The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 9 March 2008
by Victor Pelevin
The peristence of the Putin dynasty in post-Soviet Russia is evidence that there is some nostalgia for those spartan, deprived and oppressive days over there. We can be a little worried about that, but can not deny a certain fascination with the almost military utility of Soviet-era life. The author of this terrific novel lived the early years of his own life in the late years of the Soviet Union. He brings to the book a sensitive view of a child's life in that environment, but a kind of childhood to which many readers will relate. The kid, Omon, is fascinated by the Soviet space program. He was raised on the achievements of Yuri Gagarin and is entranced by grainy photos of heroic Soviet cosmonauts in the newspapers. So, still a child, he goes off to a kind of space camp and then into the military, on a path to the space program. By the time he is a cosmonaut, though, the Americans have already landed men on the Moon. Now, the Soviets can only prove their superior technical ability by sending robots to the lunar surface. But the Soviets don't have that technology. Their only recourse is a elaborate ruse that will look familiar to those who imagine America's lunar trips were faked, or to fans of the old movie Capricorn One. That is the sci-fi aspect of the book. But, the story is a lot more than that. Omon (whose military callsign is Ra, from the Egyptian sun god) and his friend Mitiok are plunged into a bizarre world of Soviet heroism and sacrifice. The tale becomes a surreal and existential meditation on death and life, what it takes to make life meaningful and even beautiful. The story is told with great wit, sensitivity and insight. A grim, bizarre and yet wondrous trip to the Moon.