Novel with Cocaine

by M. Ageyev

Other authorsWill Self (Introduction), Michael Henry Heim (Translator)
Paperback, 1999

Status

Available

Call number

891.7344

Collection

Publication

Penguin Books Ltd (1999), Edition: New Ed, Paperback, 240 pages

Description

A bizarre and deeply disturbing account of a young man’s descent into addiction, this story brilliantly mirrors the tumultuous events of early 20th-century Russian history. Struggling with the confusion and insecurities that adolescence brings, Vadim seeks an outlet for his frustration. Following unfulfilling attempts at classroom rebellion, filial disobedience, and teenage sex, he is drawn furthernbsp;and further into the world of illicit drugs. As his desire to experiment with narcotics grows stronger, so too do his feelings of worthlessness and isolation; and his ultimate physical surrender to cocaine mirrors his nation's psychological capitulation to a world where morals no longer apply. Thisnbsp;extraordinary work, astonishingly prescient for its time, is written by the pseudonymous M. Ageyev.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member jonfaith
Was expecting a While Nights with narcotics. This is likely more, however underdeveloped. In a sense this remains a strident meditation on decadence, a Slav Young Torless. The titular cocaine is merely a crescendo to an interesting portrait of the bestial and weird.

Remaining fascinated with reviews
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composed on a phone: no discernable improvement on terms of my skill, mind you.
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LibraryThing member burritapal
Whatever his misterious circumstances (some think he died under Stalin's regime), this author wrote a book that is painfully frank about the potential for humans, especially adolescents, to hurt those who love them, and who live only for them. A young moscovite works his way through the rituals of
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adolescence, with an alarming hatred for, and disdain towards women, especially his mother and old nanny. He purposely infects a young woman with STDs, becomes addicted to cocaine, and steals from his mother. The parts about his cocaine addiction are shudderingly realistic.
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Language

Original publication date

1934
1983 (French translation)

Physical description

240 p.; 7.8 inches

ISBN

0141181508 / 9780141181509
Page: 0.2077 seconds