Monday Begins on Saturday [Paperback]

Arkadi Strugatski (Author), Boris Strugatski (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: DAW (November 15, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879973366
• ISBN-13: 978-0879973360
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different novel by the Strugatsky Brothers, February 20, 2003

By 

Tanya Lamnin (West Bloomfield, MI, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monday Begins on Saturday (Paperback)

The Strugatskys are the co-Fathers of Russian sci-fi. It's that simple. They are prolific, poignant, meaningful. Their book The Picnic by the Roadside (later made into the movie Stalker) was lauded as being semi-prophetic of the Tchernobyl tragedy in its description of the dead Zone where everything is deadly (people later compared it to the abandoned neighborhoods in and around Tchernobyl). Indeed, the Picnic is a very depressing book (as is the Strugatskys' best book, their fantasy It's Hard to be a God).

That said, this one is not. In fact, it is different from most of what the Strugatskys have written--so light and funny it is. Granted, it will read better if you have a rudimentary knowledge of Russian mytholody and fairy-tales (for instance, the references to the amnesiac cat who cannot manage to tell a fairy-tale, nor sing a song; the talking fish; the Witch Naina Gorynishna are all uniquely Russiasn), but as it features Merlin, a magician by the name of Christobal Junta, a magic sofa, witches-secretaries and man-eating cadavers, it will probably appeal to all lovers of fantasy, no matter their origins.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for all ages, May 11, 2006

By 

Russian girl "sci-fi reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monday Begins on Saturday (Paperback)

This book presents reader with a combination of the ancient magic and today's science, each unique in it's cultural prospective(since authors are Russian). "Monday begins on Saturday" is one of the rare creations with (at times purely Russian) humor that seamlessly blends old and new ways, and directs them onto a new path - finding the unknown. Sounds cheesy, but believe me, I've read this book million of times as a child and adult, and still enjoy it for it's unique and refreshing perspective. Strugatski brothers are particularly good at presenting their readers with new and unique perceptions and views, and that, sadly, is what modern sci-fi is missing. The book is great for children as well, since it is loaded with magic creatures and detailed descriptions of their behaviour:)
In a nutshell - great reading!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soviet research science meets the paranormal, July 27, 2005

By 

Frikle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monday Begins on Saturday (Paperback)

This book is a humorous, intelligent and lively description of a secret research project in the USSR of the 60s that deals with magic. This means a Soviet-style laboratory complex with a host of characters that spend their lives pursuing science but with respect to magic objects, creatures from fairy tales and other elements of the supernatural. Cetrainly the Strugatski brothers mock Soviet bureaucracy, especially in the sciences - a great example of this (and one of my most vivid memories of the book) is the endless library of the paranormal they have in their lab, which is of indeterminate size and the corridors spontaneously rearrange themselves so that few dare to simply go in to look for a book - it also upholds the "noble science" ethos. This is done by having the characters be largely noble and dedicated.

The mixing of "proper" science and the paranormal is very amusing at times - it's sci-fi which parodies sci-fi. Also, the characterisation is quite purposely goofy, especially the director of the institute who exists in two copies (Janus-A and Janus-U) which are identical in appearance but seem to be profoundly different - a key mystery in the novel.

Great, clever reading that nowadays also has the added element of nostalgia, as well as some great parody of the scientific community, bureaucracy and the Soviet era in general. Although a lot of the humour will get lost if you're not reading this in Russian...