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Ilus, kuulus ja rikas 50. aastates arhitekt Arseni Iratov teeb ühel hommikul ärgates hirmsa avastuse: tema meheau on haihtunud. Kadunud kallisvara ilmub aga välja viletsa Vene külakeses 13-aastase Aliska ja tema joodikust vanaema juures, kasvab ja kosub ning sirgub imekauniks noormeheks.
Intrigeerivas, üheaegselt naturalistlikus ja sürreaalses uue Vene kirjanduse üheks suunanäitajaks nimetatud romaanis talutatakse lugejat apokalüptilise finaalini otsekui läbi labürindi, kus igal käänakul varitsevad vihjed Gogolile, Bulgakovile jpt.
Intrigeerivas, üheaegselt naturalistlikus ja sürreaalses uue Vene kirjanduse üheks suunanäitajaks nimetatud romaanis talutatakse lugejat apokalüptilise finaalini otsekui läbi labürindi, kus igal käänakul varitsevad vihjed Gogolile, Bulgakovile jpt.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
5 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Dmitry Lipskerov
22books23followersДми́трий Миха́йлович Ли́пскеров.
Dmitry Lipskerov is an acclaimed Russian writer and dramatist. He emerged as a popular author in the late 1990s. Lipskerov's style is a mixture of realism and fantasy; while the focus of his writing is on establishing the personal relations between the characters, the latter often function in a strange world, in which Russian reality is transformed magically, blending different epochs and places.
Dmitry Lipskerov is an acclaimed Russian writer and dramatist. He emerged as a popular author in the late 1990s. Lipskerov's style is a mixture of realism and fantasy; while the focus of his writing is on establishing the personal relations between the characters, the latter often function in a strange world, in which Russian reality is transformed magically, blending different epochs and places.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 17, 2022
Mystical metamorphoses from Ovid to Franz Kafka� In The Tool & the Butterflies Dmitry Lipskerov continues this glorious literary tradition.
One ordinary night a middle-aged voluptuous magnate transforms into an asexual being�
However, his intimate tool � similar to Gogol’s Nose � is found alive and kicking in a faraway village as a tiny gnome� This sentient penile homunculus � vulgarly christened as Eugene � grows up in a day and his independent life � mostly sexual � begins�
In the capital, this daring Tom Penis and his rich former host are destined to meet again, briefly... There are plenty of enigmatic events� There are many unexpected encounters�
And a certain mysterious figure of the unknown supernatural origin keeps witnessing everything�
The war of Heaven and Hell is everlasting and the world of the living is a battlefield.
One ordinary night a middle-aged voluptuous magnate transforms into an asexual being�
Of course, the moment he woke up, he plunged his fingers between his thighs in the hope that it had all been some nightmare vision. He detected only emptiness. He rummaged around in his sheets. Nothing.
However, his intimate tool � similar to Gogol’s Nose � is found alive and kicking in a faraway village as a tiny gnome� This sentient penile homunculus � vulgarly christened as Eugene � grows up in a day and his independent life � mostly sexual � begins�
He crunched swiftly through the snow, away from Alice’s house. His rapid stride spoke to his determination, and his long black hair fluttered in the wind.
“A demon!� Alice whispered behind him. “A demon…�
In the capital, this daring Tom Penis and his rich former host are destined to meet again, briefly... There are plenty of enigmatic events� There are many unexpected encounters�
And a certain mysterious figure of the unknown supernatural origin keeps witnessing everything�
I woke up, and, when my head cleared, I realized in horror that I’d slept for a month instead of a week. As I was brushing my teeth, I thought in panic that I’d missed some key events and incidents! How could this be?! Then I remembered my dream in the minutest detail and a tiny crack revealed a complex, multifaceted image. I realized that was where Zoika, the mixed-race girl with the blue eyes, had come from, sensing that an understanding of the whole grand design would soon take shape in my head.
The war of Heaven and Hell is everlasting and the world of the living is a battlefield.
June 30, 2020
Läänes armastatakse kirjandust kastidesse panna, igale kastile silt ilusti peale. Fantasy on fantasy sildiga kastis ja igaüks saab aru, et neid asju, mida autor on kokku luuletanud, päris maailmas ei kohta. Vene kirjanduses on juba sajandeid fantasyt harrastatud ilma igasuguste siltideta. Ilmselt neil ongi see reaalsus oluliselt müstilisem ja alati on võimalus, et argipäevas juhtuvad kummalised lood.
Niisiis, tegemist on moodsa vene fantasyga. Teema on äge, paralleelid tekivad kohe Bulgakovi ja Gaimaniga, edasine on pigem iga lugeja enda avastada, ei ole mingeid spoilereid vaja. Jutt voolab väga ladusalt ja humoorikalt. Eks lõpuks jäi omajagu mõtlemist - et mis siis täpselt toimus, miks nii ja kuhu edasi. Eks need viited klassikutele peaks aitama ja kui harimatu lugeja ei ole kogu vene kirjandusega kursis, siis peab ise fantaasia tööle panema. Mina igatahes olen väga rahul ja tahaks veel.
Niisiis, tegemist on moodsa vene fantasyga. Teema on äge, paralleelid tekivad kohe Bulgakovi ja Gaimaniga, edasine on pigem iga lugeja enda avastada, ei ole mingeid spoilereid vaja. Jutt voolab väga ladusalt ja humoorikalt. Eks lõpuks jäi omajagu mõtlemist - et mis siis täpselt toimus, miks nii ja kuhu edasi. Eks need viited klassikutele peaks aitama ja kui harimatu lugeja ei ole kogu vene kirjandusega kursis, siis peab ise fantaasia tööle panema. Mina igatahes olen väga rahul ja tahaks veel.
June 9, 2022
A satire of post-Soviet life in Moscow, with nods to Gogol, Bulgakov and the great Russian absurdist tradition. Multiple narrators, some of which are not actually human, tell us about looking down the barrel of the last days � years � of denatured humanity. Possibly not for everyone, but anyone willing to engage with complexity will be rewarded.
March 7, 2024
Ok! For a book about a billionaire waking up one day without a dick, after 360 pages I did not expect for it to end pleasantly w motorcycle lesbians ruling the world. I also did not expect the weird biblical nature of all this- so the castrated men all turned into angels??? I feel like if I understood Russian this book would have made more sense.
October 24, 2022
Kui ADHD oleks raamat. Lõpuni ei saanud aru kes mis tegelased olid. Aga kahtlemata rekordiliselt viiteid teistele teostele, mida ma lugenud pole ja autoritele kellest ma midagi ei tea. Sain ennast samaaegselt lolli ja kultuursena tunda.
May 14, 2018
Meenutas mingil hetkel Bulgakovit. Jabur ja paeluv. Alltekstidega.
June 9, 2023
kõige veidram asi mida kunagi lugenud olen. haarasin selle suvaliselt raamatukogust, sest mulle meeldivad liblikad, aga eksisin päris korralikult.
ülidetailne raamat ja kohati päris ilge ka. täielik saatusedraama. alles teises pooles hakkasin veidi tajuma, mis toimub ja siis oli päris põnev ja tegelikult see detailsus ja mis-kõik-korraga-maailmas-toimub oli täitsa tore.
ülidetailne raamat ja kohati päris ilge ka. täielik saatusedraama. alles teises pooles hakkasin veidi tajuma, mis toimub ja siis oli päris põnev ja tegelikult see detailsus ja mis-kõik-korraga-maailmas-toimub oli täitsa tore.
January 17, 2022
Grabbed this unexpected novel deep in the recesses of the library, because the cover design is pretty amazing and because the author was compared favorably to Bulgakov (a lifelong favorite). The surface level absurdity of the writing is delightful in its own right, and there’s plenty of deeper commentary on the role of gender and sexuality to ponder.
February 1, 2024
Ilus, kuulus ja rikas 50. aastates arhitekt Arseni Iratov teeb ühel hommikul ärgates hirmsa avastuse: tema meheau on haihtunud. Kadunud kallisvara ilmub aga välja viletsa Vene külakeses 13-aastase Aliska ja tema joodikust vanaema juures, kasvab ja kosub ning sirgub imekauniks noormeheks.
Intrigeerivas, üheaegselt naturalistlikus ja sürreaalses uue Vene kirjanduse üheks suunanäitajaks nimetatud romaanis talutatakse lugejat apokalüptilise finaalini otsekui läbi labürindi, kus igal käänakul varitsevad vihjed Gogolile, Bulgakovile jpt.
Väga hüplik teemast teemasse, et vahepeal tuli eelmist lõiku või lehekülge üle vaadata ega kogemata pole topelt lehte keeranud. Samas võin öelda, et haarav lugemine- ega muidu ju päevaga ei loeks raamatut läbi. Tegelased ise (Eugene, Antipatros ja Ivanov) olid segi paisatud rollides, et ei saanudki kohe aru, kes mis rolli etendas. Väga palju oli erootilist teksti kohati, mida ma küll ei oodanud. Et soovitan isegi lugeda
Intrigeerivas, üheaegselt naturalistlikus ja sürreaalses uue Vene kirjanduse üheks suunanäitajaks nimetatud romaanis talutatakse lugejat apokalüptilise finaalini otsekui läbi labürindi, kus igal käänakul varitsevad vihjed Gogolile, Bulgakovile jpt.
Väga hüplik teemast teemasse, et vahepeal tuli eelmist lõiku või lehekülge üle vaadata ega kogemata pole topelt lehte keeranud. Samas võin öelda, et haarav lugemine- ega muidu ju päevaga ei loeks raamatut läbi. Tegelased ise (Eugene, Antipatros ja Ivanov) olid segi paisatud rollides, et ei saanudki kohe aru, kes mis rolli etendas. Väga palju oli erootilist teksti kohati, mida ma küll ei oodanud. Et soovitan isegi lugeda
July 19, 2023
Vene sotsporr ja maagiline realism samas raamatus koos. Lõbus, ropp ja segane.
Raamatu esimene pool on suurepärane. Kirjeldab vene elu NSVL lõpus ja uue aja alguses, kogu aeg saab keegi peksa või keppi, tegelased on nummid ja ja rõvedad ühekorraga. Lugemine läheb ludinal ja on naljakas.
Kusagil poole peal tekib tõrge, et tegelasi ja liine on liiga palju. Ei saa enam aru, et kes on kelle kes.
Ja siis lõpp läheb päris käest ära.
Viidestest on siin selged Bulgakovi ja Gogoli mõjud, aga lõpp on hoopis Houellebecq.
Kokkuvõttes - soovitan lugeda küll. Lastele ärge andke :) Ja nõuka ajal elanutele on äratundmisrõõmu kogu aeg :)
Raamatu esimene pool on suurepärane. Kirjeldab vene elu NSVL lõpus ja uue aja alguses, kogu aeg saab keegi peksa või keppi, tegelased on nummid ja ja rõvedad ühekorraga. Lugemine läheb ludinal ja on naljakas.
Kusagil poole peal tekib tõrge, et tegelasi ja liine on liiga palju. Ei saa enam aru, et kes on kelle kes.
Ja siis lõpp läheb päris käest ära.
Viidestest on siin selged Bulgakovi ja Gogoli mõjud, aga lõpp on hoopis Houellebecq.
Kokkuvõttes - soovitan lugeda küll. Lastele ärge andke :) Ja nõuka ajal elanutele on äratundmisrõõmu kogu aeg :)
March 21, 2017
Милая, чувственная билиберда
January 4, 2018
Лучший Липскеров из тех, что я читал.
September 29, 2019
Paljutõotav, hoogne ja mahlakas, vene ja juudi autorite mõjudega romaan. Siiski kohati stiiga mittehaakuvalt segane ja loetavusest hoolimata hüplik
February 10, 2022
Parodie échevelée de romans classiques russes. Écriture pleine de fantaisie. Fin plus facile.
September 12, 2022
Probably one of the weirdest stories I’ve read.
January 13, 2021
via my blog:
𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐯 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐢𝐥. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞.
What is a bigger shame in a man’s soul than losing his very masculinity, his virility, his� precious male organ? In The Tool & The Butterflies, fifty-odd years old Arseny Iratov, a strong willed, very wealthy man who has wronged many people in his life, is deeply loved by Vera. His darling, beautiful, young thirty-year-old Vera, with whom he enjoys ‘unwedded living arrangements�. The Russian woman knows how to love a man, raised just right, perfectly devoted to Iratov and well kept by his generous wealth- he’s not tight fisted, mind you! For years he has taken pills to help him sleep, burdened by panic attacks. One night deeply absorbed in torment free dreams of bygone days his full bladder wakes him. Half asleep he makes his way to the bathroom, reaches into his pants and discovers nothing is there! With his brain suffering disbelief, unable to process what is obvious and yet impossible-he can’t understand how his “tool� is gone! Gone!!!! So begins the shame.
A medical marvel, indeed, what can be done? Maybe were he a different man, having a hole like a woman would be a blessing. How will he satisfy his Vera now? He certainly can’t give her a child, as she desires. Where did it go? Stranger still, Iratov’s “tool� is born, a strange, motherless creature all alone and confused in another village. The story ties together the fate of many people, especially those that Arseny wronged along the way to his greatness, those he never acknowledged, leaving his seed here and there, others he used for his own pleasures or got tired of on his way to a fruitful, brilliant, if illegal, future.
The more absurd it gets, the stronger the connections. Granny Ksenia wakes to the sound of whispering and finds her 13-year-old great-granddaughter Alice holding a strange creature. Alice insists it is a Smurf! Not that Granny Ksenia has any inkling of what a Smurf is. Accusations fly and she is adamant the little hussy has given birth! What will become of this strange being?
Who is the enraged, jealous young man at the theater, longing for Vera and why is he so eager to tell Iratov’s story to the world? Just who is Eugene? What is happening to the men? Sex, vodka, misogyny, Russia of the past and present gives us a cheeky, absurd novel. We go back to Iratov’s youth, where he gorges himself on ‘the fairer sex�, until his love for them fades as the women wilt in his esteem. There is the attitude towards the disabled, with the story Dasha and her love for vacant, little Joseph ,whom other caretakers at the children’s home see as a hopeless. To them, he has no future, just another worthless “vegetable�, like all the other disabled children. The story is all over the place and can be hard to follow at times, but certainly it pokes fun at the post-soviet stance on the roles of male and females. Certainly, discrimination goes both ways in Russia. I remember reading a piece that claimed in divorce women keep the children. Culture forces people to maintain a façade, in fact even Arseny Iratov, the older he gets and resigned to his situation, saves face in seeming more master than he is. It’s all about stereotypes.
In this crazy tale, the men recognize themselves in strangers and progeny alike, even while despising what is mirrored back at them. I probably only understood half of what I read, but it was a break from my usual reading. This is creative satire at it’s best, while looking for a missing “tool�, which defines a man, is the star of his tale, he may instead set some butterflies free�.
Publication Date: January 12, 2021 Available Today
Deep Vellum Publishing
𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐯 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐢𝐥. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞.
What is a bigger shame in a man’s soul than losing his very masculinity, his virility, his� precious male organ? In The Tool & The Butterflies, fifty-odd years old Arseny Iratov, a strong willed, very wealthy man who has wronged many people in his life, is deeply loved by Vera. His darling, beautiful, young thirty-year-old Vera, with whom he enjoys ‘unwedded living arrangements�. The Russian woman knows how to love a man, raised just right, perfectly devoted to Iratov and well kept by his generous wealth- he’s not tight fisted, mind you! For years he has taken pills to help him sleep, burdened by panic attacks. One night deeply absorbed in torment free dreams of bygone days his full bladder wakes him. Half asleep he makes his way to the bathroom, reaches into his pants and discovers nothing is there! With his brain suffering disbelief, unable to process what is obvious and yet impossible-he can’t understand how his “tool� is gone! Gone!!!! So begins the shame.
A medical marvel, indeed, what can be done? Maybe were he a different man, having a hole like a woman would be a blessing. How will he satisfy his Vera now? He certainly can’t give her a child, as she desires. Where did it go? Stranger still, Iratov’s “tool� is born, a strange, motherless creature all alone and confused in another village. The story ties together the fate of many people, especially those that Arseny wronged along the way to his greatness, those he never acknowledged, leaving his seed here and there, others he used for his own pleasures or got tired of on his way to a fruitful, brilliant, if illegal, future.
The more absurd it gets, the stronger the connections. Granny Ksenia wakes to the sound of whispering and finds her 13-year-old great-granddaughter Alice holding a strange creature. Alice insists it is a Smurf! Not that Granny Ksenia has any inkling of what a Smurf is. Accusations fly and she is adamant the little hussy has given birth! What will become of this strange being?
Who is the enraged, jealous young man at the theater, longing for Vera and why is he so eager to tell Iratov’s story to the world? Just who is Eugene? What is happening to the men? Sex, vodka, misogyny, Russia of the past and present gives us a cheeky, absurd novel. We go back to Iratov’s youth, where he gorges himself on ‘the fairer sex�, until his love for them fades as the women wilt in his esteem. There is the attitude towards the disabled, with the story Dasha and her love for vacant, little Joseph ,whom other caretakers at the children’s home see as a hopeless. To them, he has no future, just another worthless “vegetable�, like all the other disabled children. The story is all over the place and can be hard to follow at times, but certainly it pokes fun at the post-soviet stance on the roles of male and females. Certainly, discrimination goes both ways in Russia. I remember reading a piece that claimed in divorce women keep the children. Culture forces people to maintain a façade, in fact even Arseny Iratov, the older he gets and resigned to his situation, saves face in seeming more master than he is. It’s all about stereotypes.
In this crazy tale, the men recognize themselves in strangers and progeny alike, even while despising what is mirrored back at them. I probably only understood half of what I read, but it was a break from my usual reading. This is creative satire at it’s best, while looking for a missing “tool�, which defines a man, is the star of his tale, he may instead set some butterflies free�.
Publication Date: January 12, 2021 Available Today
Deep Vellum Publishing
April 17, 2022
A 340-page shaggy dog story about, in part, several angels who have been remanded to Earth for the past several centuries to work off sins committed in heaven. For some reason, their individual atonements culminate (when the book begins) in the majority of men around the world waking up to find their genitalia replaced by a small urethral opening. Much of the novel's humor depends on sexual and ethnic stereotypes, which fell out of disfavor 40 years ago in the U.S. Imagine Milton Berle selected to play Captain Kurz in Coppola's Apocalypse Now to question the moral position of the U.S. in Viet Nam, and you have something like the unfunny confusion of this novel.
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