Fur Hat

Rating:
Summary: Wrenching irony
Review: Propelled by the need for recognition, a Soviet writer loses all perspective in this saga of his craving for the "fur hat" which is awarded by his writers organization. When he finds his hat will be common "fluffy tomcat" he is unhinged and tries to manipulate all the channels possible to him to get a fox hat...or perhaps even wildcat? The pathos of Soviet life and the repression of art takes its toll on the writers and the artists involved here, and the making of a martyr is all wrapped up in the most gut-wrenching humor imaginable.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, To Read This Novella Again for the First Time!
Review: Vladimir Voinovich is the premier Russian wit of the 20th century. This novella is fresh and sharp, with a hint of the Soviet sarcasm that Voinovich is all too famous for. A good, quick read--and a rollicking good time!

Rating:
Summary: Suffer no fluffy tomcats upon your head!!
Review: Welcome to "Animal Farm" as performed within the setting of the Soviet National Writers Union during the communist era. We all know the AF credo: "All men are born equal--some more so than others" could have been made to order for the bloated pompous Soviet bureaucracy of yore. Fur Hat was my first introduction to Vladimir Voinovich: after reading this delightful satire on corruption/cronyism/toadyism within Party machinations, I nominate Voinovich on a par with Vonnegut. Readers will meet lots of Party types in this story: typical system hacks (Pyotr Lukin), over-decorated pompous military types (Karetnikov) and blatant anti-Semites (nearly every character in the book). Even our hapless protagonist, Yefim R, is married to a devoted Party member, "...but underneath her bra she wore a cross..." All kinds of deceit and posturing go on on a daily basis..the politics and pecking order of the national Writers Union come front & center as smug leaders pass out fur hats to its members, according to their rank and file within the group. Of course, celebrated writers who've won (dubiously so, albeit) titles and accolades get the top fur hats like reindeer and rabbit. Our hero, Yefim, receives the lowest ranking hat: fluffy tomcat. Poor Yefim. He is not disrespected by the powers-that-be because of his mediocre talent, but because he "writes only of good men challenging earthly elements." Union officials don't approve of Yefim's "writing about decent people & pretending there's no such thing as the Soviet state, or district and regional committees." Yefim's determined efforts to get a higher-ranking hat for himself ("even rabbit would be better!!") unfold into sublime absurdity as he goes from one Party official to another, encountering toadyism/nepotism/bribery/euphemisms and underhanded tactics. "Even on an iceberg, a Soviet collective will have its careerists, stool pigeons and at least one KGB agent." An exiled scribbler from the Soviet Union himself (1980), Voinovich rips on the Russian mentality that delight in military over-decoration and its writers that write just to receive titles and headlines. And international headlines themselves does our Yefim make as he finally loses his temper with one especially dull Party hack. When the western media ggets hold of this incident, they blow it all out of proportion (as western media is wont to do). Then our hero gets blacklisted as rumors of his "treason" spread like wildfire (the perfect example how rampant paranoid delusions become in police states). The western media dubs Yefim a dissident and builds his literary reputation up far beyond even his own imaginings! You'll have to read the book to see how the 'fur hat debacle' turns out. DANGER: THIS BOOK IS AN EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY BASHER! ENJOY!