Silly Russians, capitalism is for Americans.
The awkwardness of the fallen soviet empire is so prominent, it just happens to be one of the biggest reasons I haven't lost this fantastic book yet. Even from the first few pages, Misha talks about the skinny Russian boys with concave asses in skin tight calvin klein jeans. Sure the whole picture made me laugh, copycat Russian emo boys juxtaposed against old mosques and old women still wearing babushkas. In fact, the perfect word to describe this old world empire turned communist dictatorship turned post-communist dictatorship would seem to be awkward. The ghettos that Rouenna desperately wants to visit, still so far from Misha's exclusive spot on the social ladder, seemed closer to the real America where Misha can't live. He still doesn't seem to like the ghettos, and obviously doesn't like being as lonely as he is in his out-of-touch social rank. The most interesting part about the setting, is that Misha actually fits into post-soviet Russia better than he would anywhere else in the world. Since he only attended the very exclusive private Accidental College in the US, he was still so out of touch with the life of the average American. The streamlined American life is just so normal to someone like Rouenna. But Misha's fat Jewish Russian self would stick out like none other. The only country awkward enough to accommodate such a sore thumb is dear Russia. So thank god Misha's father killed that man from Oklahoma. An awkward country such as Russia would be just a little less awkward without poor Misha.
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I can see what your saying about Misha not fitting in anywhere else in the world, but im not sure i understand what your saying when you say russia is an awkward country. I mean its customs are different but it would seem that from Misha's point of view that the whole country seems to understand each other. In fact they are so at ease with other "good" russians that they say much more to each other than any american would. For example the part where Misha is beaten up by two embassy guards and then they have a heartfelt sharing of grief right afterwords.
ReplyDeleteThat's the point; they do understand each other. It seems though that's the only way Misha can fit in. Everyone is understanding of the fact that their country at the moment is less than perfect, they're all stuck in a transition where no one knows what to do anyway, and not even Misha can shock them with his obvious differences. With the guards, they understand that it's not his fault but that they have to be patient with their country's flaws and that's why their discussion is so heartfelt.
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