Recently, my sister sent me the popular Russian book by Sergei Minayev
Dukhless, which is a play on words that translates to “Soulless” or "Without a Soul." She said that everybody talks about it, “just like
The Da Vinci Code in the US.” So hungry for some Russian literature, I took the book in my hands and started reading the cover. “Without a soul a story about unreal person...”
The main hero of the book tells about his work, what happens after office hours, his personal life and about everything else...literally everything from office politics to bad food at the restaurant.
At first, I was just overwhelmed by the vulgar language of the hero, but the more I read, the less I paid attention to all the curse words and slang. The author was telling the story of life that I had not seen or heard because I was living in a different country. I left Russia when businesses just started operating the way the main character describes. I was astonished at some pictures of an office work day...it seemed to me that management just does not work and mooches off the hard work of employees. The partying after work was another shock to me with its descriptions of cocaine and prostitutes. I was so shocked at some episodes that had to call to my brother-in-law to ask him if the book description of the office life after operation hours was true. He said that the book exaggerates quite a bit.
Meanwhile, I had to keep reading because I could not wait to see what will happen to the main hero in the next chapter – despite being disgusted by some of the scenes and language. I became addicted to this book and could not put it down. It seemed like the guy was much more intelligent than people around him and that made him not fit in well with society.
There are some really funny moments in the book that made me laugh out loud. For example, the main hero had to go on a business trip to Saint Petersburg and he chooses to go by train instead of flying first class on a plane. He explains it like this:
Quote:
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I am going to Petersburg by train realizing that corporate samurai should be traveling only first class. But I have a panic attack knowing that it's a Russian airline. When I have to be in Paris, Milan or another European city the passion to shopping overcomes the fear of flying. And because flying to any Russian city will not bring me such joy, the only thing left is a pure nightmare, hundred, the f--k, percent pure. I imagine myself laying surrounded by plastic pieces of seats and suitcases “Delsey” and “Samsonite” and chunks of human bodies, soaking in a smell of alcohol and human waste. And all because of some drunk dude from the control group instead of changing loose nut hammered it instead. And went back to finish his drinking after making a note in the book that there were no mistakes found...
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Just writing about the book and thinking about those funny and somewhat grim but true comments about the life of people in Russia makes me want to read it all over again for pure entertainment.
The story is good, but the ending is strange or maybe I did not understand something.
I
will recommend this book to my Russian friends that live abroad. It's somewhat nostalgic. The book reminds me of an exaggerated course of Russian history told by a friend who is a little tipsy and who may not have all the facts straight, but is a great storyteller none the less.
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The
Moscow Times Review the book and calls it "a dog that overestimates its walking ability."
Another
article found on the book mentioned that some more traditional authors such as Aleksandr Kabakov, second place winner of a new Russian book prize, are not happy about the success of books like Soulless and Ksenia Sobchak and Oksana Robsky's "
Married to a Millionaire."
Regardless, of these reviews, sometimes a little pulp fiction can be fun and may even be good for the soul.
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