Meet the author: Vladimir Sorokin
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‘A Russian writer has two options: either you are afraid, or you write.’ Vladimir Sorokin writes, and has for decades, against every political and literary current.
Visionaries are rarely embraced by those in power. However, the dubious honour bestowed on Vladimir Sorokin is of a different order. Unhappy with an explicit sex scene between clones of Stalin and Khrushchev in the novel ‘Blue lard’, members of the Putin youth movement placed a giant sculpture of a toilet in front of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre and threw in copies of the novel.
Fortunately, the visionary provocateur Sorokin has been embraced by readers. His work –no matter how provocative and scandalous it may be – has seen renewed interest in recent years and has been moved in bookshops from the cult section to the modern classics section.
On Day of the Oprichnik: Russia, the near future. The country has turned away from the West and forged closer ties with China. State-of-the-art technology and ancient customs go side by side, religion reigns supreme and the head of state is an all-powerful ruler. A prophetic novel from 2006, in which Sorokin is already announcing strict censorship and the annexation of Crimea.
On Telluria: A kaleidoscopic novel of the future. A devastating holy war between Europe and Islam throws the world back into a state of disorder and fragmentation similar to that of the Middle Ages. Europe, China and Russia disintegrate into small states. Each small nation cultivates its own ideology and identity in this neo-feudal world with no dominant world power anymore. What does pop up everywhere is tellurium, an advanced and potentially lethal drug. Reviewers have been falling over each other with praise, and comparisons with the work of Michel Houellebecq and William S. Burroughs are commonplace.
Jeroen Zuallaert will talk to Vladimir Sorokin about his unruly, visionary oeuvre. Make time in your diary. This is bound to be a memorable event.
about the author
Vladimir Sorokin (b. 1955) is one of the most popular contemporary Russian writers, avidly read not only in Russia but also abroad. His work has been translated into twenty-two languages. In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious Andrei Bely Prize for his contributions to the Russian language. He has been made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. The work of this inveterate provocateur was once shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize, but now he lives in exile.
about the moderator
Jeroen Zuallaert (1986) studied Slavic languages and literature at Ghent University. He has been writing for the Belgian weekly Knack since 2011.
De Morgen
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ORG. Passa Porta
picture © Maria Sorokina
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