Book Review 134
"The Golden Key, or the wonderings of Buratina" by Mikhail Kharitonov
Book 1. Text book in Russian.
There is another book you will unlikely ever find in English. This book is one of its kind. Its a hard Sci-Fi, but in a quite specific form, though not a unique one.
"The Golden key or the adventures of Buratino" is a fairy tale, written by a soviet writer Alexey Tolstoi in 1930th. Tolstoi has started by translating "The Adventures of Pinocchio" to Russian, adding some context, which could help to make this book more comprehensable to a russian reader. But at the end, he has found an original book too dull and boring. So he rewrote it entirely.
Tolstoi removed 90% of moral talks and added 300% of adventures. There are some common points with the "Pinocchio", but the biggest one is that the protagonist is a living wooden doll. However, it is an entirely different character with the adventures of his own. And his name (Buratino) was taken from an Italian classical Comedia del Arte together with his personality.
Tolsoi's "Buratino" became very popular in Russia. Even despite the fact, that it is not just a children adventure book, but also a satyrical pamphlet for a Soviet literature and theatrical personas of this time. There are dozens of theatrical plays, cartoons and movies about him. And, of course, a lot of sequels and fanfics.
However, the book I am reviewing is much more, than just a fanfic. "Buratina"'s plot is closer to "Buratino", than "Buratino" to "Pinocchio". But the main thing is not the plot, but the form. "Buratina" is set in the future, where humanity is extinct. The only sentient creatures survived are genetic hybrids of the humans and animals or plants. And our protagonist is a gene hybrid of a human and (mostly) bamboo.
Sometimes this book is funny. But, mostly, its cruel and, in many cases, even nasty. There are lot of tortures, bad language and abuse of any kind. You'll find some colorful representation of an every sin imaginable. Normally, I don't like books of this kind.
But, at the same time, this book is incredibly smart! There are dozens of characters, which are interacting in complex ways. Its language is very complex, with lots of open (and hidden) quotes from Greek, Latin, French, Arabic and so on. For a scientific part, it stretches to the very borders of genetic and quantum physics. There are complex phylosofical references to the Bible, eastern philosophies, modern teachings and every conspirology theory imaginable.
Also, this book is very inventive by its form. Non-linear plot, time loops, poetry, tables and pie charts, breaking of a fourth wall, "book within a book". Just name it - it will be there.
This book was an event on the Russian literature scene. There are hundreds of review on it, some of critics are saying that it is a future of the fiction literature, others - that it is an abomination, not worth to be mentioned in any reputable source.
The closest widely known similar book I can recall is a "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky. Its also a very good book, but, by its complexity, its just a pale shadow of "Buratina". Though they are sharing some common approaches.
So if you like some complex Sci-Fi (like, Stanislaw Lem or Iain Banks), and do not afraid to read some (a lot) of cruel and nasty scenes, you'll certainly enjoy the "Buratina".
But remember, its a fat book. There are 3 parts (and the author died, before he could finish the last one, so it was completed and published by his friends), and some side stories. The first volume is about thousand pages in paper.