Envy

Synopsis

One of the delights of russian literature, a tour de force that has been compared to the best of nabokov and bulgakov, yuri olesha's novella envy brings together cutting social satire, slapstick humor, and a wild visionary streak. Andrei is a model soviet citizen, a swaggeringly self-satisfied mogul of the food industry who intends to revolutionize modern life with mass-produced sausage. Nikolai is a loser. Finding him drunk in the gutter, andrei gives him a bed for the night and a job as a gofer. Nikolai takes what he can, but that doesn't mean he's grateful.