The Aviator Eugene Vodolazkin (1999)
A Soviet criminal sent to the gulags is cryogenically frozen. He is thawed in the 1990s with amnesia. He only remembers flashes from his time before. He attempts to rebuild his life, from fragments, from memories, from forgiveness. It’s told from journal entries first by the man, then by his doctor and wife.
This is the second of Voldolazkin’s books I’ve read this year. I think Laurus was better but I hold it in such high esteem it doesn’t tell you much about the quality of The Aviator. I found this one compelling, interesting. A philosophical exploration of memory and sensation and experience, of death and continuity, of justice and of retribution. It has the Russian characteristics of being dour and pessimistic, but through it shines a hope of something better, a universe ultimately held in balance.
Rating: 4/5