Day of the Oprichnik
Day of the Oprichnik (Russian: День опричника, Den' oprichnika) is a 2006 novel by the Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin. The narrative is set in the near future, when the Tsardom of Russia has been restored, and follows a government henchman, an oprichnik, through a day of grotesque events. Sorokin in one of the later interviews[1] confessed that he did not anticipate his novel to come true, even in some subtle details, but rather wrote this book as a warning and "mystical precaution" against the state of events described in the storyline.
 First edition | |
| Author | Vladimir Sorokin |
|---|---|
| Original title | День опричника Den' oprichnika |
| Translator | Jamey Gambrell |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
| Publisher | Zakharov Books |
Publication date | 2006 |
Published in English | 2010 |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 5-8159-0625-5 |
Reception
From the New York Times Book Review: "Sorokin's pyrotechnics are often craftily twinned with Soviet-era references and conventions. The title and 24-hour frame of Day of the Oprichnik bring to mind Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), an exposé of a Gulag camp that depicts an Everyman-victim who finds dignity in labor, almost like a Socialist Realist hero. But whereas Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece unintentionally demonstrated the deep impact that Soviet tropes had on its author, Sorokin's comic turn deliberately shows how Soviet and even Old Muscovy mentalities persist."[2]
See also
References
- Alexandrov, Nikolay (15 November 2012). "Владимир Сорокин: «Гротеск стал нашим главным воздухом»" [Vladimir Sorokin: "The grotesque has become our main air"]. Colta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- Kotkin, Stephen (11 March 2011). "A Dystopian Tale of Russia's Future". The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved 11 April 2020.