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Former bureaucrat Max Borodin is one of Moscow's most successful businessmen. He strolls through the wreckage of today's Russia with ease - convincing people to do his bidding, providing its citizens (both friends and clients) with the luxury goods they covet, and generally leading a prosperous and satisfying existence. Life in what Max calls "the land of opportunity" isn't perfect, however: His wife, Tanya, nags him; his mistress, Sonya, exhausts him; his brother, Evgeny, constantly needs to be extricated from shady business ventures. And there are always the country's reasonable and unreasonable mafias, who are awaiting their chance to expropriate the profits of Max's Universal Manufacturing Company, which produces documents, historical and otherwise, to suit every purpose.. Then Sonya's husband, Dmitry, offers Max a business opportunity that is too good to pass up. Long used to reshaping history to suit the needs of his customers, or himself, Max discovers that the thinner you stretch the truth, the more dangerous it is to walk upon. A biting book filled with irony and black humor, Let's Put the Future Behind Us provides a seductive look at post-Soviet Russia and a cold-eyed examination of the darker side of the human soul.
When a high-stakes business opportunity arises in the volatile landscape of post-Soviet Russia, a document-forger finds his carefully constructed life of manipulation unraveling. Max Borodin, a successful businessman who thrives by rewriting history for his clients, must navigate the competing demands of his wife, mistress, and brother while dodging the predatory interests of local mafias. As he accepts a dangerous new venture from his mistress's husband, Max is forced to confront the fragility of the reality he has manufactured. The narrative, delivered through a cynical and sharp-edged lens, tracks his descent as the lies he has sold to others begin to compromise his own survival.
This work is characterized by its bleak, sardonic tone and its unflinching look at the moral vacuum of a society in transition. The narrative structure suggests a deliberate focus on the mechanics of corruption, positioning the protagonist as both a victim and a perpetrator of the system he inhabits. Readers likely find the prose dense with irony, reflecting the author's interest in the intersection of personal ambition and political instability. The book serves as a cold-eyed examination of how the manipulation of truth inevitably leads to personal and societal peril.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
1997-01-23
Publisher:
FLAMINGO
ISBN-10:
0002255626
ISBN-13:
9780002255622
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