Memoir of a Russian Punk

Memoir of a Russian Punk (Russian: Подросток Савенко, lit. 'Adolescent Savenko') is a 1983 autobiographical novel by the Russian writer Eduard Limonov.

Plot

Interweaved with flashbacks, the story takes place in Kharkov in 1958, during the 41st anniversary of the October Revolution. Eddie is a 15-year-old boy who comes of age as he writes poetry and tries to rebel against a society he thinks is amoral. He is friends with a group of like-minded youths who occupy themselves by drinking, stealing and raping. Eddie loses his virginity, wins a poetry contest and participates in a robbery that goes wrong. His poetry saves him from a criminal career. Eventually, his friends end up in prison and one of them is executed, but Eddie moves to Europe.^[1]

Reception

Kirkus Reviews wrote that the book "tries hard to shock but ends up being the story of your basic bright, sensitive boy who isn't quite cut out to be a monster of depravity, though he does try".^[1] Publishers Weekly wrote that "Limonov expertly captures the horrifying boredom of working-class Soviet urban life, and uses just the right hip, offhand tone to describe Eddie's adventures in the demi-world of teenage gangs and small-time hoods".^[2]

References