ideological cages or restrictions which seem to be present on the ‘Yellow Arrow’ train, and therefore in to seek true happiness, one needs to break free from such superfluous contraptions and allow himself to become an ‘individual,’ or allow himself to step away from what is socially constructed as reality. This is precisely what Andrei was able to do it seems. Shortly before the bridge heads towards its destination which is the bridge, Andrei jumps off and begins a new journey. Pelevin however makes a clear point to the reader that all journeys are perhaps over before they begin, calling into question then the validity of Andrei’s new journey.
Pelevin’s message seems then to be evident; man is a passenger of time travelling 'towards a destroyed bridge', i.e. towards death, and the question of whether one can alight from this train is moot. With a new journey comes a new period in history and a new set of socially constructed theorem and ideology, that which is post-Post Modernism. Russia has not reached a state of post Post Modernism.
Critical Commentary:
I am not all that familiar with Russian literature and life in Post-Soviet Russia. Most of my research has been on ex- Soviet Central Asian countries. However, the reforms have proven ineffective especially with the erosion of democracy and a seemingly critical economic situation as the Russian economy suffered from economic depression in the 1990s and a financial crash in 1998, as a result of the unsuccessful reform policies for its stabilization and liberalization. It is argued that reform also diminished the quality and standard of living. Such factors produced an anti-reform movement and a constitutional crisis in 1993. Pelevin seems to have touched on most of these major trends in post-Soviet Russia, albeit with vagueness and discontinuation at times. I found that it was difficult to make a definite link to the situation of Russia at the time, for this novel may be interpreted as man’s general journey throughout life to seek the ultimate truth. Pelevin seems to then apply a universal message to his novel and to the circumstances of the post-Soviet era. I would recommend this novel to a student of Russian literature and history and who is pretty familiar with the subject matter more so than to a person who is taking an introductory course on Russian culture and history.
November 14, 2021
Kas mes ir kur važiuojam?
Paliko daug minčių.
Paliko daug minčių.
April 9, 2025
literally amazing makes me want to live on a train freeze time then escape the train.
April 30, 2020
I picked this book as required reading for a literature course, and am thankful to my course professor for introducing me to Victor Pelevin. The train felt like an analogy for life - a past we have left behind, a future we can't see, just living in the here and now. The earth revolves, time passes, the world moves by, and we find ourselves in continuous momentum even if we don't physically move anywhere. The backward countdown of chapters was an interesting touch - If only we knew what lay in the future and could start from there. An absolutely absorbing book, philosophical and reflective, conveying a lot within a few words.
March 23, 2022
Re-reading this gift from a friend. It's a metaphor for life, perhaps more sharply felt if you are living under a repressive regime politically, but applicable to anyone.
We are all shuffled onto "trains", from childhood on, sometimes barely knowing where we are going other than our daily existence. Not everyone has the ability to think about where that train is going, decide whether or not they want to be on it, or to get off of it even if they manage to think and decide they'd like to.
But if you manage to do all those things and escape the life designed for you by your family, religion, or government?
Anything is possible.
We are all shuffled onto "trains", from childhood on, sometimes barely knowing where we are going other than our daily existence. Not everyone has the ability to think about where that train is going, decide whether or not they want to be on it, or to get off of it even if they manage to think and decide they'd like to.
But if you manage to do all those things and escape the life designed for you by your family, religion, or government?
Anything is possible.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews