Yawning Heights

Yawning Heights

Yawning Heights ( _ru. Зияющие Высоты) is the first published novel by Soviet philosopher Alexander Zinoviev. Zinoviev expressed skepticism and frustration toward writings that attempted to expose and reveal the evils of Soviet society. Zinoviev chose, instead, to satire and ridicule Soviet society in Yawning Heights. The novel has been compared to the writings of Swift, Carrol and others. As a logician, Zinoviev was able to reduce many features of Soviet life to what he calls "scientific laws". The book is also filled with numerous paradoxes and logical twists, a la Catch 22. The book begins with a logically-reflexive definition- a preface claims that the book details the result of an experiment. The purpose of the experiment, according to the preface, is to identify "those who disapprove of the experiment and take appropriate action".

Characters

Most of the names of characters in Yawning Heights are descriptive, rather than proper names. Some are recognizable. Hog is Kruschyev.

Odd facts

- In the book, one of the characters writes a satirical novel critical of his society. The character knows that the Brothers (KGB) are searching his house to find his controversial book.


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