(no subject)

[margaritka.livejournal.com]

i know this is a bit off topic, but
i need an opinion from the native speakers
around here (if you have an opinion :) )

i bought a friend (native speaker) a book for
his birthday - романы - by м. веллер. is it
any good? the guy at the russian book shop
said he was popular and that if my friend liked
nabokov and pelevin, he would probably
like this one.

what do you think?

Comments

[simonff.livejournal.com]

Veller is to Nabokov as Dean Koontz is to Lovecraft. Much lower class.

[cema.livejournal.com]

Веллер is indeed well known. He should be more properly compared to Довлатов, who is a better writer.

[frozenpinguin.livejournal.com]

I can't say it's bad :)
It's quite funny and it's easy to read it :)

Well, in fact he's got two types of things: one is just a light reading, funny stories, fables ("fable" is not an exact word for it... it's called "байка" in Russian); I like these things very much ("Баллады Невского проспекта", "Байки скорой помощи", for example).

And the other type is his philosophic writings... his thoughts about life; something like "A manual of life" ;-P
"Всё о жизни" is one of these things.
I don't think it's a good reading. He's a good storyteller, but he's not a philosopher... %-\

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Definitely not The Great Literature, but quite funny indeed :) I would take a risk to compare him with Dave Barry (not his humour things though, but, say, "Big Trouble".) It's not even Tom Wolfe.

[margaritka.livejournal.com]

thanks for your opinions. i probably should
have mentioned more of the story (that he's
an expat, trapped in a land of few russian
novels, etc) but i neglected to.

however, i just gave him the book and he seemed
pleased that i chose that one, and curious to
read it. these are good things from a very picky
man ;) i am half expecting him to tell me that he
went to the shop and exchanged it for the fanch
ilf & petrov edition of 12 stuliev and zolotoy telenok :)
but if it's funny, and he gives it a shot before
sleeping tonight, i'm sure he'll enjoy it.