The latest addition to my website is Vladimir Lorchenkov‘s Все там будем (The Good Life Elsewhere). This Moldovan novel is a wickedly funny satire on all things Moldovan. The basic plot concerns a small village of 523 people where all the inhabitants want to emigrate to Italy, as life in their village is very grim, indeed far worse than under the Soviets. Lorchenkov viciously mocks their pitiful attempts to escape – paying 4000 euros to a travel agency, setting up a curling team which can get visas to play abroad, converting a tractor into a plane and then a submarine, starting two crusades under the local priest and, in the case of the president of Moldova, faking an air crash. Many people die in quite unpleasant ways but Lorchenkov finds it all wildly amusing as he knocks the ignorance of the peasants, the corruption of all officials, the hypocrisy of religion and the ultimate failure of his country and people. Tt is firmly in the great tradition of East European black humour and stands comparison with Hašek, Voinovich and will have you laughing – unless, of course, you are a sensitive soul.
I enjoyed this a lot, and so did Michael Orthofer – coincidentally, all three of us reviewed it this week 😉
Yes, I saw both of your reviews but, as I had read this on the place to Iceland, I made a point of not reading them till I had written mine! I am guessing neither of you will have read the book I am about to review.