A big, rambling novel about many things: Soviet repression, secrecy, betrayal, art, and, most of all, friendship. Sanya, Ilya, and Mikha come of age in 1950s Moscow, Alone, they are outcasts, but together they form the Trianon, and build a lifelong friendship. Each has an intense artistic obsession: Sanya with music, Ilya with photography, and Mikha with poetry. Because they are intelligent, sensitive, and curious, they become involved in activities that put them on the wrong side of the KGB.
But this is no carefully plotted novel of intrigue; the fear of detention and death is real here but strangely muted. More important here are the relationships, among the men, between the men and the women they love, and with teachers, family and friends. Covering more than forty years and exploring the lives of a large cast of characters, this novel is a slow pleasure. The characters' devotion to art leads them to samizdat, the distribution of censored material through secret means which led many to be arrested during the period. In spite of the context, the characters and the larger tone of the novel remain earnest rather than cynical.
No comments:
Post a Comment