Chicago Review Press
Monday Starts on Saturday
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First published in Russia in 1964, Monday Starts on Saturday has become the most popular Strugatsky novel in the authors' homeland. Like the works of Gogol and Kafka, it tackles the nature of institutions--here focusing on one devoted to discovering and perfecting human happiness. By turns wildly imaginative, hilarious, and disturbing, Monday Starts on Saturday is a comic masterpiece by two of the world's greatest science fiction writers.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9781613739235
EAN:
9781613739235
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
304
Authors:
Boris Strugatsky , Arkady Strugatsky
Foreword by:
Adam Roberts
Publisher:
Chicago Review Press
Published Date: 2017-01-10
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Loved it. If you love Terry Pratchett, you might love this book to.
This is not a book about a fairy tale. This is a book about young scientists. They are ironic and witty, as befits a community of passionate creators and dreamers. The book is full of gentle criticism of the huge machine that controlled Soviet science. And this corresponds to the atmosphere of those distant years, albeit limited, of openness and freedom that melted the ice of Stalin's ideological iceberg. Before us are cheerful and at the same time very serious young men and women, passionately in love with science and, despite the difficult past of their country, sincerely believing in the bright and incredibly tempting future of Russia. The book is very funny. You just need to set yourself up for a positive mood and read without stopping and not being distracted by senseless accusations of bowing to the enemy. These talented writers belong to the whole world. Including you and me.
This book is somewhat outside the author’s norm of gloominess, but that’s okay because it makes up for it with good humor and an excellent variety of settings. I spent quite a lot of the time reading thinking “that’s not where I expected that to go”.
Smart, intriguing and so dense. Very different from Western sci-fi, and such a subtle sense of humor...
Monday Starts on Saturday is a bit of a departure for the Strugatsky brothers, who have also written serious tales of science fiction and fantasy such as Roadside Picnic, the Doomed City and Hard to be a God. I found the magical science and maths in this story enjoyable, and the narrative compelling. At times laugh out loud funny, Monday Starts on Saturday will enchant you! :)
