Arrived with nuts

Best Novel Prize Candidates Announced

The current booker season is marked by a procedural innovation: the announced long list of applicants cannot exceed 24 positions. The organizing committee can be understood - the number of nominees is growing by leaps and bounds (91 essays have now been nominated, of which 86 met the formal parameters), but the determination to abandon interim summing up is still lacking. (Of course! The “information occasion” will disappear, and no one will say a word about our poor literary woman.) The new compromise gave rise to a new problem - a panel of judges headed by critic Evgeniy Sidorov (prose writer Marina Vishnevetskaya, actress Evgenia Simonova, critic Sergei Borovikov, novelist Leonid Yuzefovich ) was able to reach consensus on only 23 texts. There was not enough diplomacy to fill the last vacancy.

Which is not strange at all. It is strange why the judges did not limit themselves to fifteen, ten, or even six essays. Because, looking at the list of lucky ones and diligently remembering those who were removed from the race, I am not able to put together a decent Booker shortlist (six). We can only rely on “unknown (to me personally) masterpieces,” which, in principle, can be the long-listed novels of Leonid Bezhin (“Reflection of a Room in a Christmas Ball” - M., Book Club “36.6”, 2007), Mikhail Busin (“Letters for David” - “Foreign Notes” magazine, 2007, No. 6), Tatyana Moskvina (“She knew something...” - St. Petersburg, “Amphora”, 2007), Victoria Platova (“8 -9-8" -- M., "AST Shchelkovo", 2008), Vladimir Porudominsky ("Private Lessons" - Khreshchatyk magazine, No. 38--39), Andrey Khusnutdinov ("Table Mountain" - Riga , “Snowball”, 2007), Eduard Shulman (“Polezhaev and Bibikov” - M., “Art House Media”, 2008). Blessed is he who believes - he is warm in the world, but sad experience repeats its message: miracles do not happen, a book of any brightness is usually noticed before the premium fanfare.

Especially against the background that was created for the “great strangers” by the other works that continue to compete for the prize, with which I am at least familiar. And also their hapless rivals. Well, yes, the list did not include several intellectual works that seem to be considered “fashionable”: “Russian Novel...” by Pavel Basinsky, “Written Off” by Dmitry Bykov, “Asphalt” by Evgeny Grishkovets. Well, they are no better and no worse than “The Cutoff Price” by Alexander Arkhangelsky (M., “Astrel”, 2008), “Armada” by Ilya Boyashev (St. Petersburg, “Amphora”, 2007) or “Sleep and Believe” by Andrei Turgenev ( M., "Eksmo", 2007). Some were lucky at the Big Book, others at the Booker. Changing the places of the terms does not change the sum. And Dmitry Lipskerov (“Delirium tremens. Delirium tremens” - M., “Astrel”, 2007) remains the same always “provocative” and boring Lipskerov, regardless of whether his “new” work is included in any frame , and Vladimir Orlov (“Kamergersky Lane” - M., “Keeper”, AST, 2008) is a clone of the author of “Violist Danilov” (whether there was anything to clone is a separate question) in any weather, and from Mikhail Elizarov (“Librarian "- M., Ad Marginem, 2007), methodically striving for fame as the most guignol author, writing as if in Russian, no news has been heard, and Ksenia Golubovich (“Fulfillment of desires” - “Volga - XXI century”, 2008, No. 1--2) can seem like a sophisticated writer only if she really wants to, and it would be better to keep a louder silence about Ilya Shtemler (“The Rainy Season” - St. Petersburg, K. Tublin Publishing House, 2008). As is the case with the vast majority of potential booker carriers. Forgive me generously, but the title of the novel by Evgeny Novitsky (“The best book about love” - “Volga - XXI century”, 2007, No. 7-8) does not correspond to the truth. Although, in general, there are quite a few best (if you forget about Anna Karenina) books about love in world literature. However, everything is known by comparison - those who had the chance to leaf through the creation of the famous TV presenter Yuri Vyazemsky “Sweet spring baccurots. Great Monday. A novel-temptation" (M., "Ripol Classic", 2007) should understand me. But in the absence of real literature, even the “success” of this glossy vulgarity (to call this report from Judea 33 AD blasphemous is a lot of honor) seems “explainable.” What we have, we have.

Are there books on the list that I wish success? There is: the funny and energetic “Graphomaniac” by Galina Shchekina (M., Tel Aviv, Publishing Commonwealth of A. Bogatykh and E. Rakitskaya, 2007), Elena Nekrasova’s not poorly conceived novel “Schuchinsk and the Cities” (M., “Fluid”, 2007), the “cool” “Tablet”, coming into fashion by German Sadulayev (M., Ad Marginem, 2008), far from close to me (but testifying to the reality of a writer’s gift , albeit a rather monological one) the works of Anatoly Korolev (“Get lost, braid !” - “Banner”, 2008, No. 5) and Vladimir Sharov (“Be like children” - “Banner”, 2008, No. 1--2), finally, the novel by Evgeniy Shklovsky “Unloved Children” (included in his book “Aquarium” - M., “UFO”, 2008;). Of course, it will be better if the award goes to one of these writers. Better, but not much. As well as from amendments that could be made to the Booker long list. Poultices help the living.

Andrey NEMZER