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Book Review
Jan. 4th, 2015 06:32 pmThe Great Glass Sea
by Josh Weil
I found myself surprisingly more engrossed in this novel the farther I got into. Set in a near future Russia, it is the story of Dima and Yarik, twin brothers grappling with the changes brought to their hometown of Petroplavilsk by the projects of billionaire entrepreneur Bazarov. A mysterious, greedy, and often capricious man, Bazarov has built a series of satellite mirrors (the zerkala) that have plunged Petroplavilsk into perpetual daylight and round the clock productivity. He followed that up with the Oranzheria, a giant greenhouse in which to grow crops, which clearly capitalizes on the zerkala. Almost everyone in town is employed by the Oranzheria or the other businesses that support it. Everyone works twelve hour shifts, and there are no more weekends - the only time anyone gets off is on a handful of holidays scattered throughout the year.
Yarik and Dima react very differently to these developments, and the diverging choices they make have some very wide-ranging consequences. Yarik becomes something of a company man and poster boy for upward mobility, while Dima chooses a more oppositional path stemming from his deep longing for a simpler, less industrialized life with his brother. The best aspect of The Great Glass Sea is how these choices affect the brothers' relationship, how they feel about that, and Weil's lack of judgment about whose choices are better.
Throughout this story, Weil explores the nature and meaning of the connectedness forged through close familial relationships and shared upbringing, the tension between the needs for work/productivity and leisure, the pros and cons of the old soviet way of life and the new rampant capitalism, communal activity and experience and complete individuality. I wish that Weil had explored some of themes in more detail, and I especially wish that he had given the opposition between productivity and leisure a little more resolution. Nonetheless, he does an excellent job of weaving all these threads together while keeping everything moving and connected. I also loved the subtle uses of Russian folklore (Bazarov clearly has a metaphorical relationship to one of my favorite characters).
by Josh Weil
I found myself surprisingly more engrossed in this novel the farther I got into. Set in a near future Russia, it is the story of Dima and Yarik, twin brothers grappling with the changes brought to their hometown of Petroplavilsk by the projects of billionaire entrepreneur Bazarov. A mysterious, greedy, and often capricious man, Bazarov has built a series of satellite mirrors (the zerkala) that have plunged Petroplavilsk into perpetual daylight and round the clock productivity. He followed that up with the Oranzheria, a giant greenhouse in which to grow crops, which clearly capitalizes on the zerkala. Almost everyone in town is employed by the Oranzheria or the other businesses that support it. Everyone works twelve hour shifts, and there are no more weekends - the only time anyone gets off is on a handful of holidays scattered throughout the year.
Yarik and Dima react very differently to these developments, and the diverging choices they make have some very wide-ranging consequences. Yarik becomes something of a company man and poster boy for upward mobility, while Dima chooses a more oppositional path stemming from his deep longing for a simpler, less industrialized life with his brother. The best aspect of The Great Glass Sea is how these choices affect the brothers' relationship, how they feel about that, and Weil's lack of judgment about whose choices are better.
Throughout this story, Weil explores the nature and meaning of the connectedness forged through close familial relationships and shared upbringing, the tension between the needs for work/productivity and leisure, the pros and cons of the old soviet way of life and the new rampant capitalism, communal activity and experience and complete individuality. I wish that Weil had explored some of themes in more detail, and I especially wish that he had given the opposition between productivity and leisure a little more resolution. Nonetheless, he does an excellent job of weaving all these threads together while keeping everything moving and connected. I also loved the subtle uses of Russian folklore (Bazarov clearly has a metaphorical relationship to one of my favorite characters).
