Cynics
Author: Marienhof, Anatoly
ISBN: 9780241688540
Publisher: Penguin UK
Year first published: 07 Jul 2026
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback / softback
Plt;bPgt;The blistering 1928 Bolsehvik satire, unpublishable in the Russia until 1988 - in a brand new translationPlt;/bPgt;
Plt;iPgt;P#39;A love that cannot be throttled by the rubber tube of an enema bulb is immortal.P#39;Plt;/iPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Bookish and idealistic Vladimir is tormented with love for Olga; he brings her flowers when other men bring her flour and millet. Olga eventually agrees to marry him, as her buildingP#8217;s central heating will be out of service all winter and at least with two in the bed theyP#8217;ll be warmer. When she decides sheP#8217;d like to serve the revolution, he introduces her to his brother Sergei, a Bolshevik who manages the waterways. Thus begins an excruciating love triangle, measured in ration coupons and black market goods.Plt;BRPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Described by the poet Joseph Brodsky as P#39;one of the most innovative novels in Russian literatureP#39;, MarienhofP#8217;s Plt;iPgt;Cynics Plt;/iPgt;is a pitch-black comedy set during the wild and savage years of War Communism and the New Economic Policy. Cinematic in its style and collagist in its aesthetic, it establishes Marienhof as a true formal radical. It is a bawdy, savage, lavishly emotional portrayal of working for the revolution (and trying to ignore it).
ISBN: 9780241688540
Publisher: Penguin UK
Year first published: 07 Jul 2026
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback / softback
Plt;bPgt;The blistering 1928 Bolsehvik satire, unpublishable in the Russia until 1988 - in a brand new translationPlt;/bPgt;
Plt;iPgt;P#39;A love that cannot be throttled by the rubber tube of an enema bulb is immortal.P#39;Plt;/iPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Bookish and idealistic Vladimir is tormented with love for Olga; he brings her flowers when other men bring her flour and millet. Olga eventually agrees to marry him, as her buildingP#8217;s central heating will be out of service all winter and at least with two in the bed theyP#8217;ll be warmer. When she decides sheP#8217;d like to serve the revolution, he introduces her to his brother Sergei, a Bolshevik who manages the waterways. Thus begins an excruciating love triangle, measured in ration coupons and black market goods.Plt;BRPgt;Plt;BRPgt;Described by the poet Joseph Brodsky as P#39;one of the most innovative novels in Russian literatureP#39;, MarienhofP#8217;s Plt;iPgt;Cynics Plt;/iPgt;is a pitch-black comedy set during the wild and savage years of War Communism and the New Economic Policy. Cinematic in its style and collagist in its aesthetic, it establishes Marienhof as a true formal radical. It is a bawdy, savage, lavishly emotional portrayal of working for the revolution (and trying to ignore it).
