Victor Pelevin, Life in insects

• Victor Pelevin
  • Cult author of postmodernist literature
  • Born in Moscow in 1962
  • Father was a teacher, mother was an economist
  • Graduated from English School No. 31 in 1979
  • Graduated from Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MEI) in 1985
  • Began studies at Maxim Gorky Literary Institute in 1989, was expelled in 1991
  • Publishers started accepting excerpts of his novels before their official release
• Life in Insects
  • Second novel released in 1993
  • Two plot lines connected by a hotel in a seaside resort
  • Main characters are blood-sucking mosquitos
  • Characters can transform freely between human and insect form
  • Constant transition between human and insect life shows post-Soviet poverty and social chaos
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• Victor Pelevin: Russian fiction writer
  • Novels:
    • Omon Ra (1992)
    • The Life of Insects (1993)
    • Chapayev and Void (1996)
    • Generation P (1999)
    • The Sacred Book of the Werewolf (2004)
    • The Helmet of Horror (2005)
    • Empire V (2006)
    • t (2009)
    • S.N.U.F.F. (2011)
    • Batman Apollo (2013)
    • Love for Three Zuckerbrins (2014)
    • The Caretaker (2015)
    • Methuselah’s Lamp, or The Last Battle of the Chekists and Masons (2016)
    • iPhuck 10 (2017)
    • Secret Views of Mount Fuji (2018)
    • The Art of Light Touches (2019)
    • Sol Invictus (2020)
    • Transhumanism Inc. (2021)
  • Awards:
    • Russian Little Booker Prize (1993)
    • Russian National Bestseller (2004)
    • Richard Schoenfeld prize in Germany
    • Andrew White Prize (2017)
  • Literary style:
    • Postmodernist and absurdist
    • Buddhist motifs, esoteric traditions, and satirical science fiction
  • Personal life:
    • Born in 1962 in Moscow to Zinaida Semenovna Efremova and Oleg Anatolyevich Pelevin
    • Graduated with a degree in electromechanical engineering from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute
    • Engaged in Buddhist practices, but not a Buddhist
    • Not married
    • Rarely appears in public or gives interviews

• Author: Victor Pelevin
  • Wrote a book titled “The Life of Insects”
    • Average rating of 3.86
    • 4,216 ratings, 51 editions
    • Published in 1993
    • Translated by Andrew Bromfield
  • Also wrote many other books
    • Titles include “Omon Ra”, “Buddha’s Little Finger”, “Homo Zapiens”, “The Sacred Book of the Werewolf”, etc.
    • Most works have high ratings and many editions

• Author
  • Victor Pelevin
• Book
  • Life in insects
• Description of author and book
  • Victor Pelevin is a postmodernist writer and is considered one of the most famous contemporary writers in post-Soviet countries.
  • Pelevin’s work is allegorical and explores Buddhist and psychedelic themes.
  • Life in insects is a mind-bending esoteric story that looks at modern capitalist society through the lenses of Buddhism.
• Other recommended Pelevin books
  • Yellow Arrow
    • An absurd allegorical satire and favorite of Pelevin’s books.
  • Omon Ra
    • A disturbing, strange book that is sometimes funny.
  • Empire V
    • A hilarious book.
  • Generation P
    • Highly recommended book with Buddhist sight of the world.
• Movies based on Pelevin’s stories
  • Buddha’s Little Finger
    • Mind-bending esoteric story
    • The movie adaptation is not recommended.
  • Generation P
    • There is a movie adaptation that some have not watched yet.
• Popularity of Pelevin outside Russia
  • Pelevin is not popular outside of Russia, but he does sell well in the UK.
• Other authors recommended
  • Thomas Pynchon

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• Title: The Life of Insects by Victor Pelevin
  • Author: Victor Pelevin
  • Summary: Set in a crumbling Soviet Black Sea resort, The Life of Insects with its motley cast of characters who exist simultaneously as human beings and as insects, extended the surreal comic range for which Pelevin’s first novel Omon Ra was acclaimed by critics. -Setting: Soviet Black Sea resort -Characters: Racketeers, mystics, drug addicts, prostitutes
  • About Author: Born in 1962 in Moscow, Victor Pelevin has swiftly been recognised as the leading Russian novelist of the new generation. His work has been translated into fifteen languages, and his novels Omon Ra, The Life of Insects, The Clay Machine-Gun and Babylon, and two collections of short stories, The Blue Lantern and A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia, have been published in English to great acclaim.
    • Education: Moscow’s Gorky Institute of Literature
    • Work Experience before becoming a writer: Engineer on a project to protect MiG fighter planes from insect interference in tropical conditions.
  • Condition: Used - Very Good
    • Cover note: Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
    • Note: This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us
  • Additional Information
    • Language: English
    • Genre: Fiction
    • Awards: Winner of the Russian ‘Little Booker’ Prize
  • Reviews: None

• Book: “The Life of Insects” by Victor Pelevin
  • A stunning allegorical novel chronicling life in post-Soviet Russia
  • Prosecution of Chernomyrdin’s “Shock Therapy” and the pillaging of the Russian people by Western Business men and Russian Mafia is cleverly intimated
  • Shimmering satire of post-perestroika Russia
  • Characters metamorphose from human to insect and vice versa seamlessly and frequently
  • Includes 15 loosely linked stories
  • Russian author with a mastery for the Russian psyche and culture
  • Some passages may be difficult to understand without knowledge of current Russian history
  • Recommended to all who possess even a superficial interest in Russia and the Russian people
  • There are some complaints about the translation, and it is suggested to read the book in Russian to truly appreciate its brilliance

• “Victor Pelevin, Life in insects”
  • Book title: “The Life of Insects”
  • Author: Victor Pelevin
  • Description: a black-comic Metamorphosis for the 1990s, an Ovidian, shape-shifting world that never fails to resonate on various strata with our own
  • Characters turn into insects and experience insect-like lives
  • A satire of traditional Russian prose and a savage commentary of post-Soviet culture
  • Loosely linked 15 stories, projects the complexities of human life onto the sparkling strangeness of the insect world
  • Narrated by an omniscient narrator
  • A commentary on modern society, Russian society, with various factions each being represented by some variety of insect
  • Characters are neither insect nor human in the usual sense, but transcendent creatures who flicker back and forth between the two
  • The transitions are shocking, sometimes gruesome, and frequently funny, but never seem contrived
  • Reviewed as “A Brilliant and Thought-Provoking Work”, “A Brilliant and Imaginative Satire”, “Shimmering Satire of Post-Perestroika Russia”, “An organic picture of Russian society.”

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