Omon Ra is the first novel by Victor Pelevin , written in 1991. It is a half-parody of educational novels of the Soviet era and is close to a thriller in genre. Characteristic is the attention to detail, which in the final adds up to one picture.
| OMON RA | |
|---|---|
 Cover 1 of a separate publication (1992) | |
| Genre | novel |
| Author | Victor Pelevin |
| Original language | Russian |
| Date of first publication | 1992 |
| Publishing house | Text |
| Electronic version | |
Content
Contents
The plot is based on the preparation of Soviet cosmonauts for a flight to the moon, one of which is the main character of the book - Omon Krivomazov (Ra - the call sign by the name of the ancient Egyptian god who was used by the main character). And also on the flight itself and the “exposure” of the space program. The book is dedicated to “Heroes of the Soviet space ” - but not widely honored by official cosmonauts, but not known to anyone as ordinary privates of the secret “Soviet space” . The grotesque nature of the narrative is emphasized from the first pages by a clear anachronism: the novel was written in 1991, Soviet participation in the lunar epic dates back to the second half of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s, the abbreviation “OMON”, by which the father gave the name to the protagonist policeman, appeared at the end of 1988
The plot features a flight school named after Maresyev in Zaraysk , where cadets, after admission, amputated their legs in the name of their homeland, and then taught to dance Kalinka (since there are no planes). The head of the school says that everyone can give the Motherland legs, a simple task, "but you try to give your life!". In passing, the book also mentions an infantry school named after Alexander Matrosov , final exams in which are accompanied by machine gun bursts, and the Higher Military-Political School named after Pavel Korchagin , whose graduates were paralyzed and blind disabled.
On the immediate theme of the book, ridiculed with a hyperbolic accent "hidden secrets of Soviet cosmonautics." In particular, in episodes of the plot it is stated that instead of automation, astronaut-amputee suicide bombers are secretly placed in extremely cramped compartments of the first stages of R7 launch vehicles for their separation during the flight and in the “ Lunokhod ” for its manual driving on the moon, and the Soviet manned lunar the program is also simulated.
The idea of the book finds intersection with some domestic and foreign cinematographic works about the exposures of a space-based flight (“ Capricorn alone ”) or underground (“The Great Space Journey ”) and hiding failures (“ First on the Moon ”, “ Apollo 18 ”) of astronautics, and also with the conspiracy theory of " moon conspiracy ."
Rewards
In 1993, Victor Pelevin’s novel “Omon Ra” was awarded two literary prizes - “ Interpresscon ” and “ Bronze Snail ”. Both prizes were awarded in the “Medium Form” category [1] .
Editions
The story was first published (in a magazine version) in the magazine " Banner " in 1992 [2] . An excerpt from the story entitled “Lunokhod” was published in 1991 in the journal “ Knowledge is Power ” [3] and in the first author's collection “ Blue Lantern ”.
- 1992 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Omon Ra. - M .: Text , 1992. - S. 7-152. - 228 p. - (A new wave of Russian science fiction). - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-87106-022-6 .
- 1996 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Tambourine of the Lower World. - Terra Book Club , 1996. - S. 5-110. - 368 p. - (Large library of adventure and science fiction). - ISBN 5-300-00508-8 , 5-300-00509-6.
- 1996 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra. - Farrar Straus Giroux, 1996 .-- 153 p. - ISBN 0374225923 , 978-0374225926.
- 1998 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra. - New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1998 .-- 153 p. - ISBN 0811213641 , 978-0811213646.
- 1999 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Life of insects. - Vagrius , 1999 .-- S. 21-152. - 351 p. - (Modern prose). - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-7027-0739-7 (1997 - 5-7027-0491-6).
- 1999 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Victor Pelevin. Collected works in 3 volumes. Volume 2. Omon Ra. Insect life. Recluse and Six-Toed. Prince of the State Planning Commission. - Vagrius , 1999. - T. 2. - S. 5—122. - 400 p. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-264-00005-0 , 5-264-00003-4.
- 2000 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Omon Ra. - Vagrius , 2000. - S. 7-162. - 272 p. - 15,000 copies. - ISBN 5-264-00433-1 .
- 2000 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Omon Ra. Yellow arrow - Vagrius , 2000 .-- S. 7—164. - 240 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0086-4 .
- 2001 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra. - Vagrius , 2001 .-- 176 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-264-00812-4 .
- 2003 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Victor Pelevin. Works in 2 volumes. Volume 2. Omon Ra. Generation "P". Yellow arrow - Vagrius , 2003. - S. 5-120. - 430 s. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0039-2 .
- 2003 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Omon Ra. Yellow arrow - Vagrius , 2003. - S. 5-162. - 240 p. - (Generation XYZ). - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0087-2 .
- 2003 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Omon Ra. Yellow arrow - Vagrius , 2003. - S. 9-220. - 320 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0079-1 .
- 2003 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Songs of the Realm “I”. - Vagrius , 2003 .-- S. 479-590. - 896 p. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0180-1 .
- 2004 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Omon Ra. Yellow arrow - Vagrius , AST , 2004. - S. 5-220. - 320 p. - (Classical and modern prose). - 15,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0080-5 .
- 2004 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Chapaev and Void. Omon Ra. - Vagrius , 2004 .-- S. 333—446. - 448 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9560-0098-8 .
- 2006 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra (MP3 audio book). - Audiobook, 2006. - (Modern prose).
- 2007 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra. - Eksmo , 2007 .-- 192 p. - (Books of Victor Pelevin). - 8000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-22131-8 .
- 2007 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra. - Eksmo , 2007 .-- 192 p. - 10,100 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-06891-3 , 5-699-06891-0.
- 2009 - Victor Pelevin . Omon Ra // Victor Pelevin. - Eksmo , 2009 .-- S. 277-386. - 616 p. - (Anthology of Satire and Humor of Russia of the 20th Century). - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-32096-7 , 978-5-04-003950-6.
Notes
- ↑ Victor Pelevin “Omon Ra” . Date of treatment August 19, 2009.
- ↑ OMON RA: A Tale // Banner. - 1992. - No. 5. - S. 11-63.
- ↑ Lunokhod: An excerpt from the novel “Omon Ra” // Knowledge is power. - 1991. - No. 9. - S. 26-30.
Links
- Omon Ra - text of the work on the site of Victor Pelevin
- Omon Ra - text of the work in English translated by Yuri Machkasov
Articles
- The story of V. Pelevin "OMON RA" in line with domestic tradition - an article by Elena Boroda on the site of Victor Pelevin
- Analysis of Victor Pelevin’s novel “Omon Ra” - an article by Vladimir Gubanov on Victor Pelevin’s website