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Memoir of a Russian Punk
Memoir of a Russian Punk (Russian: Подросток Савенко, lit. 'Adolescent Savenko') is a 1983 autobiographical novel by the Russian writer Eduard Limonov. PlotInterweaved with flashbacks, the story takes place in Kharkov in 1958, during the 41st anniversary of the October Revolution. Eddie is a 15-year-old boy who comes of age as he writes poetry and tries to rebel against a society he thinks is amoral. He is friends with a group of like-minded youths who occupy themselves by drinking, stealing and raping. Eddie loses his virginity, wins a poetry contest and participates in a robbery that goes wrong. His poetry saves him from a criminal career. Eventually, his friends end up in prison and one of them is executed, but Eddie moves to Europe.[1] ReceptionKirkus Reviews wrote that the book "tries hard to shock but ends up being the story of your basic bright, sensitive boy who isn't quite cut out to be a monster of depravity, though he does try".[1] Publishers Weekly wrote that "Limonov expertly captures the horrifying boredom of working-class Soviet urban life, and uses just the right hip, offhand tone to describe Eddie's adventures in the demi-world of teenage gangs and small-time hoods".[2] References
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