Only a literary award program called “Большая книга” (“Big Book”) would name a short list of 13 books and writers. Here are the Big Book 2009 finalists:
Andrei Baldin – Протяжение точки (The Space of a Dot… this title could go in many directions…)
Boris Evseev – Лавка нищих (A Shop for the Poor)
Leonid Zorin – Скверный глобус (The Wretched Globe)
Alla Marchenko – Ахматова: жизнь (Akhmatova: A Life)
Vladimir Orlov – Камергерский переулок (Kamergerskii Lane)
Marian Petrosian – Дом, в котором… (The House in Which…)
Ol’ga Slavnikova – Любовь в седьмом вагоне (Love in the Seventh Carriage)
Aleksandr Terekhov – Каменный мост (The Stone Bridge)
Boris Khazanov – Вчерашняя вечность (Yesterday’s Eternity)
Leonid Iuzefovich – Журавли и карлики (beginning middle end) (Cranes and Dwarfs)
Vadim Iarmolinets – Свинцовый дирижабль “Иерихон – 86-89” (The Lead Dirigible “Jericho-86-89”) I suspect this is the only book on the short list to include Led Zeppelin lyrics.
That's a handy list, thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading Yuri Arabov's "Чудо", which that didn't make it to the short list, on the grounds of it being too slim for a "Big Book", I guess. :))
Alex,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Alex! Ha ha, yes, that one is a bit thin to be a big book, isn't it!? You'll have to let me know how you like it... I read the beginning but it just didn't grab me, though I thought the premise was very interesting. I thought it read more like a screenplay than a novel so I'd like to see the movie when it comes out.
In case anyone's interested, here's a link to the beginning and an address to ask for the rest of the manuscript: ЧудоArabov discussed Чудо a month or so ago on Эхо Москвы. Here's the link: Арабов on Эхо. Arabov said it's based on what is supposedly a true story... a girl suddenly froze like a statue when she brought an icon to a dance/party.
Just finished the book a few hours ago.
ReplyDeleteI'd say that the book is particularly important for Orthodox Christians, because it fleshes out an apocryphal oral story of a miracle of God, bringing it to a wider audience and fitting it into the historical context of the "Khruschev thaw".
I enjoyed the book despite being a non-believer, but then again, I don't think it's going to lose anything in transition to the screen.
Thanks for checking back, Alex!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the book. The subject is definitely interesting... and I can already picture the movie!
The Big Book 2009 finalists are up online now, so if anyone wants to read anything, now's your chance.
ReplyDeletehttp://bigbook.ru/publications/index.php
Thank you for posting this, Alex! Are you going to read them all and vote? I saw on Goodreads that you liked Скверный глобус. I'm going to read the new Orlov book soon, and I'm also particularly interested in the Khazanov and Zorin.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't say I'm interested in "Akhmatova: A Life" at this point, but I'll try to read the rest of them. I'm only familiar with the Yarmolinets & the Zorin so far.
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