Written in the 1920s, this is not your typical Russian fare. Filled with humor, this book examines Russian society in the aftermath of the Russian revolution. Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov was a nobleman and, on her deathbed, his mother-in-law reveals she hid all of her jewels in one of the twelve dining room chairs. Off he goes to find out what happened to his property, but quickly discovers that she also told her priest, who secretly longs to be a factory owner. Having no idea how to locate the chairs nor gain access to them, the nobleman partners with Ostap Bender, a con artist, referred to as the "smooth operator." Their adventures are quite comical, as is the ending. Enjoyed this one. ( )

Plot:
It is 1927 and Ippolit works as a town magistrate in the Soviet Union. When his mother-in-law dies, she reveals that she has hidden her fortune in one of the twelve matching chairs in the dining room. The problem is that those chairs were appropriated when the communists took over. Ippolit decides to track down the chairs, but he is not exactly born for this kind of endeavor. Con-man Ostap Bender, on the other hand, is and when he finds out about Ippolit's search, he invites himself along for it.

Twelve Chairs lives mostly off Ostap Bender who is simply a fantastic character. Other than that, though, the book wasn't so much my cup of tea and I often failed to see the sense of humor in it.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2019/12/09/twelve-chairs-ilya-ilf-yevgeni-petrov/ ( )

This was a fun, albeit predictable, reading experience. The Soviet Union of 1927 was very different from the dark days of the Stalin era that were to come, and Ilf and Petrov are excellent at highlighting so many characteristics of the Soviet people, both in Moscow and in provincial towns throughout the USSR.

However, I found the ending wildly disappointing. The last chapter was rushed, and things seemed to happen solely for the purpose of giving the authors a chance to wrap things up. It was frustrating to have such a fun journey end on such a lame note. Seeing how wonderful the conclusion to Father Fyodor's story was, I was caught completely by surprise by the novel's conclusion just two chapters later, and it soured the whole experience.

I'm excited to watch the Mel Brooks movie, as this was (mostly) great source material to work with. I'll read the sequel too, but with a little more skepticism. ( )

Prior to a brief but extremely passionate extended weekend, this book was sent to me by a Russian woman who thought my understanding of the language was better than it is.

I've kept the book until now, as a memento of an extremely sensuous few days. I say until now, because for over a year now I have been working for another Russian woman with whom I have become equally enamoured - although age differences and my status as an employee, this will probably only be a one way attraction - and I've given the book in it's pristine condition, to her as a birthday present. This has gone down remarkably well and aroused her curiosity.

Written in Russian, I couldn't comprehend a single word, but the wonders of the internet being what they are, I found an English translation. It's quite a good story......

A bureaucrat working in a Soviet era provincial town, learns that his recently deceased mother-in-law had hidden her family treasures in one of 12 chairs. This was to keep them from the Bolsheviks who were seizing all middle class assets.

The tribulations and efforts to recover the chairs sometimes involve humour, deception, guile and theft. Eventually they are found, but the 'treasure' isn't. The ending has the sort of ironic twist for which Russian authors seem especially fond.

I enjoyed reading the book - but not as much as I'm enjoying the added attention from my boss - but wait a minute!! The Demi Moore/Michael Douglas movie 'Disclosure' has just come to mind...... ( )

This book was a decidedly mixed bag for me. It's a rather Walt Disney-esque treatment of what becomes a seemingly never endless pursuit of something very valuable. In fact, I was rather reminded of the 1963 movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It was written and takes place during the early days of Soviet Russia. While I have seen descriptions of the book refer to its "heroes", I found not a single character of much personal appeal or respect. The "journey" that the lead characters follow is engaging for most of the book, but, about half way through, the authors seemed to have had a change of heart in how to present their story, almost as though one said to the other, "No, this is how we should have written this." After a few chapters, the first approach wins out again, and the story line continues as before. For the most part, it's a fun read, but I can't say I really recommend it. ( )