Antoine Volodine Books

Set in the 22nd century, the city of Oulang-Oulane is ruled by a totalitarian regime where genetic mutations are rampant. Aside from the ruling class, which advocates extreme capitalism, the population lives in poverty. Mevlido, a 49-year-old police officer, resides in the slums of Poulailler Quatre, tasked with monitoring the Bolsheviks who threaten to overthrow the government. However, he secretly supports the revolutionaries as a double agent. Trapped in his traumatic memories and haunted by visions of the woman he loved, who was murdered by child soldiers during the last war, Mevlido wanders through nightmares and reincarnations. The moon looms large, terrorist attacks against it increase, and torrential rains alternate with extreme heat. From a young age, men exhibit brutal, beastly behavior, while birds become humanized and speak. Temporal boundaries have dissolved, intertwining life, dreams, and death in a hallucinatory vision.

Im Zentrum von Volodines Roman steht ein außergewöhnliches Paar: das ehemalige RAF-Mitglied Ingrid Vogel und ihr Jäger aus dem BKA, der sich anhand ihres Fahndungsfotos unsterblich in sie verliebt hatte. Dennoch oder gerade deswegen verhilft er ihr zur Flucht. In den letzten gemeinsamen Tagen in einem Lissabon a là Pessoa steht zwischen ihnen Ingrids titelgebender Schlüsselroman über den Untergrundkampf, den sie im fernen Exil schreiben will, den der Geliebte ihren Gedanken abliest: Literarische Polit-Fiction voller Rückbezüge auf den Terrorismus der 70er-80er Jahre. Mit großer poetischer Kraft und unbezähmbarer Phantasie entwirft Volodine ein Requiem auf die Nachkriegswelt, nimmt dazu die gängigen Totalitarismen auseinander, verpasst seiner Frustration über das zwangsläufige Scheitern aller Revolutionen einen teils schmerzlichen, teils erschreckend humorvollen Ausdruck. Atmosphärisch von enormem Sog.

49 brefs chapitres se répondent, dans lesquels apparaissent et disparaissent les héros et anti-héros de cette évocation poétique d'un monde dévasté, dans lequel une apocalypse ou un changement de régime a eu lieu. Un roman à la fois triste et jubilatoire, une sorte de tableau de fin du monde, envoûtant, délirant, sensuel.

Irreducible to any single literary genre, the Volodinian cosmos skillfully fuses elements of science fiction, magical realism, and political commentary. This work, the most distinctly sci-fi of Antoine Volodine’s translations into English, unfolds in a Tarkovskian landscape following the collapse of the Second Soviet Union. With most of humanity annihilated by nuclear meltdowns, a few communes persist, including one led by Solovyei, a psychotic father who invades the dreams of others, including his daughters, tormenting them for millennia. When a group of damaged individuals seeks refuge from the nuclear winter in Solovyei's commune, they plot to overthrow him, aiming to end his reign of mental abuse and restore humanity. Fantastical, unsettling, and occasionally humorous, this narrative is a pivotal entry in Volodine's expansive literary project, featuring a broad landscape, ambitious vision, and interconnected characters and ideas reminiscent of David Mitchell. Antoine Volodine, also known as Lutz Bassmann and Manuela Draeger, is a prolific French writer with over forty published works, including seven available in English translation. Jeffrey Zuckerman serves as the digital editor of Music & Literature, with his writing and translations featured in various notable publications.