Customer Reviews

Monday Begins on Saturday

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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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.

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!

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...

Very happy book. Its about typical Russian research institute (but researchs are specific - its about magic :) - this is the only phantastic element of book). Execpt this specific this is more realistic than Sci-Fi book.

About 20 years after I have read this book first, I read the similar book - this was an documentary US book - Stever Levy. The hacheks. The later book is (among others themes) about MIT hackers of 60th.

This was the same time and the same environent. Surprisingly - no significant differences beetwen US and Russian institutes.

This is by far my favorite book of all times, i must have read it 50 times in bulgarian...this book is filled with gems. Really really cool!

I have read hundreds of sci-fi books in my life - nothing like this one! I must reiterate - you will never read anything like this again! The most original sci-fi ever written, and if you combine this with light, humorous satire at the soviet reality, disguised as a phantasy - you get one of the most enchanting sci-fi stories ever. It helps if you are familiar with the Russian folklore and culture, but don't be taken aback if you are not! Another thing, I first read this book when I was 10, and re-read it maybe 20 times since then - it only gets better with time!

This is a book about world that passed away. World of sciense in Russia, of 60th, of young people full of hope. It's a good book to read for somebody who wants to understand their Russian parents...or simply Russians

I'm really disappointed to find out that "Monday Begins on Saturday" is the only book of brothers Strugatski that... has in his database. I read a lot of books of the brothers Strugatski in German (and now would like to read them again, but in English), and nearly all of them are the best Science Fiction you'll ever read. One of them is "Monday Begins on Saturday".

I would highly recommend this book to all those who are just getting acquainted with the works by Srugackij brothers, to all those who already love them, to all who enjoy bull-eye hitting satire and saphisticated fiction and to all who want to have a great time reading an ecxciting book!

Somebody commented that this book was about a world that had passed away, about Russian scientists of the 60's.
I beg to disagree! That spirit is alive, now more than ever.
I happen to be a computer programmer/researcher myself (just like the protagonist in the book), and the truth is, this is an archetypal book for most of us, the researcher's Bible, if you like.
True, there is a lot of cultural nuances, but overall, I believe that this book can transcend cultural gaps.