Staff Pick
Victor Pelevin's The Hall of the Singing Caryatids is a slim work brimming with satire and imagination. The Russian novelist and short-story writer's appeal seems to be growing steadily with English readers (thanks, in no small part, to wonderful translations by Andrew Bromfield). Singing Caryatids takes aim at present-day Russian politics, consumer culture, and exploitative male dominance with an inventive tale. It manages to incorporate an injectable serum that allows its users to remain motionless for extended periods, a seemingly omniscient praying mantis that communicates subconsciously as a result of said serum, and an ornate underground entertainment complex catering to the whims of the nation's elite. Often humorous and delightfully bizarre, Singing Caryatids is a brief, hip piece of fiction from one of Russia's most exciting and unique writers. Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
After auditioning for the part as a singing geisha at a dubious bar, Lena and eleven other "lucky" girls are sent to work at a posh underground nightclub reserved exclusively for Russia's upper-crust elite. They are to be a sideshow attraction to the rest of the club's entertainment, and are billed as the "famous singing caryatids." Things only get weirder from there. Secret ointments, praying mantises, sexual escapades, and grotesque murder are quickly ushered into the plot. The Russian literary master Victor Pelevin holds nothing back, and , his most recent story to be translated into English, is sure to make you squirm in your seat with utter delight.
Review
"The book's concluding pages are delightfully enigmatic, fogged over just enough with metaphor that it's impossible to say quite what happens. Likewise, we never really know if the mantis has empowered Lena or seduced her into shameful political violence. That's all toward the beauty of Pelevin's project: a satire sharp enough to score points against the malign, yet retentive of a fine negative capability that takes these very same targets and makes of them a document that shimmers with the evasiveness of art." Scott Esposito
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Synopsis
A far-out, far-fetched, and fiendishly funny story about a strange nightclub and its outrageous entertainment.
About the Author
Victor Pelevin is one of Russia's most successful post-Soviet writers. He won the Russian Booker prize in 1993 Born on November 22, 1962 in Moscow, he attended the Moscow Institute of Power Engineering, and the Institute of Literature. He's now been published throughout Europe. His books include A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia, Omon Ra, The Blue Lantern, The Yellow Arrow, and The Hall of the Singing Caryatids.