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Envy (1927)

by Yuri Olesha

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646535,642 (3.49)20
One of the delights of Russian literature, a tour de force that has been compared to the best of Nabokov and Bulgakov, Yuri Olesha's novella Envybrings together cutting social satire, slapstick humour, and a wild visionary streak. Andrei is a model Soviet citizen, a swaggering, self-satisfied mogul of the food industry who intends to revolutionise modern life with mass-produced sausage. Nikolai is a loser. Finding him drunk in the gutter, Andrei gives him a bed for the night and a job as a gofer. Nikolai takes what he can, but that doesn't mean he's grateful. Griping, sulking, grovellingly abject, he despises everything Andrei believes in, even if he envies him his every breath. Producer and sponger, insider and outcast, master and man fight back and forth in the pages of Olesha's anarchic comedy. It is a contest of wills in which nothing is sure, except the incorrigible human heart.… (more)
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» See also 20 mentions

English (3)  Dutch (2)  All languages (5)
Showing 3 of 3
I confess I had a bit of trouble following. Maybe some of the allegories for early Soviet bureaucracy were lost on me. I'd be curious to read it again in a different translation, but maybe not curious enough to do so.

I just read John Haskell's The Tramp in the latest A Public Space, which is a weirdly literal retelling of the Charlie Chaplin movie, but the mirrored trope of the vagrant picked up by the rich guy, allowed to live in his home, still lacks depth for me. Again, I feel I may lack the cultural context.
  Latkes | May 2, 2019 |
Here's a question for you: What do you get when you cross Dostoyevsky's underground man, Gogol's wicked satire, a Nabokovian gift for metaphor, and place them in early Soviet Russia?

Unfortunately, something less than the sum of its parts.

Envy is set in 1920s Soviet Russia, with a drunken loser, Kavalerov, living in the home of a porcine official sausage-maker, Babichev, who is beloved by all. Kavalerov hates Babichev's guts, and writes a letter full of bile against him. Soon after, there's some family drama with Babichev's brother, Ivan.

The language, aside from a few fantastic metaphors, is dull. The narrative is gormless, and largely exists to string together the better moments together. For a 'Modernist' work, it is not as metaphorical or colorful, like Petersburg. I'm not sure whether to ascribe it to undiscovered Soviet editorial mangling, or a subpar translation (the NYRB edition). A pity. ( )
1 vote HadriantheBlind | Mar 30, 2013 |
First published in 1927 at the wave of Soviet avant-garde fiction, it is a small wonder that this book got in print. Its surreal and playful style is a great precursor to Master and Margarita, which Bulgakov started to write in 1928. Olesha managed to write a deeply ironic and satiric piece that nevertheless won official critical acclaim - this alone is a testimony that the novel can be read on several different levels.

A masterpiece of Russian fiction that deserves to be listed among the major works of 20th century literature. ( )
2 vote nuwanda | Sep 10, 2008 |
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» Add other authors (42 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Yuri Oleshaprimary authorall editionscalculated
Altman, NatanIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Anthony WolfeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kalfus, KenIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schwartz, MarianTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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One of the delights of Russian literature, a tour de force that has been compared to the best of Nabokov and Bulgakov, Yuri Olesha's novella Envybrings together cutting social satire, slapstick humour, and a wild visionary streak. Andrei is a model Soviet citizen, a swaggering, self-satisfied mogul of the food industry who intends to revolutionise modern life with mass-produced sausage. Nikolai is a loser. Finding him drunk in the gutter, Andrei gives him a bed for the night and a job as a gofer. Nikolai takes what he can, but that doesn't mean he's grateful. Griping, sulking, grovellingly abject, he despises everything Andrei believes in, even if he envies him his every breath. Producer and sponger, insider and outcast, master and man fight back and forth in the pages of Olesha's anarchic comedy. It is a contest of wills in which nothing is sure, except the incorrigible human heart.

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