"HAPPINESS FOR EVERYBODY, FREE, AND NO ONE WILL GO AWAY UNSATISFIED!"

November 20, 2012 7:04 PM

Boris Strugatsky passed away Monday, 19 Nov 2012.

This obituary at The Guardian discusses his recent conflicts with Vladimir Putin and involvement with the band Pussy Riot. At Pravda they discuss his illness and passing.

Review of recent translation of Roadside Picnic

ISFdb. Previously. Via.

posted by wobh (22 comments total)

Yeah, that's the right title.
posted by Nomyte at 7:12 PM on November 20, 2012

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posted by Iridic at 7:21 PM on November 20, 2012

Somewhere in his notes, Boris Natanovich writes that in his youth he was a sluggard compared to his brother, often quoting the following maxim in response to demands: "It is better to walk than to run, better to stand than to walk, better to sit than to stand, better to lie down than to sit, better to sleep than to lie down."

I guess the part of the maxim that he always left out finally caught up with him.
posted by Nomyte at 7:22 PM on November 20, 2012

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How, uh, "difficult" is Roadside Picnic in the original?
posted by griphus at 7:32 PM on November 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

You're probably not gonna be Russian through it.

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posted by adamdschneider at 8:17 PM on November 20, 2012 [2 favorites]

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posted by anateus at 8:52 PM on November 20, 2012

Too bad. I recently read "Hard to be a God" and noon:22nd century and had a blast. Noon especially was great old school neo-colonialism scifi. Very Russian in the way it threw a bunch of characters at you right out the gate.
posted by Dmenet at 9:13 PM on November 20, 2012

If you keep reading the Noon Universe, it gets more ambiguous. See Beetle in the Anthill. But yeah, they're very into uplift over there. Hard to Be a God struck me as mawkish.
posted by Nomyte at 9:21 PM on November 20, 2012

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posted by Rabarberofficer at 11:14 PM on November 20, 2012

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posted by tykky at 11:43 PM on November 20, 2012

I met a good friend over the internet about a decade ago. She sent me thick, bound print-outs of Roadside Picnic, It's Hard to be a God, Monday Begins on Saturday for me to read during a long distance bike trip one summer (along with Russian "Squirrel" chocolates to nibble on). It was my first introduction to the Strugatsky brothers (and Russian/Soviet sci-fi) outside of Tarkovsky's films. Spoke with her today and she told me he'd just died.

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posted by Auden at 2:33 AM on November 21, 2012

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posted by snuffleupagus at 3:24 AM on November 21, 2012

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Time to reread Svært at være Gud (Hard to be a God). A good book, as I recall.
posted by bouvin at 4:47 AM on November 21, 2012

I'm sorry to hear it. I should thank languagehat for introducing me to them.

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posted by ersatz at 6:21 AM on November 21, 2012

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posted by doctornemo at 7:39 AM on November 21, 2012

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posted by languagehat at 10:37 AM on November 21, 2012

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posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 11:07 AM on November 21, 2012

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I came across the Strugatsky-inspired S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of games before I'd ever read Roadside Picnic. Read it, liked it, but haven't picked up anything else by him/them.
posted by mikurski at 2:59 PM on November 21, 2012

In 2009 he engaged in a long correspondence with jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which was later made public, discussing the nature of authoritarianism and the future of humankind faced with global challenges like the end of oil.

I would like to read those, I've searched, but with no luck
posted by samelborp at 1:32 AM on November 22, 2012

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posted by homunculus at 1:15 PM on November 23, 2012

Speaking of Pussy Riot: Pussy Riot member asks for solitary confinement
posted by homunculus at 1:19 PM on November 23, 2012

Roadside Picnic is one of these books I try to find when I'm at a loss what to get someone. I've never given it to anyone who didn't end up liking it.
posted by Kattullus at 3:42 PM on November 25, 2012