Evgeny Grishkovets

The Hemingway Game might seem like an odd title for a contemporary Russian novella, but it's an allusion to the way post-Soviet Russians are aping American culture. Two young men, Sasha (a.k.a. Sanya) and his friend Max, have adopted this 'Hemingway Game' as a strategy for being manly and supercool and attracting young women without forming any commitment. Sasha has been married and has a son but is now solo while Max's relationship status is a bit dubious. Since they drink prodigious quantities of alcohol in their night on the town, they are in fact conforming to the stereotype of heavy-drinking Russians, but they're sculling cocktails not vodka shots so perhaps there's a difference.

The Hemingway allusion also extends to Sasha's sleepy fantasies about himself in various heroic adventures, though sometimes these interruptions to the narrative seem a bit forced.

By coincidence, Sue at Whispering Gums has posted a review today of Chekhov's famous story, 'The Lady with the Dog', and although I haven't read it, it seems to me that The Hemingway Game treats the same theme, that is, a story of a young man discovering what true love really is. Set over a single day in Moscow, Grishovets' story shows us two men having relished their carefree dalliances only to discover that real love matters more. Sasha, who's an architect, is suddenly infatuated with Her, the unnamed object of his new and overwhelming affections, and for most of the novel he carries on like a silly teenager, waiting on phone calls, and stressing about whether and when he should call and what he should wear and all that nonsense. It is not until late in the story that a catastrophe makes him understand that it's real love and not infatuation that he craves. At the same time Sasha's preoccupation with Her annoys Max who still wants to play around — until he too realises the error of his ways.

Along the way, Grishkovets has some fun satirising the new Moscow. Both the young men are from the provinces, and are a little smitten by the 24/7 anything goes Big City lifestyle. They are particularly attentive to the style of the taxi drivers who negotiate Moscow's atrocious traffic, but they take the glory of Stalin's 'gift to the people' metro stations for granted.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/08/06/the-hemingway-game-by-evgeny-grishkovets-tra...… (mer)

Сочинения Гришковца следовало бы назвать првокациооными, поскольку авторы многих рецензий отступают от предмета своего повествования и переключаются на собсьвееную судьбу. И дальше пишут о том, что и в их жизни была такая же собака или не собака, но всйё равно такая же, такая же зима, такие же поездки в Сочи или случаи в аэропорту. Лишь в конце, извиняясь, рецензенты на скорую руку признаются в любви к Гришковцу, которого к моменту написания статьи считают своим ближайшим и бесценным другом. (Г. Заславская)… (mer)

"Реки" - первая повесть Евгения Гришковца. Как и все, что делает Гришковец, "Реки" - произведение пронзительное и очень теплое. Для тех, кто находит причины жить там, где родился и для тех, кто нашел причины, чтобы уехать. О странном чувстве Родины. О странных системах координат во времени и пространстве, вызывающих у нас улыбку или же заставляющих плакать.
Это повесть о ненаписанном. Повесть, объем которой дает ваша собственная история.… (mer)