Chevengur

<p>'Platonov is an extraordinary writer, perhaps the most brilliant Russian writer of the twentieth century' <b><i>New York Review of Books</i></b><br><br><b>The Soviet <i>Don Quixote</i>, <i>Chevengur</i> is now seen by many Russian writers as Russia's greatest novel of the last century. This is the first English version to convey its subtlety and depth.</b><br><br>Zakhar Pavlovich comes from a world of traditional crafts to work as a train mechanic, motivated by his belief in the transformative power of industry. His adopted son, Sasha Dvanov, embraces revolution, which will transform everything: the words we speak and the lives we live, souls and bodies, the soil underfoot and the sun overhead.<br><br>Seeking communism, Dvanov joins up with Stepan Kopionkin, a warrior for the cause whose steed is the fearsome cart horse Strength of the Proletariat. Together they cross the steppe, meeting counter-revolutionaries, desperados and visionaries of all kinds. At last they reach the isolated town of Chevengur. There communism is believed to have been achieved because everything that is not communism has been eliminated. And yet even in Chevengur the revolution recedes from sight.<br><br>Comic, ironic, grotesque, disturbingly poetic in its use of language and profoundly sorrowful, <i>Chevengur</i> is a revolutionary novel about revolutionary ardour and despair. Unpublished during Andrey Platonov’s life, it is now one of the most celebrated Russian novels, and the most ambitious and moving of Platonov’s recreations of a world undergoing revolutionary transformation.<br><br>'It was from the novel <i>Chevengur</i> that I learned to create "literary worlds". Platonov is a self-taught literary jeweller, a true believer who built dystopias. His love for his characters is instantly conveyed to readers' <b>Andrey Kurkov</b><br><br><b>Translated by Robert Chandler and Elizabeth Chandler</b></p> <p>'Platonov is an extraordinary writer, perhaps the most brilliant Russian writer of the twentieth century' <b><i>New York Review of Books</i><br><br>The Soviet <i>Don Quixote</i>, <i>Chevengur</i> is now seen by many Russian writers as Russia's greatest novel of the last century. This is the first English version to convey its subtlety and depth.</b><br><br>Zakhar Pavlovich, a gifted craftsman, moves from traditional village life to the world of industry. He falls in love with steam locomotives, hoping to harness the power of machines to bring an end to human misery. Before long he is disillusioned.<br><br>His adopted son, Sasha Dvanov, sets out across the steppes in pursuit of revolution, together with his companion, Kopionkin, knight errant of the martyred revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg. Perhaps communism will be born spontaneously of human yearning?<br><br>In the town of Chevengur, a group of impatient Bolsheviks are liquidating the bourgeoisie and half-bourgeoisie, and relocating the buildings. Communism, they believe, will come into being once everything else has been eliminated.<br><br><i>Chevengur</i> is a philosophical novel rich in psychological, social and sensuous detail. Unpublished during Andrey Platonov's life, it is now one of the most celebrated of Russian novels. Along with <i>The Foundation Pit,</i> <i>Soul </i>and <i>Happy Moscow</i>, it is the most ambitious and moving of Platonov's recreations of a world undergoing revolutionary transformation.<br><br>'It was from the novel <i>Chevengur</i> that I learned to create "literary worlds". Platonov is a self-taught literary jeweller, a true believer who built dystopias. His love for his characters is instantly conveyed to readers' <b>Andrey Kurkov</b><br><br><b>Translated by Robert Chandler and Elizabeth Chandler</b></p>