Clay Machine-Gun (Paperback)

by Victor Pelevin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
This flamboyantly imaginative story is set in Russia in the periods that mark the beginning and end of communism - 1914 and the early 1990s. Both are times of political emptiness and uncertaintly, when the old order is crumbling and the new is yet to be established. The protagonist, aptly named Peter Voyd, inhabits both periods - as a patient in a psychiatric hospital in the 1990s, and in his dream state, as Petka , a captain in the Red Army in 1914. The story begins with Peter Voyd in his Petka role arriving in Moscow to avoid the Cheka (secret police). He meets up with a friend by chance and goes back to his flat with him only to discover that the meeting is a trick and the Cheka are on their way. To his own surprise and even revulsion, he murders his 'friend', takes his cocaine and then quietly begins to play his favourite fugue in F by Mozart. Pelevin is a contradictory as his turbulent novel. Although he has a cult-like following in Russia, and is seen in the west as one of Russia's most important contemporary literary writers, the Russian literary establishment is divided and many think him a fraud. He is a recluse who has spent time in meditation in a Buddhist monastery, yet he enjoys the benefits of wealth and does not turn his back on western interviewers. This is his third book to be translated into English, and is a complex novel rich in ideas, comedy and literary tricks - a sort of nightmarish shuffling of Kafka's Metamorphosis and Joseph Heller's Catch 22. It is not to be missed. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
A manic satire of psychiatry, crime and corruption in Russia. Peter Null is undergoing treatment in Moscow's Psychiatric Clinic number 17, where his consultant believes the way to treat his condition is to humour his delusive personality until it achieves reintegration with the rest of his psyche.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber Ltd (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571201261
• ISBN-13: 978-0571201266
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,803,998 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant book from an Russian master, March 2, 2008

By	Lars Tackmann (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On the meaning of the universe, the concept of reality and the truth of one's existence - this book really is one of the best things I've read in a very long time. It is also one of the strangest books you're ever likely to pick up, filled with Murakami style pasta-making anti-heroes.

The story begins in Lenin's Russia with a murder, a heap of cocaine following a series of events where the plot pivots between modern day Russia and a revolutionary red army camp. This absurd story throttles right ahead until the very last page which includes one of the best and most fulfilling endings ever.

Written in a insane dialog, Pelevin manages to create a first class thriller about mistaken identity with meditations on metaphysics. In short if you are a Delillo/Murakami/HTS (Hunter S Thompson) fan, or just a reader of truly great literature then this is for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, cool., July 28, 2002

By	Ananapha (New York) - See all my reviews

Pelevin gets deeper into reality--or maybe just questioning reality-- with each novel. I love that every plot point, even name and character could be completely crucial, or could not matter at all, simply depending on what you get out of the novel. His delicately detached protagonist (aptly named Voyd) reminds me of Murakami Haruki's pasta-making anti-heroes (who in fact turn out to be heroes after all). Most importantly, perhaps, I could probably read this book again and get something new and different out of it.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most influencial book in the past 10 years, February 10, 2002

By	Igor Smirnov (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read it in Russian. It's an amazing book. I am ordering an English translation out of curiousity. In my opinion, it is beyond translation (you will still have a lot of fun but unless you know Russian history and culture you will miss a lot of its power!) There is so much subtle beauty and deep meaning... + icredible humor -- even though it is a very profound piece of art, that explores the most mysterious puzzles of life. READ IT!