18 October 2006

Only in Russia

The article (some of you will have to believe me, I know) starts with the news about a theft of a new novel written by Victor Pelevin, one of the outstanding contemporary Russian writers.















An electronic copy of the novel, bearing the marks of formatting and other preparations for the print, is being distributed all over the net. Obviously lifted from the publishing house.

So far it is a report on a theft that, while definitely being a dirty deed, could happen anywhere in the world. The author of the article, some Alexandr Amzin, does not even express any outrage about the act of thievery. This, most probably, comes from being a really impartial professional observer and reporter.

And then comes the surprise. Instead of stopping at this point, Mr. Amzin jumps into a learned critical essay on the novel. Which, obviously, he read in the purloined version...

Incroyable!

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