Guillermo Erades

I found here, very well captured, the whole expat loop: arriving to town alone, feeling isolated at first, opening to the excitement of discovering the place, the infinite opportunities, settling down in routines, finding the not-so-exciting part of it and finally questioning the whole thing.

I liked that the story is told in a mature way, telling it in a "this is how it was and how it changed me" tone, instead of the more usual cautionary tale ("don't do this kids!") or a self-laughing description of past mistakes ("I though of myself so clever")… (mais)

Martin is a rather shallow young American expat. He has come to Moscow ostensibly to study and complete his thesis on Russian literature, but once in meets a few other expats he instead spends his nights in the many clubs, picking up woman, dyevs, and drinking to excess. He excuses himself by deciding that in order to discover the Russian soul in literature, to understand why the women in famous Russian novels acted the way they did, made the choices they made, that he needed to study the Russian women in the present day.

Many will find Martin an unlikable character I am sure, but he does constantly try to figure himself out, why he acts the way he does, what he really wants out of life. He also changes throughout the novel, grows in slow bits of time, this to me was his saving grace. This novel is written in a lighthearted tone, though serious things do occur. Much discussion of literature, each section starts with a analysis of a famous female Russian characters in some of the most noteworthy pieces of fiction. Nabokov, Dostoevsky, Chekov, and more. I loved reading these, and then contrasting them with the women he picks up. There is. also quite a bit of history here, one notable example is the twisted history of Christ the Savior Church.

The ending totally unexpected, thoroughly in keeping with the theme of the novel, and the last page, pure brilliance. A first novel and one I enjoyed reading.… (mais)