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Souvenirs Du Futur: Récit (1929)

by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky(Favorite Author)

3.94 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

2864326191 (ISBN13: 9782864326199)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Verdier

review 1: I have to admit I was very excited to pick this book up and read it. I went into it knowing I may not enjoy the writing style. I both did and didn't. The book is a compilation of seven short stories. I thoroughly enjoyed three of the seven. The other four were, and you can quote me on this, "meh". The three I enjoyed were:Quadraturin, a story about a man in a tiny apartment who is given a salve that, when applied to the walls of the apartment, will make it grow. This was a fun story about being careful what you wish for. It is also a story about the harsh living conditions in Moscow at the time of the writing. The Thirteenth Category of Reason. This one was my favorite. It is about a grave digger and a corpse that visits him. Again, it tells the story of the circumstances... more in Russia at the time the author is writing the book. The masses of people and that many of them are merely like walking corpses due to the oppression and depression. I actually have a son who lives in Russia and many of these depressions are in fact alive and well. Memories of the Future. I've always enjoyed stories about time and time travel. This one reminded me some of Wells's The Time Machine. I really didn't care for the other four stories so I won't comment on them much. If you are reading this review you have likely read other reviews on them and I too found them a little difficult to follow. His writing style is to take you from one thing to the next and it can be done quickly and if you aren't following his train of thought, you will feel left behind. It is because I only enjoyed three of the seven that I gave the book three stars. The ones I liked would be rated higher and the ones I disliked, lower. I'll simply average them out to a three. I hope this doesn't discourage you from reading the compilation. Read my favorite first if you like. Then, if it is to your liking, keep going. There is a lot to learn about Russia during the early 20th century. Enjoy!
review 2: Sometimes it takes a bit of work to read a work of genius, but Krzhizhanovsky is worth the effort. Writers and teachers of writing speak of narratives being either character driven or plot driven; the stories comprising Memories of the Future are driven by ideas, oftentimes breathtaking in their scope, intelligence, and force of imagination. Reminiscent of his contemporary, Andrey Platonov, Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky's forays into surreal landscapes provide both the author and reader a vantage point from which to view Soviet Russia--through a distorted lens into a funhouse mirror--as perhaps the safest alternative to a direct examination of an environment in which artistic and other individual freedoms were suppressed. The story "The Branch Line" is a case in point. There the protagonist finds himself exiting a train in a place where the residents are manufacturing nightmares with the intention of shipping them back to the realms of daylight consciousness. "!ALL HANDS TO THE HEAVY INDUSTRY OF HEAVY DREAMS!" a sign proclaims, at which the main character tells himself "I'd better turn back." Once he is off the rails, as it were, turning back is easier said than done. These are chilling, sobering, thoughtful tales, all the more remarkable for having survived the times in which they were written. less

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