Gollancz acquire controversial novels from winner of the Russian Little Booker Prize, Victor Pelevin
Gollancz is delighted to announce the acquisition of World English Rights to two post-modern satirical novels by leading Russian contemporary fiction writer, Victor Pelevin.
Gollancz Publishing Director, Gillian Redfearn, acquired World English rights. Gillian Redfearn said: ‘Pelevin is a high-profile addition to our selective programme of publishing in translation. He’s a master of speculative fiction, blending sharp observations with engaging stories in a literary style. We’re delighted to be sharing his work with the English-language readership.’
S.N.U.F.F. is a stunning post-apocalyptic take on war and the media – first published in 2011 – exploring the conflict between the nation of Urkaine and the city ‘Big Byz’ above, its causes their interdependent relationship. Contrasting poverty and luxury, low and high technology, barbarity and civilisation, Victor Pelevin questions the nature of war, and its interplay with media, entertainment and humanity.
Empire V is a post-modern, timely, satirical story about a young man who involuntary joins an arcane cult . . . touching on themes of the corruption of politics, banking and power in a fictional setting, it’s a striking and often pointed read.
Praise for Victor Pelevin
‘Pelevin is blessed with a distinctive mix of eloquence and nervous energy, inventive storytelling and subversive wit’ – Publishers Weekly
The core strength of Pelevin’s writing is its unruly, suggestive energy – The Independent
A joy to read . . . Complex ideas are rendered simply and organically, never disturbing the narrative flow – The New York Times
About Victor Pelevin: Born in 1962 in Moscow, Victor Pelevin has swiftly been recognised as the leading Russian novelist of the new generation. He studied at Moscow’s Gorky Institute of Literature, and is one of the few novelists who writes seriously about what is happening in contemporary Russia. His work has been translated into fifteen languages and his novels Omon Ra, The Life Of Insects, The Clay Machine-Gun Babylon, The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf and two collections of short stories have been published in English to great acclaim.
S.N.U.F.F. will be available in bookshops and online on the 18th June 2015 in hardback and eBook.