Laughter at the Edge of Revolution
Reviewed:
by Yury Olesha
Translated by Marian Schwartz
NYRB Classics, 178 pp., $15.95 (paper)
Publication Date: 5/31/04
Times are changing, as Olesha makes clear in his satirical novel Envy: “…the world and its rules have undergone unprecedented changes” — and not everyone in society is capable of riding the waves of those cultural shifts. This early Soviet Era novel thrusts readers into a tempestuous clash of eras within post-revolutionary Russia. Toeing the line between political commentary and poetic comedy, we follow a petty, rambunctious contrarian and his staunch commitment to the fading values of his own era.
The story is primarily told by our scornful anti-hero, Nikolai Kavalerov. Found destitute and drunken on the street, he’s taken in by the magnanimous Andrei Babichev, an industrious Samaritan symbolizing the new era and its Communist values. While Andrei seeks to create the perfect sausage and launch his restaurant, the Two Bits, Nikolai seethes with contempt and envy for his benefactor. Resembling a transmutation of Dostoevsky’s manic Underground Man, Nikolai raves about his inability to substantiate himself and fears his life will amount to nothing: “That's the one who lived in that famous time, who hated and envied everyone, who boasted, went over-board, let great plans get the better of him, who wanted to do so much and did nothing”.
Meanwhile, we meet Ivan Babichev, Andrei’s erratic brother. Prophesying to his fellow dreamers, low-lifes, and rebels, he wages a war on the new era, claiming, “The era of socialism will create a new series of conditions for the human soul to replace the old emotions,” which catches Nikolai’s attention. They quickly band together to crush Andrei’s ambitions and ignite a resurgence of traditional human emotions. With colorful, sardonic language, Olesha carries this rabid duo to their inevitable demise by the end of the story.
Olesha leads readers to sympathize with Nikolai’s frustration and nostalgia while concurrently showing how his embellishment of the old era and spiteful contempt for Andrei land him in a satirical pigsty — bitter, iniquitous, and symbolizing a “clot of envy in the dying era’s bloodstream”. Instead of defining clear winners and losers, the story allows readers to view both sides of the coin and recognize the faults within each era. His comical caricatures and depictions walk the line of acceptable criticism and leave interpretation open to readers in a time when the threat of Soviet censorship loomed large.
However, despite glimpses of biting humor, the story loses a bit of control in Part Two, where the narrative becomes entangled in a jumble of bizarre scenes and hallucinations. Olesha, fortunately, corrals readers back in with a dynamic soccer match and a strange yet dramatic ending. In this memorable Soviet novel, Olesha acquaints us with vivid, farcical characters and offers a hazy glimpse into the ideological friction of a rapidly shifting culture — one not all can comfortably adapt to.
