Blurbing Petroleum Venus

My pocket paperback copy of Aleksandr Snegirev’s Нефтяная Венера (Petroleum Venus), a finalist for the 2009 National Bestseller award (previous post), has such curious blurbs on the back cover that I thought I’d use them to structure my comments about the book. Though I read one of the original reviews long ago, I’m not going to look up the rest online… what’s there is there, sequitur or non.

Как тут не посмеяться над теми, кто кричал, что роман помер!
You can’t help but laugh at those who screamed that the novel has died!
(Nina Savchenkova, Big Jury, National Bestseller Award)
Indeed. Snegirev can certainly tell a straightforward story and develop characters: Fedya, a first-person narrator, describes how his parents die in rapid succession, leaving him to care for his teenage son Vanya, who has Down syndrome. The title of the book comes from a painting that Vanya finds at an accident site. It works into an oddly carnivalesque passage toward the end of the book and a reunion of sorts.

…настоящий катарсис...
…real catharsis…
(Top-kniga.com)
Agreed: The ending of Petroleum Venus is both sad and honest. (I’ve read articles indicating that Snegirev had a child with Down syndrome.)

Роман сильный. Очень сильный.
The novel is powerful. Very powerful.
(Pavel Krusanov)
Most powerful aspect of the book: Fedya’s nuanced and emotional description of his relationship with Vanya and Vanya’s life. Fedya and Vanya felt so real that I was ready to forgive Snegirev the book’s weaker elements: a very heavy dependence on coincidence and a late political tangent that feels contrived and/or leaning toward allegory.

Прочесть можно за два часа!
Can be read in two hours!
(Time-Out, Moscow)
Not here! The book did read quickly and easily, though. The Time-Out review is the one I read -- it mentions that the novel is written in simple language. Level for non-native readers of Russian: 2/5, moderately easy.

Прекрасный озорной роман.
A wonderful mischievous novel.
(Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti)
It wouldn’t have occurred to me to describe Petroleum Venus this way, but I can’t argue: Fedya isn’t a saintly father, and Vanya certainly knows how to find trouble. Don’t ever stick your tongue out at a BMW.

...виртуозно балансируется на грани жестокости и нежности.
…expertly balanced on the border of cruelty and tenderness.
(Psychologies)
Fedya’s description of his difficult relationship with his family members, including the ambiguous circumstances of his mother’s death, balances well with the book’s humorous and sweet moments, like Vanya’s participation in a production of Romeo and Juliet.

Рекомендуется даже тем, кто настороженно относится к молодой литературе.
Recommended even for those who are wary of youth literature [literature by younger writers; please see comments].
(Vecherniaia Moskva)
Age interests me far less than competent, confident writing. Some passages in Petroleum Venus felt overwritten or too slapstick, but Snegirev makes up for it with concision, pacing, and a good dialogue-to-description ratio.

Автора сильно волнуют отношения с Творцом, и своим волнением ему удается заразить читателя.
Relationships with the Creator concern the author very much, and he manages to infect the reader with his concern.
(Vash dosug)
Yes, God is in the book, including that cathartic ending, but I think the spiritual element in Petroleum Venus is broader, thanks to Fedya’s mother’s “dvoeverie” combination of religion and superstition.

Огромное спасибо от моей матушки!
A huge thank you from my mum!
(Aleksandr Morev, writer, Sakhalin)
I have no idea who Mr. Morev’s mother is or what, exactly, she appreciates, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she felt grateful for Snegirev’s portrayal of Vanya. Or thankful that Petroleum Venus is decent, unpretentious mainstream fiction with a big heart.