Андеграунд, или Герой нашего времени

The novel "Underground, or a Hero of Our Time" is one of the most famous Russian novels of the 20th century, which brought Vladimir Makanin not only the State Prize for Literature, but also worldwide fame. Translated into dozens of European languages, this novel continued the tradition of Heroes of the era created by Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky. The underground is the world of an immense “hostel” called Russia, in which fiery passionaries-idealists do not survive, but quiet fighters, such as Petrovich, the main image of the novel, can exist. A spontaneous philosopher, almost a bum, he, in spite of everything, lives easily. He is free from the fetters of heartfelt attachments and responsibility, not caring about anyone, he swims with the flow of life, believing in luck. But, avoiding sorrows, involuntarily deprives himself of joys.

Much has changed since the novel was first published in the late 1990s - the spirit of change, sung by Tsoi even earlier, has blown through the country. But "Underground" captivates with the flickering of meanings, the ambiguity of characters and the beauty of the writer's style, beyond time and circumstances.