(This entry talks about a seminal work of Soviet science fiction: Ivan Yefremov’s Tumannost’ Andromedy. Its somewhat dumbed-down English-language title is Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale, but a more accurate translation would be The Andromeda Nebula, although the scientific-Latin jargon is totally absent from the original Russian title, which has "nebula" rendered simply as "Mist." The novel was published in 1957. Its English translation exists, but so does a deep political bias against it, preventing it from gaining popularity in the English-speaking world. Hoping that the reader will be sufficiently tempted to find this book and read it, I prefer not to reveal its plot here, except for one major detail, which is the tragic outcome of the novel’s space mission.)
There are two opinions about this great work of Soviet wishful thinking, in Russia and in the West. Starting with the Western view, there is an element of contempt and rejection of Yefremov’s work, on account of the opinion that by showing the world of the future where communism has triumphed, the author was engaging in Soviet communist propaganda, and, as such, his work has little merit. The Russian opinion is much more to the point: the novel’s political philosophy and its element of social engineering and prognostication have been rather ordinary, but other than that it is an unusually clever and sophisticated piece of science fiction with an exciting plot, provocative character development, and even certain elements of non-political philosophy that can claim some valuable originality.
Being a Russian and writing about important works of wishful fiction, I cannot leave Yefremov’s book with no mention at all, and so, here are my brief comments on it.
All Utopias, even the best ever written give off the same rather artificial saccharine aftertaste which, I guess, comes with the territory. Yefremov’s book in that sense gets a pass-plus, mixing naïveté and sophistication in fair measures of both. I am rather surprised by the shallowness of the Western critics who dismiss it as an obnoxious example of Soviet propaganda, failing to understand that the author does not surrender his talent to the political authority of his day. Rather, he is taking the official ideology for granted in order to dwell on the less conventional aspects of “life under communism.” Having achieved the communist goals, the society can now afford to allow each individual to pursue his or her dreams as they see fit, thus solving the problem of man versus society in an individualistically acceptable manner. Furthermore, Yefremov debunks the silly quasi-doctrine of a conflict-less communistic paradise, by introducing a large measure of conflict, and even tragedy, into the picture. Pursuing their individualistic dreams, all people are allowed to take risks, paying for them, on some occasions, with their lives. One of the heroes of the novel sacrifices his life for science in his pursuit of a daring hypothesis, and causes the death of all members of his crew, who, however, had been aware of the risks involved, and died not as sheep taken to a slaughterhouse by the butcher, but as voluntary risk-takers, come whatever may.
I believe that this novel could have been much greater appreciated in the West, had the Western mind been free of the cold-war mist at the time, and free from ingrained prejudices after the end of that era. Ironically, I bet that had Yefremov’s novel, instead of being squarely published in the USSR, been secretly smuggled to the West, like Pasternak’s great novel Doctor Zhivago, it might have received an equally enthusiastic reception and proclaimed a masterpiece of… anti-Soviet literature. After all, Doctor Zhivago can hardly be called an "anti-Soviet" novel. There are unmistakable “pro-Soviet” elements in it as well, and, at the very least, great works of literature never submit themselves to such rigid political characterizations.
Same thing with Yefremov’s novel… But at least the Russians can enjoy it for its hidden treasures, and get better and wiser for them.
There are two opinions about this great work of Soviet wishful thinking, in Russia and in the West. Starting with the Western view, there is an element of contempt and rejection of Yefremov’s work, on account of the opinion that by showing the world of the future where communism has triumphed, the author was engaging in Soviet communist propaganda, and, as such, his work has little merit. The Russian opinion is much more to the point: the novel’s political philosophy and its element of social engineering and prognostication have been rather ordinary, but other than that it is an unusually clever and sophisticated piece of science fiction with an exciting plot, provocative character development, and even certain elements of non-political philosophy that can claim some valuable originality.
Being a Russian and writing about important works of wishful fiction, I cannot leave Yefremov’s book with no mention at all, and so, here are my brief comments on it.
All Utopias, even the best ever written give off the same rather artificial saccharine aftertaste which, I guess, comes with the territory. Yefremov’s book in that sense gets a pass-plus, mixing naïveté and sophistication in fair measures of both. I am rather surprised by the shallowness of the Western critics who dismiss it as an obnoxious example of Soviet propaganda, failing to understand that the author does not surrender his talent to the political authority of his day. Rather, he is taking the official ideology for granted in order to dwell on the less conventional aspects of “life under communism.” Having achieved the communist goals, the society can now afford to allow each individual to pursue his or her dreams as they see fit, thus solving the problem of man versus society in an individualistically acceptable manner. Furthermore, Yefremov debunks the silly quasi-doctrine of a conflict-less communistic paradise, by introducing a large measure of conflict, and even tragedy, into the picture. Pursuing their individualistic dreams, all people are allowed to take risks, paying for them, on some occasions, with their lives. One of the heroes of the novel sacrifices his life for science in his pursuit of a daring hypothesis, and causes the death of all members of his crew, who, however, had been aware of the risks involved, and died not as sheep taken to a slaughterhouse by the butcher, but as voluntary risk-takers, come whatever may.
I believe that this novel could have been much greater appreciated in the West, had the Western mind been free of the cold-war mist at the time, and free from ingrained prejudices after the end of that era. Ironically, I bet that had Yefremov’s novel, instead of being squarely published in the USSR, been secretly smuggled to the West, like Pasternak’s great novel Doctor Zhivago, it might have received an equally enthusiastic reception and proclaimed a masterpiece of… anti-Soviet literature. After all, Doctor Zhivago can hardly be called an "anti-Soviet" novel. There are unmistakable “pro-Soviet” elements in it as well, and, at the very least, great works of literature never submit themselves to such rigid political characterizations.
Same thing with Yefremov’s novel… But at least the Russians can enjoy it for its hidden treasures, and get better and wiser for them.
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