Lizok's Bookshelf on Aleksei Slapovskii’s The Phoenix Syndrome:
At times Slapovskii’s Phoenix Syndrome, like They, reads as much like a screenplay as a Big Book
prize finalist. The result, though, is an unusually tightly written
novel with supporting characters who drift in and out, abundant
one-liners, quick scene changes, and a happy ending.
There
are also dark undercurrents in the book – including a criminal past –
as Gosha churns through personalities with the help of Tatiana, a store
clerk and single mother who takes Gosha in and begins to love him.
Still, Slapovskii’s intent is to provide light, humorous reading
underpinned by social commentary about post-Soviet Russian life,
something as changeable as Gosha’s personality. There’s plenty of
funny-but-sad material about small town politics and jealousies,
Gosha’s stint as a soccer savior, and construction projects.
Slapovskii’s Phoenix Syndrome is almost as paradoxical as Gosha: it is light but satisfying, funny but sad, old-fashioned but contemporary. Though The Phoenix Syndrome
may not have enough heft to be one of the most profound post-Soviet
novels I’ve read, it is one of the most clear, enjoyable, and concise.