The Island of Crimea

This book is a proof that Aksenov is, without any doubt, a living classic of contemporary Russian literature. I absolutely enjoyed reading it in Russian...

Excellent literature. Rich style and intriguing plot. It is impossible to close the book once began reading. And once its finished, the reader will not remain the same person anymore. The deep emotionality of characters and sometimes seemingly irrational behaviours leave one pondering on the mysteries of human nature and national characters.

The style of this book is something beyond imagination. You can almost physically enjoy every word as you read it. This is the "modern classic."In order to understand it fully, both form and content, you must be Russian though...

This book by Aksyonov is definately nowhere near "crap" like some reader wrote . Ironically , the same reader refferes to A.Rybakov ( !!! ) as a "good Russian modern author". Well , I guess the same reader preffers Pat Boone over Elvis too . Pity, pity, pity on that reader . The Island ( like most of Aksyonov's works ) has a great deal of pain and tortured social and civic selves of the people who are trapped between their love for Russia and grim Communist reality of the USSR . And again , like many other Aksyonov works , the Island might be a bit too difficult to fully understand and relate to for most of the Westerners . It is hard for the one who never experienced the gloom and doom of living in the country of the "proletariat's dictatorship" to fully believe that it was REALLY that bad . In this book the Island is a model of what modern Russia could have been if not for the violent Communist coup of 1917 that brought all the pain and misery in the world to Russia . The Island of Crimea is a great book ,well-written , with enough joy and enough pain to be read and liked by many .

The only thing that's the absolute crap is the "review" above. The book is splendid, funny and deeply moving account about Russian character and communist bureaucracy. If you like Josef Skvorecky, I urge you to read this.