All a bit on the nose

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 20

All a bit on the nose

Novel With Cocaine. By M. Ageyav. Picador, 1985. 174 pp. $10.95 (paperback).

(Reviewed by

Ken Strongman)

Apparently, nobody knows who wrote “Novel with Cocaine.” Ageyev is a pseudonym and the book was originally written in Russian and published in France some 50 years ago. At the time, it evidently created a minor scandal, but then disappeared from literary consciousness. In its resurrected form, it will not create a scandal, but will probably be well received in Eng. Lit. circles. “Novel with Cocaine” is the simply told tale of a Russian adolescent’s struggle with life, and of the discrepancies between his background and his aspirations. The writing has the

deft charm of a line drawing as young Vadim Maslennikov’s sexuality emerges as a conflict between the

dominating crudeness of near rape and the pointless ingenuousness of near worship. In the background, his intellectual pretentiousness riddles him with embarrassment in the public, and even the private, presence of his mother. Eventually, life becomes overwhelming and with the help of cocaine, Maslennikov begins to disappear up his own nose. “Novel with Cocaine” is definitely worth reading. Even in translation its simplicity of style makes it a decidedly elegant book. However, in these hardened days of pseudo-sophistication its original point is lost. It will not shock, but it might impress.