Andrei Platonowitsch Platonow Book order

Set against the backdrop of revolutionary Russia, the narrative explores the lives of orphans seeking connection in a world torn apart. Zakhar Pavlovich, a skilled craftsman, transitions from village life to industrialization, drawn to the promise of machinery but ultimately facing disillusionment. His adopted son, Sasha Dvanov, embarks on a quest for revolution alongside the idealistic Kopionkin. The story culminates in Chevengur, where fervent Bolsheviks attempt to force communism into existence, leading to a poignant moment of hope amidst chaos.

In Russia it is Platonov who is increasingly described as the best writer of the post-revolutionary epoch. - Victor Erofeyev, Times Literary Supplement

TRANSLATED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT AND ELIZABETH CHANDLER'For the mind, everthing is in the future' Platonov once wrote; The protagonist of Soul is a young man torn between these opposing desires, sent as a kind of missionary to bring the values of modern Russia to his childhood home town in Central Asia.

Moscow in the 1930s is the consummate symbol of the Soviet paradise, a fairy-tale capital where, in Stalin's words, "life has become better, life has become merrier". In Happy Moscow Platonov exposes the gulf between this premature triumphal­ism and the harsh reality of low living standards and even lower expectations. For in Stalin's ideal city there is no longer a place for those who do not fit the bright, shining image of the new men and women of the future. The heroine, Moscow Chestnova, is an Everywoman, both virgin and whore, who flits from man to man, fascinated by the brave new world supposedly taking shape around her. In a variety of styles ranging from the grotesque, to the sentimental and the absurd, Platonov lays bare the ways in which language itself has been debased, even borrowing slogans from Stalin's own speeches for comic effect.In an age of spin doctors and soundbites, this anarchic satire has as much resonance as ever.

COVER DESIGNS THAT COME TO LIFE! ANIMATE THE COVER WITH THE FREE INSERTED SHEET Platonov's dystopian novel describes the lives of a group of Soviet workers who believe they are laying the foundations for a radiant future. As they work harder and dig deeper, their optimism turns to violence and it becomes clear that what is being dug is not a foundation pit but an immense grave. TRANSLATED BY ROBERT AND ELIZABETH CHANDLER AND OLGA MEERSON