Autor: Alexei Salnikov
Year: 2016
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Half lying on a sofa, under an overly warm blanket, I read that book and felt as if I am a child again (not exactly closer to childhood, but to the reality that existed back then), half healthy after a few days of a flu I didn't have.
The memories that I forgot I had surfaced. It's not like I literally experienced things described in the novel — the plot itself is new, nothing like what I have read before. Rather the details of that plot, the physical environments of the characters felt lived in. On one hand, those small details (like a list of things found in a first aid kit, the state of public transport, behaviors of passersby) felt like experiences of a specific person, more of the author (the theoretical, metaphysical author that exists behind every work) than the experience of just the characters. That made me feel that this is one of a kind, the only one book, that this metaphysical author can write. But, on the other hand, those details felt universal, or perhaps they were written in the language I understand. My personal experience for sure plays it's role — post-Soviet-ism was woven into my childhood. Even now, echoes of it can sometimes be found around me, most notably in architecture and Saturday markets.
It plays in an interesting contrast to the other book I recently read — Luigi Pirandello's "One, none and a Hundred Grand." While this book brought a great deal of distance between one person and another, and drew a very thick line between them by pointing out the differences in ways each human perceives the world and people in it, "Petrovs in and around the flu" gently erases that line. The lives and experiences of parents blend into those of their children. Children, even though the conditions and political states change, imitate the lives of their parents. Same with strangers, with intertwined lives, common experiences and personal languages (which can be different but stem from one, common language family). I especially enjoy how it doesn't feel fatalistic or pre-scripted, and how those similarities and repetitions are not judged.
The book managed to balance itself structurally as well. While it has an interesting idea, a "hook", it does not purely circle around it. There is a plot, though quite vague. There are little plot twists here and there. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes sad and grim, sometimes just melancholic. The "hook", that magical layer of the book, appears only occasionally, more like a quick wink, a sly smile directed for the reader to notice. I think the blurb for the book by Galina Yuzefovich describes it perfectly, without any spoilers but with an on-point summary, and it's hard for me to disagree — this book is a feast for a reader.
Quote from the blurb:["An amazing one of its kind language, grounded and tactile material world and magical uncertainty (either the things happening in the novel are flu-induced hallucinations of the Petrov family, or reality has shown for a moment it's a magical inner side) - however you look at it, it's an outstanding text and a feast for the reader" - Galina Yuzefovich]
(translated by me, so it might not be the best atempt)
While it wasn't a gripping, quick and obsessive read, I slowly got attached to it.
Unfortunately, the book currently has no English translation.