The Slynx- Tatyana Tolstaya
The Slynx – Tatyana Tolstaya – 2007
Posted by Steven on 22/1/2013, 9:46:28
It’s an unusual book in that it starts out as a satire like a post-apocalyptic Animal Farm. But midway through the novel, its plot begins to resemble Fahrenheit 451 while the theme becomes nothing less than the purpose of Art and its relationship to memory and society.
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Posted by Sterling on 26/1/2013, 13:04:41, in reply to “Re: The Slynx”
The main reason that it’s taking me so long to read The Slynx, a relatively brief book, is that I’m just not enjoying it. I’ll read a paragraph or two, maybe a couple of pages, and my attention will wander. I rarely manage more than ten pages at a sitting. I’ve been reading it for a week now, and I have reached page 90.
I think the problem is the near-total lack of story. The novel feels entirely static. There is no discernible plot whatsoever, not a hint of narrative drive. I have been slogging along because Steven mentioned that the plot changes about halfway through. For me, I believe that this would feel as though the novel had suddenly sprouted a plot. I have read this post-apocalyptic thing many times before, perhaps most notably in Riddley Walker, in which the language innovations are very imaginative.
The material on the back compares it to A Clockwork Orange and Pale Fire. At least in English translation, The Slynx is not nearly so linguistically inventive as A Clockwork Orange. As for Pale Fire, I have never read anything, and I mean anything, that reminds me of that remarkable work at all!
I’m going to try it for another day or two, but if it continues to fail to hold my interest, I’m going to give up.
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