Pelevin’s The Sacred Book of the Werewolf is entertaining and witty.

I would even go as far as to say that it is sacred and everyone should read it because it reveals some ancient wisdom about humans (the so called tail less monkeys) and makes fun of their understanding of simple subjects like truth and love. I should also add that this book is about nothing. Not in a sense that a Seinfeld episode is about nothing; rather, it is a book about were-wisdom about nothing.

The were wisdom is ... (show more)

Pelevin’s The Sacred Book of the Werewolf is entertaining and witty.

I would even go as far as to say that it is sacred and everyone should read it because it reveals some ancient wisdom about humans (the so called tail less monkeys) and makes fun of their understanding of simple subjects like truth and love. I should also add that this book is about nothing. Not in a sense that a Seinfeld episode is about nothing; rather, it is a book about were-wisdom about nothing.

The were wisdom is dished out by an ancient Chinese were fox, A Hu Li, a visually enticing and spiritually enlightened female creature, who holds a key to the mystery of all creatures. A-Hu-Li is well versed on many different subjects, including the history of Russian privatization, the benefits of FSB (the former KGB) disclaimers about profound spiritual decline, and Buddhist view on existence. Despite being superior to humans, even this ancient werefox falls victim to the tragedy of love, which transforms her and enables her to reach enlightenment. (I should note that the love between were-creatures is completely devoid of any meaning, and is therefore more perfect than the love between two humans.)

But, as it often happens with were-creatures, their story of enlightenment is better understood when it is not being paraphrased. All words, especially words expressed by a were-creature through the pen of a Russian author, are subject to various interpretations. So, instead of trying to explain my perception of Pelevin's words in abstract terms, I highly suggest that you read the book yourself and make your own interpretations. Besides, my perception of plain Russian words and their double meaning, just like my subjective interpretation of the were- theories, are likely to be very different from yours. (show less)

This is a tale of a Wall Street lawyer about his new a scrivener, Bartleby:

Hired to copy legal letters, the new scrivener declares on his third day of work that he won’t copy any more documents. The power of resistance of this unfortunate, pale young man is contained in one single phrase: “I prefer not to”. These four little words provoke both anger and pity in the lawyer, who is terrified of the consequences and offers his own abode to Bartleby to escape responsibility. Despite being a ... (show more)

This is a tale of a Wall Street lawyer about his new a scrivener, Bartleby:

Hired to copy legal letters, the new scrivener declares on his third day of work that he won’t copy any more documents. The power of resistance of this unfortunate, pale young man is contained in one single phrase: “I prefer not to”. These four little words provoke both anger and pity in the lawyer, who is terrified of the consequences and offers his own abode to Bartleby to escape responsibility. Despite being a figure of authority, the lawyer fails to persuade Bartleby to accept his offer and abandon the premises. Subsequently Bartleby is declared a vagrant and sent to prison, where he dies, leaving the author to wonder if there was something else he could have done for this strange little man. Bartleby’s refusal to follow any accepted avenues of material world is both defiant and innocent; his choice of death over formal existence is the ultimate symbol of power over his helpless boss. (show less)