Rossica Translation Prize
2009 · Translation · Finalist
About This Book
A bizarre and deeply disturbing account of a young man’s descent into addiction, this story brilliantly mirrors the tumultuous events of early 20th-century Russian history. Struggling with the confusion and insecurities that adolescence brings, Vadim seeks an outlet for his frustration. Following unfulfilling attempts at classroom rebellion, filial disobedience, and teenage sex, he is drawn further and further into the world of illicit drugs. As his desire to experiment with narcotics grows stronger, so too do his feelings of worthlessness and isolation; and his ultimate physical surrender to cocaine mirrors his nation's psychological capitulation to a world where morals no longer apply. This extraordinary work, astonishingly prescient for its time, is written by the pseudonymous M. Ageyev.
