Victor Pelevin

Victor Pelevin
Victor Pelevin
Born	Victor Olegovich Pelevin November 22, 1962 (1962-11-22) Moscow, Soviet Union
Occupation	Novelist

Victor Olegovich Pelevin (Russian: Виктор Олегович Пелевин, born 22 November 1962 in Moscow) is a Russian fiction writer. His books usually carry the outward conventions of the science fiction genre, but are used to construct involved, multi-layered postmodernist texts, fusing together elements of pop culture and esoteric philosophies. Some critics relate his prose to the New Sincerity literary movement.

Biography

After high school Pelevin received a degree in electromechanical engineering from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, then attended seminars in creative writing at the Literature Institute. As an editor of "Science and Religion" magazine, he was responsible for an ongoing series of articles on Eastern mysticism.

Pelevin's first story was published in 1989, and for the next three years his short stories appeared in various magazines and compilations. In 1992 a book of Pelevin's collected stories The Blue Lantern received the first annual Russian Little Booker Prize. His first novel, Omon Ra, appeared in 1992.

Pelevin rarely gives interviews; when he does, he is known to talk about the nature of the mind rather than his own writing. He has permitted all of his texts in Russian predating 2006 to be published on the Internet for non-commercial use [1]. Some novels are also available as voice files in Russian.

Literary style

Pelevin's prose is usually devoid of dialogue between the author and the reader, whether through plot, character development, literary form or narrative language. This corresponds to his philosophy (both stated and unstated) that, for the most part, it is the reader who infuses the text with meaning. His novel Babylon bears on its cover the inscription, Any thought that occurs in the process of reading this book is subject to copyright. Unauthorized thinking of it is prohibited.

In a conversation with BOMB Magazine, Pelevin named Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita as an early influence on his reading, saying, "The effect of this book was really fantastic. [...] This book was totally out of the Soviet world." Pelevin avoids, however, listing authors who have specifically influenced his writing, for he believes that "the only real Russian literary tradition is to write good books in a way nobody did before."

Selected bibliography

Novels

• Omon Ra / Омон Ра (1992)
• The Life of Insects / Жизнь насекомых (1993)
• Buddha's Little Finger (aka Clay Machine-Gun) / Чапаев и Пустота (Chapayev and Void) (1996)
• Babylon (aka Generation Π, Homo Zapiens) / Generation "П" (1999)
• Numbers (as part of the book DTP(NN) - The Dialectics of the Transition Period (from Nowhere to No Place)) / Числа (часть книги ДПП(NN) - Диалектика Переходного Периода (из Ниоткуда в Никуда)) (2004)
• The Sacred Book of the Werewolf / Священная Книга Оборотня (2005)
• The Helmet of Horror / Шлем ужаса (2005)
• Empire V / Ампир В (2006)
• t (2009)
• S.N.U.F.F. (2011).

Essays, short stories

• Hermit and Sixfinger / Затворник и Шестипалый (1990)
• Prince of Central Planning / Принц Госплана (1992)
• The Yellow Arrow / Желтая стрела (1993)
• Blue Lantern and Other Stories (1991)
• P5: Farewell songs of the political pygmies of Pindostan / П5: прощальные песни политических пигмеев Пиндостана (2008)
• Pineapple Water for the Fair Lady / Ананасная вода для прекрасной дамы (2010)
• 4 by Pelevin' (2001)

External links

• pelevin.nov.ru Collection of Victor Pelevin's works online, in Russian
• New Directions New Directions publishes English translations of Victor Pelevin's work including Omon Ra, A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia, Yellow Arrow, and Blue Lantern and Other Stories.
• Interview, spring 2002. In English, from BOMB magazine.
• Shlem - New Book of Victor Pelevin (Interactive)
• Victor Pelevin at Amazon
• NY Times Book Review: "The Sacred Book of the Werewolf," by Victor Pelevin
• 2002 BOMB Magazine interview of Victor Pelevin by Leo Kropywianskybe-x-old:Віктар Пялевін