The Dream Life Of Sukhanov (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
Every now and then history elbows its way into a book I’m reading. The life of recently departed Vaclav Havel, at first glance, would seem to offer a stern rebuke to life of Grushin’s protag, “Tolya” Sukhanov (is it fair do compare historical figures with fictional characters? why else to we read novels, if not to see the grubby, muddled “truth” of “real” life in a new light?). Havel, an artist in his own right, chose not to “live within the lie,” as Solzhenitsyn put it; Tolya conforms to the lie. But what sold me on G’s version of this timeless conflict is her unwillingness to portray TS as solely a victim of a repressive system. For an ostensibly “political” novel, G. keeps the menace of ideology, for the most part, relatively muted. In at least one key place, she works against our conventional expectations of Stalin's henchmen breaking down doors in middle of night and hauling off dissidents. The machinations, frustrations, disappointments, and compromises of S’s daily life, personal and professional, don’t seem much different from those of any mid to upper level manager in a large institution. His kids insult him, his wife ignores him, and his boss (a cranky, pompous father-in-law, no less) barely tolerates him, and he suspects everyone of trying to take advantage of him. It was this chronic erosion of a comfortable life built on an illusion of control that made him more sympathetic than his failures as an artist, though I hasten to add that you can’t separate the two so neatly. Another reviewer described G’s tone and prose as “overheated” and “melodramatic,” and I’d have to agree; or to put it more generously, I’d describe her as one of those very talented, microscopic stylists who can’t resist adorning every little detail with pristine, lyrical imagery. Sometimes the effect is magical; sometimes it‘s just wearying. She writes in long, rolling, looping sentences that take up several lines of print. Once you catch the rhythm of them, they can be energizing and fun to ride, but if you’re tired and ate too much beef and potatoes for dinner, they can be a slog and sleep-inducing. My reaction was lukewarm through the first 50-75 pages, but the novel grew on me on a good bit as I got further into it. For all the ruminating on role of art in public discourse, it was S’s befuddled frustrations with his smart-aleck kids that gradually won me over. Tolya may be no Vaclav Havel, but then, according to his obits, Havel never had kids.
In the mid-1980's, Sukhanov has reached the top of his career in Soviet arts administration. In the journal he edits he pans the art he loves as capitalist decadence. This editor position has a lot of perks and he holds it by virtue of his wife's connections.As the novel progresses, Grushin explores whether or not Sukhanov ever had a choice in life. His father's fate in Stalin's Russia is symbolic of many who perished for perceived political crimes or for just being individuals. Sukhanov's life choices may be typical of those children of trauma, whose caretakers felt silence to be golden.The novel gives us the present, flashes to the past, and whimsical dreams which represent Sukhanov's integration of past and present reality.I expected Suk's lifestyle with chauffeured car and dacha, but did not expect the relative freedom with which the characters express themselves. This novel depicts a verbally trusting culture. Suk freely describes his formulaic essays ("throw in some Marx"). He candidly tells his staff his reservations about the publication of this new required essay. His rural cousin, from whom I would expect greater discretion in expressing opinions freely spoke to the unorthodox ideas that Suk's journal would never dare to print. Suk, the ultimate apparatchik said out loud that lots of people perished in the 50s, but it just wasn't done in the 60s and 70s.Earlier this year I read My Name is Red which, although a murder mystery, explores similar themes. In both, the ruling class dictates a repetitive art, and artist administrators are the front line in disciplining artists to produce it. There seems to be either more freedom or daring in 1980s Russia or just more difficulty in enforcement. Also, in Russia, there is pressure from below to produce soviet realism, the population, perhaps exhausted from war and poverty is said to long for images of a dynamic industrial future. In the sultan's of world of "Red", the population is not a factor, only the sultan and his artistically conservative workshop supervisor.There is a lot here, and while not as acclaimed, I found this book equal to "Red" in its discussion of the role of art in politics.
What do You think about The Dream Life Of Sukhanov (2007)?
I've called this “A proper Russian Novel” and by this I mean that Olga Grushin has invested in the character of Sukhanov, all the angst and pathos, all the weakness and hubris that I remember reading in all those great Russian novels. Sukhanov goes on an epic journey of rediscovery, he is constantly assailed by images from his past, haunted by all those ideals he repressed for the sake of a career in the USSR. Yet things change, and it’s in this change, Sukhanov is left to question his choices….http://parrishlantern.blogspot.com/20...
—Parrish Lantern
This novel at its core is a story of man in his 50s having to confront the decisions that he made as a younger man and how they shaped the course of his life. Sukhanov essentially had two paths that he could have taken. On one path he pursues his passions but will inevitably struggle economically and will be outcasted to a certain extent. The other path requires him to give up, even forsake, that which he is most talented and passionate about, but in exchange he will live quite comfortably. Having a beautiful wife and anticipating future children, Sukhanov "sells out"...a decision he makes for the benefit of his family, but ironically contributes to alienate him from each one of them later on.This novel comments a lot on the power of art and the individual, but also examines the relationship between politics and art. To top it off, Sukhanov's first passion, surrealist art, is the very form that his nightmares and delusions take later in his life that cause him to question everything he knows. One can easily empathize with Sukhanov; he is a likable protagonist and we can share the distress of facing our own dilemmas. I also appreciate that Grushin doesn't automatically steer us down one path or the other. There is another character in the book that essentially represents the fate of the other path, and it's not one that we would want either.
—Amy
Can I just say: WOW. And not just because Grushin is a Russian lady writing in beautiful, crisp, evocative English, that's grand and all, but what an approach to a classic subject matter! She addresses the things we (aspiring writers, artists and such) think about constantly, mumble to ourselves and talk to others, passionately when drunk: what is talent? can it be confused with youth and energy? does an artist have a duty to fulfill himself, and at what expense to his family and friends? is to create a right or a luxury? what's the purpose of art in society? and what price is too high to pay for staying true to one's ideals in a life, in a country, in a time when everything is shifting and changing. and then, there is the question of crazy...I'll leave it at that.I recommend the book highly-highly. Would be curious to see what everyone else thinks.Grushin was named one of Granta's best young writers this year blah blah blah and if you read it, you'll see why.
—Kseniya Melnik
