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Title: Moscow to the End of the Line by Venedikt Erofeev, H. William Tjalsma ISBN: 0-8101-1200-0 Publisher: Northwestern University Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Venichka's Journey
Comment: Moskva-Petushki, which is translated in English as Moscow to the End of the Line, is Venedikt Erofeev's greatest work, one drunken man's (Venichka's) journey on the Moskovskaia-Gor'skovskaia train line to visit his lover and child in the Petushki. En route, Venichka talks with other travelers in dialogue and he also speaks in monologue about various themes such as drinking, Russian literature and philosophy and the sad, poetic soul of the Russian peasant. As the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly dark, disoriented, hallucinogenic and surrealistic, in proportion to the narrator's alcohol intake.
Moscow to the End of the Line was written in 1970. During this time, Erofeev, himself, was traveling around the Soviet Union working as a telephone cable layer. Erofeev's friends have said the author made the story up in order to entertain his fellow workers as they traveled, and that many of these fellow workers were later incorporated as characters in the book.
The text of the novel began to be circulated in samizdat within the Soviet Union and then it was smuggled to the West where it was eventually translated into English. The official Russian language publication took place in Paris in 1977. With glasnost, Moscow to the End of the Line was able to be circulated freely within Russia, but, rather than stick to the original form, the novel was abridged in the government pamphlet Sobriety and Culture, ostensibly as a campaign against alcoholism. Finally, in 1995, it was officially published, together with all the formerly edited obscenities and without censorship.
Although he is an alcoholic, Venichka never comes across to the reader as despicable. Venichka is not a man who drinks because he wants to drink; he drinks to escape a reality that has gone beyond miserable and veered off into the absurd. He is not a stupid or pitiable character, but rather one who has no outlet for his considerable intelligence. That Venichka is very educated is obvious; he makes intelligent and well-read references to both literature and religion. However, in the restrictive Soviet Union of his time, there was no outlet for this kind of intelligent creativity; Venichka is forced to channel his creative instincts into bizarre drink recipes and visions of sphinxes, angels and devils.
Although many will see Moscow to the End of the Line as satire, it really is not. Instead, it is Erofeev's anguished and heartfelt cry, a cry that demanded change. Venichka is not a hopeless character, however, the situation in which he is living is a hopeless one.
A semi-autobiographical work, Moscow to the End of the Line was never meant as a denunciation of alcoholism but rather an explanation of why alcohol was so tragically necessary in the day-to-day life of citizens living under Soviet rule.
Moscow to the End of the Line is a highly entertaining book and it is a book that is very important in understanding the Russia of both yesterday and today as well. This book is really a classic of world literature and it is a shame that more people do not read Moscow to the End of the Line rather than relying on the standard "bestseller." This book deserves to be more widely read and appreciated.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Exquisite Read.
Comment: This is a sublime little tale, saturated with humor and pathos. Erofeev (both author & narrator have the same name, heightening the autobiographical tone of the book) is the Dante of the Moscow commuter rail. He stumbles from bar to bar and a purgatory of the 'thirteen varieties of Soviet vodka.' Then, it's onto the train, which takes him some thirty stops from Kursk station and 'The Hammer and Sickle' to the 'end of the line' at Petushki (which I'm told means 'flowers' in Russian) where he is to meet his Beatrice.
But (unlike Dante) Erofeev never seems to arrive. As he downs more and more hooch, the story becomes progressively more blotched and incoherent. It culminates in the Passion of Erofeev, in which our poor hero is driven up against the wall of the Kremlin (though whether its the Kremlin in Moscow or Petushki is unclear) and left screwed.
This is a story about mercy. Read it. It is easily one of the best books I've read in the past year. Then pass the word along, because it deserves to be better known.
Rating: 5
Summary: Intoxicating...in More Ways Than One
Comment: MOSCOW TO THE END OF THE LINE centers around Venichka, an alcoholic cable fitter who has only recently been fired from his job. The book is not really a "story." It consists instead of Venichka's rambling monologue as he indulges in one huge binge while taking the train from Moscow to Petushka, supposedly to visit his girlfriend and their young son.
When Venichka boards the train at Kursk Station in Moscow, his speech is fairly lucid. As his journey progresses, however, he becomes more and more drunk and his monologue degenerates into incoherent babble, accompanied by hallucinations.
Venichka is definitely not a shy speaker and he'll talk to anyone who will listen. He's also willing to expand on just about any topic available: politics, social reform, religion, angels, music, literature, love, philosophy, mathematics and, most of all, alcohol.
I know some readers see this book as satire while others see it as a commentary on Soviet Russia. Perhaps I'm too politically unsophisticated, but I didn't see it as either one. I saw it as a brilliant and classic tale of the tragedy of alcoholism. No matter how one interprets the book, however, I think most poeple would agree it's certainly a masterpiece, not only of Russian literature but of world literature as well.
MOSCOW TO THE END OF THE LINE is a short book, more novella than novel. It's not divided into chapters; breaks in the monologue occur at the different stops along Venichka's journey. The breaks are not always natural stopping places, however, and, I think it's best to read this book in one sitting.
I don't read any Russian at all, so I can only guess how extraordinary this book must be in its original language. Even in translation it's exceptional and the juxtaposition of the poetic and the profane provides a heady mix that's as intoxicating as are Venichka's alcoholic "recipes."
MOSCOW TO THE END OF THE LINE is a book I'd recommend to anyone who loves great literature. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
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