Homo Zapiens
Ratings1
Average rating4
15
Ratings1
Average rating4
The collapse of the Soviet Union has opened up a huge consumer market, but how do you sell things to a generation that grew up with just one type of cola? When Tatarsky, a frustrated poet, takes a job as an advertising copywriter, he finds he has a talent for putting distinctively Russian twists on Western-style ads. But his success leads him into a surreal world of spin doctors, gangsters, drug trips, and the spirit of Che Guevera, who, by way of a Ouija board, communicates theories of consumer theology. A bestseller in Russia, Homo Zapiens displays the biting absurdist satire that has gained Victor Pelevin superstar status among today's Russian youth, disapproval from the conservative Moscow literary world, and critical acclaim worldwide.
Reviews with the most likes.
The way the plot progressed in this novel was not what I was used to; this was a large reason in why I liked it. I don't mind being a little confused as to WHERE the story is going because it is still progressing, just not in the typical spoon fed intro-problem-solution-happy ending story. Pelevin's exploration of the anal-oral-displaced patterns from the perspective of Tatarsky's own exploration in contrast to Tatarsky's experience in the advertising industry was wonderfully written. I will definitely reread this book and plan to read more novels by this author.
