Faculty of Unnecessary Things
29.99 €
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Faculty of Unnecessary Things
29.99 €
Yuri Dombrovsky (1909–1978) spent over ten years writing his major novel, The Faculty of Unnecessary Things, without expecting publication in the USSR. The book was first published in Paris in 1978, and the author even had a chance to hold it in his hands. Publication in his homeland took place much later.
"The Faculty" concludes a kind of dilogy begun by "The Keeper of Antiquities," both of which share the same protagonist—Zybin, a man devoted to culture and an integral part of it. This novel-parable tells the story of a traitor, a victim, and an executioner, and how these concepts are closely and tragically intertwined in our country. Zybin is arrested (for anti-Soviet propaganda, fleeing abroad, and stealing gold), but remains victorious. Unbroken. Just like the novel's author. Domestic and foreign critics have placed "The Faculty of Useless Things" on par with M. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" and B. Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago." And do you know what just came to mind? Lessing wrote somewhere that a martyr is the most undramatic figure in the world. You can't even write a tragedy about him. He has no actions, no hesitation, no worries—only patience. He is tormented, but he endures; he is tempted, but he prays. ...After the martyrs come the executioners.
"The Faculty" concludes a kind of dilogy begun by "The Keeper of Antiquities," both of which share the same protagonist—Zybin, a man devoted to culture and an integral part of it. This novel-parable tells the story of a traitor, a victim, and an executioner, and how these concepts are closely and tragically intertwined in our country. Zybin is arrested (for anti-Soviet propaganda, fleeing abroad, and stealing gold), but remains victorious. Unbroken. Just like the novel's author. Domestic and foreign critics have placed "The Faculty of Useless Things" on par with M. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" and B. Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago." And do you know what just came to mind? Lessing wrote somewhere that a martyr is the most undramatic figure in the world. You can't even write a tragedy about him. He has no actions, no hesitation, no worries—only patience. He is tormented, but he endures; he is tempted, but he prays. ...After the martyrs come the executioners.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author