Recensione:
'Randalls style is reminiscent of the young prose of the 1960s which broke the drought of Socialist Realist literature published in the Soviet Union for three decades prior to that. The Holy Drinker is replete with Russian motifs, in fact it is set in a Russian village and is populated by workers and peasants whose lives are hopelessly entrenched in the backwaters of this provincial environment which is frozen in a non-descript backward time, outside history. The dialogues are gripping...the novel comes across as something authentic from a long-forgotten yet not yet overcome past. The pathos of existential despair which dominates in the portrayal of all the characters is a recovery of a past aesthetics that of Modernism. The intensity of this negative experience is Strindbergian in proportion, with dreams and drunken hallucinations as symbols of a better utopian world. All in all, this novel can be called a postmodern novel in the best sense of the word: it recycles Modernism and is transcultural in its attempt at universality.' --Professor Slobodanka Millicent Vladiv-Glover, School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Linguistics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies
'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies
'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies
'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies
L'autore:
Novelist, short story writer, and poet, Neil Randall was born in Norfolk, England in 1975. His literary life, however, began during a trip to St. Petersburg in the mid-nineties. The richness of this experience aroused a great passion for Russian literature and culture, providing the inspiration for his novels. While influenced by classic authors such as Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov, Randall is also a big admirer of contemporary writers such as Andrey Kurkov and Olga Grushin, especially Death and the Penguin and The Dream Life of Sukhanov. His work been published in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.
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