Rating: 
Summary: My favorite book ever!
Review: 10 stars on a five-stars scale! Perhaps, the best way to describe this masterpiece is to say that I have re-read so many times, that I even don't know how many. You can pick up this book and open it on random pages, you can read the chapters in the backward order (I have done both)- it is still the best of the best! Several generations of Russians have incorporated quatations from "12 Chairs" and "Golden Calf" in their everyday vocabulary - these novels are just that great and popular. If you want to understand "the mysterious Russian soul" of the socialist period - this is perhaps the best way to do so. Oh, and be prepared to constantly laugh so hard that your neighbors will attempt to commit you! It definitely is one of the funniest pieces ever written. Borrow "12 Chairs" and "Golden Calf" books, buy them, steal them - just READ THEM!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book ever!
Review: 10 stars on a five-stars scale! Perhaps, the best way to describe this masterpiece is to say that I have re-read so many times, that I even don't know how many. You can pick up this book and open it on random pages, you can read the chapters in the backward order (I have done both)- it is still the best of the best! Several generations of Russians have incorporated quatations from "12 Chairs" and "Golden Calf" in their everyday vocabulary - these novels are just that great and popular. If you want to understand "the mysterious Russian soul" of the socialist period - this is perhaps the best way to do so. Oh, and be prepared to constantly laugh so hard that your neighbors will attempt to commit you! It definitely is one of the funniest pieces ever written. Borrow "12 Chairs" and "Golden Calf" books, buy them, steal them - just READ THEM!
Rating:
Summary: I gave it 5 stars... but ?!
Review: I gave it 5 stars , but I have few points to make !
1. Point , why I do like it !
Because it is very funny . They use Russian language in exellent way ! They use sarcasm even better ! They laugh at dirt , they cry at reality ... They make us confused , and pretend , they didn't mean it . The parody of thear time ... the agony of society convulgions... The hope for better... the understanding of dead end !
Rating:
Summary: Pure Genius
Review: I have a friend who hates reading. Does not like to read period. Never finished a book in college. He read this book in three days. To date this is the only book he finished, it's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Not re:this translation.
Review: I never read this in English,so I'm not going to comment on the quality of the Northwestern U. translation,but I did read it in Russian. First off,everyone needs to read this book in order to understand Russians better. I re-read it many times in my teenage years simply because if you live in Russia(or any other Eastern European country for that matter),you will be able to understand those countless quotes taken from this masterpiece and incorporated into everyday language. The characters are hysterical in the least, and the story so seemingly simple contains much bigger messages than available to the naked eye.Please,read this book,and if you understand the humour and sadness of it,you'll be well on your way to understanding not just Russian culture but humans in general.
Rating:
Summary: Unique
Review: I think that if you asked my American friends, they would tell you that I quote the 12 chairs and the golden calf, like evangelists quote the Bible. Yes, I said it-these two books are that good. I've compared everything I've read in the past twenty years, and have never found anything like it. Regretfully, one MUST read the Russian language version to get the full context. If there was one reason to learn Russian, it would be to read this book in the original.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor translation
Review: I think this book suffers mostly through translation because I've seen the Russian film versions any number of times, and found "The Twelve Chairs" to be utterly hilarious. However, the humor seems lost in the Northwest translation. I think of Mark Twain who lamented that "awful German language" for so badly maligning his "Celebrated Jumping Frog."I think the Northwestern Univ. Press translations in general are weak. Imre Kertesz has recently taken them to task for the translations of two of his works. It seems that Northwestern's heart is in the right place, trying to capture some of the lesser known works in world literature, but that their selection of translations is rather shoddy.
Rating:
Summary: An essential source for understanding Russian culture
Review: I've read the novel together with its sequel, The Golden Calf, in Russian about a dozen times. Now I simply have to get an English copy to share it with my non-Russian speaking friends! It is true: the speech of an average Russian contains quite a few quotations from the novel (also due to a number of film versions). Twelve Chairs is something definitely worth having in your home library: you can open it at any time and start reading on any page. In minutes, you're guaranteed, if not to laugh, then to smile.
Rating:
Summary: Your life is NOT Complete without this book!
Review: If you talk to ANY Russian in the world, and mention "The Twelve Chairs" from their cultural heritage, or the "Rogei e kapuuta" phony business in the book, ALL Russians will spontaneously and uncontrollably smile. Normally glum Russians are unable to resist a smile at remembering the hilarious antics and insights in "The Twelve Chairs." It is set in the 'crazy time' when Russian society was in upheaval and some men just wanted to make their fortune. What do the Russians know that you are MISSING out on? They get the joke. You should get it, too! This English translation is a MUST read.
Rating:
Summary: Accidents of fate
Review: It is a long fateful story of how I came to read this book, but I am glad I did. It is one of the best books I have ever read. Some criticize the way the ending was done, but the end is not really the point. It is the ride on the way that is the point. There are so many layers to the story; it is dark, light, political and comedic all at the same time.The authors fill the story with such interesting characters,and weave their fates together in ways that are both ingenious and hilarious. Although some readers like myself may not catch all the underlying political themes,I think there's humour and wit to tickle every part of anybody's brain. From satire to good old slapstick it's all there.(I laughed my head off in a crowded subway car while reading this book!) In many ways the story is quite universal. I think everybody knows an Ostap Bender (one of the main characters.) The commentator to the edition I bought suggests that if more North Americans read this book,they would understand Russians better and realize how much they are stereotyped by Westerners. I do not purport to understand the "enigmatic Russian soulĀh however, from my limited experience, I must agree with the commentator; there seems to be a deeply funny and intelligent sense of humour that resides in their hearts and this book really shows it.
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