A School for Fools

"I'm getting married, very soon, maybe yesterday or last year," exclaims the mad, but humble narrator. The entire book reads like a disheveled dream outside the boundaries of time, but somehow it all makes sense in the end. Few books in the history of writing have managed to capture as much soul and satire as this one. If you decide to read it, you may feel confused at first. But stick with it and hopefully you will enjoy the little Poe-isms, references to the River Lethe,(etc.), and the realization that perhaps what society terms "madness" is a more honest condition than "normalcy". As a Russian major, I had to read this book for class, but I couldn't recommend it more. Many people who pass through Russian literature classes do not agree. I admit that I prefer odd books like "Master and Margarita", "Petersburg", and "Pale Fire" to their Western-born rivals (and each of these works add a necessary spice to even the genius-ridden Russian classics) and anything modern, but School For Fools deserves recognition. The modern literary field is a little lacking of luster in my opinion, forcing book-fiends to search overseas in places like the Czech Republic for a mental challenge. Everyone has different tastes, so I hate to criticise any one writer--and often I find over time that I was wrong. I'll get to the point: Even Pelevin disappoints me in the Russian realm. Vladimir Nobokov listed this book as one of his favorites, which is lofty praise in itself. Although I am someone maybe ten times more stupid, I agree. P.S. winter butterflies are the prettiest

Sokolov's "School for Fools" is a linguistically titillating thrill! The narrative consists of the network of memories, both childhood and adult, of a schizophrenic, integrated into a well crafted blend of innumerable references to works from genres encompassing an impressive range of both Russian and Western cultural traditions. The realist doubling that Dostoevsky uses so effectively to reveal the psychological state of his characters takes on new meaning in this post-modern, intertextual playground; the main character becomes a medium through which public and private memories interact, subtly illuminating the delicate subconscious threads that connect each to all. This disturbed child/man becomes a prophet to the mysteries of cultural development and the communal self through a deconstruction of the traditional sense of temporal linearity, individual identity and place. The novel is not what you might call a quick read. However, the combination of original insight and elegance of language, rhythm and style make it more than worth your while. Sokolov is part of the exciting rebirth of the Russian novel, perhaps akin to Victor Pelevin.