Cocain Romance
Encyclopedia
The Cocain Romance, or Novel With Cocaine (Roman s kokainom), is a mysterious Russia
n novel first published in 1934
in a Paris
ian émigré
publication, Numbers, and subtitled "Confessions of a Russian opium-eater". Its author was given as M. Ageyev
. The English translation of the title fails to convey the double entendre of the Russian "Роман," meaning both "novel" and "romance."
The Cocain Romance is said to be a Dostoevskyan psychological novel of ideas, which explores the interaction between psychology, philosophy, and ideology in its frank portrayal of an adolescent's cocaine addiction. The story relates the formative experiences of narrator Vadim at school and with women before he turns to drug abuse and the philosophical reflections to which it gives rise. Although Ageyev makes little explicit reference to the Russian Revolution of 1917
, the novel's obsession with addictive forms of thinking finds resonance in the historical background, in which "our inborn feelings of humanity and justice" provoke "the cruelties and satanic transgressions committed in its name."
Following its original publication in Numbers, the novel was published in book form; it was scorned as decadent and disgusting, to use the term applied to it by Vladimir Nabokov
. In 1983 the novel was translated into French and published to nearly unanimous praise; an English translation (by Michael Henry Heim) was published in 1984. After the French translation was published, there was some brief speculation in literary circles as to whether Novel with Cocaine might actually be the work of Nabokov, perhaps one of his mystifications; the consensus is that Nabokov was not the author. Nabokov's son Dmitri
addresses this issue in an afterword to his 1986 English translation of VN's novel The Enchanter
.
The real author of the book is Mark Levi, a mysterious Russian émigré who sent in a manuscript to the Parisian journal from Istanbul in 1934. Mark Levi returned to the Soviet Union during WWII and spent the rest of his life in Yerevan, where he died on August 5, 1973.
Today, Novel With Cocaine counts John Updike
and Will Self
among its admirers and is said to have laid the path for William S. Burroughs
to pen similar examinations of junky excess.
"Before I came in contact with cocaine I assumed that happiness was an entity, while in fact all human happiness consists of a clever fusion of two elements: (1) the physical feeling of happiness, and (2) the external event providing the psychic impetus for that feeling."
"I would stroll down the boulevards and try to catch the eye of every passing woman.
I never, as the saying goes, 'undressed them' with my glance, nor did I feel any carnal desire for them. In that feverish state, which might have inspired another, say to write poetry, I would simply stare into the eyes of all women walking in the other direction and wait for a similarly terrifying, wide-eyed look in response. I never accosted a woman who responded with a smile, because I knew that anyone who smiled at a look like mine could only be a prostitute or a virgin."
"To a man in-love, all women are merely women except the woman he loves, who thereby becomes a human; to a woman in love, all men are merely humans except the man she loves, who thereby becomes a man."
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n novel first published in 1934
1934 in literature
The year 1934 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The first Flash Gordon comic strip is published.*Boris Pasternak and Korney Chukovsky are among those present at the first Congress of the Soviet Union of Writers....
in a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
publication, Numbers, and subtitled "Confessions of a Russian opium-eater". Its author was given as M. Ageyev
M. Ageyev
M. Ageyev is believed to be the nom-de-plume of Russian author Mark Lazarevich Levi , .-Biography:...
. The English translation of the title fails to convey the double entendre of the Russian "Роман," meaning both "novel" and "romance."
The Cocain Romance is said to be a Dostoevskyan psychological novel of ideas, which explores the interaction between psychology, philosophy, and ideology in its frank portrayal of an adolescent's cocaine addiction. The story relates the formative experiences of narrator Vadim at school and with women before he turns to drug abuse and the philosophical reflections to which it gives rise. Although Ageyev makes little explicit reference to the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, the novel's obsession with addictive forms of thinking finds resonance in the historical background, in which "our inborn feelings of humanity and justice" provoke "the cruelties and satanic transgressions committed in its name."
Following its original publication in Numbers, the novel was published in book form; it was scorned as decadent and disgusting, to use the term applied to it by Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
. In 1983 the novel was translated into French and published to nearly unanimous praise; an English translation (by Michael Henry Heim) was published in 1984. After the French translation was published, there was some brief speculation in literary circles as to whether Novel with Cocaine might actually be the work of Nabokov, perhaps one of his mystifications; the consensus is that Nabokov was not the author. Nabokov's son Dmitri
Dmitri Nabokov
Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov is an American opera singer and translator. He is the only child of writer Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Vera Nabokov, and is currently executor of his father's literary estate.-Background:...
addresses this issue in an afterword to his 1986 English translation of VN's novel The Enchanter
The Enchanter
The Enchanter is a novella written by Vladimir Nabokov in Paris in 1939. As Волшебник it was his last work of fiction written in Russian. Nabokov never published it during his lifetime. After his death, his son Dmitri translated the novella into English in 1986 and it was published the following...
.
The real author of the book is Mark Levi, a mysterious Russian émigré who sent in a manuscript to the Parisian journal from Istanbul in 1934. Mark Levi returned to the Soviet Union during WWII and spent the rest of his life in Yerevan, where he died on August 5, 1973.
Today, Novel With Cocaine counts John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
and Will Self
Will Self
William Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
among its admirers and is said to have laid the path for William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
to pen similar examinations of junky excess.
Quotes
"Early one morning I, Vadim Maslennikov, set off for school (I was going on seventeen at the time) having forgotten the envelope with the first-semester fees Mother had left me in the dining room the day before.""Before I came in contact with cocaine I assumed that happiness was an entity, while in fact all human happiness consists of a clever fusion of two elements: (1) the physical feeling of happiness, and (2) the external event providing the psychic impetus for that feeling."
"I would stroll down the boulevards and try to catch the eye of every passing woman.
I never, as the saying goes, 'undressed them' with my glance, nor did I feel any carnal desire for them. In that feverish state, which might have inspired another, say to write poetry, I would simply stare into the eyes of all women walking in the other direction and wait for a similarly terrifying, wide-eyed look in response. I never accosted a woman who responded with a smile, because I knew that anyone who smiled at a look like mine could only be a prostitute or a virgin."
"To a man in-love, all women are merely women except the woman he loves, who thereby becomes a human; to a woman in love, all men are merely humans except the man she loves, who thereby becomes a man."