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The Twelve Chairs (Ostap Bender #1)

by Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov, Maurice Friedberg (Introduction), John H.C. Richardson (Translation)

4.43 of 5 stars 4.43 · rating details · 5,195 ratings · 91 reviews

Ostap Bender is an unemployed con artist living by his wits in postrevolutionary Soviet Russia. He joins forces with Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, a former nobleman who has returned to his hometown to find a cache of missing jewels which were hidden in some chairs that have been appropriated by the Soviet authorities. The search for the bejeweled chairs takes these unl...more

Paperback, 395 pages

Published April 2nd 1997 by Northwestern University Press (first published 1927)

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Apr 17, 2013 Jan-Maat added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, fiction, humour, russia-and-soviet-union

Ilf and Petrov started off writing short humourous pieces for Soviet newspapers. The quest plot of The Twelve Chairs gave them a loose format that allowed them to write it as a series of fairly short comic incidents. (My favourite of these has the lead character posing as Chess Grand Master and challenging an entire chess club to simultaneous matches). This isn't unique, Three Men in a Boat, Diary of a Nobody and The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War all take much the same app...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Ema rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: russian, classics

I'm almost ashamed for not enjoying this book a lot more, but I suppose I've read it too late.
The beginning was one of the funniest I've come across in a long time, there were hilarious moments when I laughed out loud, the plot was really well crafted at times and it had some interesting insights into Russian social and political climate around 1920's. I was amazed to discover that some of the observations are valid even today - some things never change, it seems.
Yet, the language was a little...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Alta added it

The Twelve Chairs by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, and its sequel, The Golden Calf, have enjoyed an immense popularity in Russia and Eastern Europe. I had read (and greatly enjoyed) The Golden Calf many years ago in Romanian, and as a consequence, I was very excited by the recent publication of a new English translation of The Twelve Chairs (Northwestern, 2011, translated from the Russian by Anne O. Fisher). I wondered, however, whether a satirical Russian novel set in 1927 and published a year la...more The Twelve Chairs by Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, and its sequel, The Golden Calf, have enjoyed an immense popularity in Russia and Eastern Europe. I had read (and greatly enjoyed) The Golden Calf many years ago in Romanian, and as a consequence, I was very excited by the recent publication of a new English translation of The Twelve Chairs (Northwestern, 2011, translated from the Russian by Anne O. Fisher). I wondered, however, whether a satirical Russian novel set in 1927 and published a year later could be understood by a contemporary American reader. Now that I read all its 500 plus pages, I can say that, surprisingly, the answer is yes. The American reader won’t understand all the references, of course, but most of the humor is fairly universal.

The plot is set in motion by the confession of Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyaninov’s mother-in-law on her deathbed: before the Soviet regime forced them out of their home she’d managed to hide her jewels, including her diamonds, in one of the twelve upholstered chairs that were part of a Gambs furniture set. All their possessions, including the chairs, were confiscated by the regime and allocated to various individuals and institutions. The problem is that the woman confessed to both her son-in-law and Father Fyodor, so both of them set out on a journey across the Soviet state, during which their paths sometimes cross, causing hilarious encounters. Vorobyninov is accompanied by Oscar Bender, “the smooth operator,” a self-appointed “technical director” who is one of the greatest crooks in the history of literature (a more vulgar version of Thomas Mann’s Felix Krull). The tragicomic demise of Father Fyodor is paralleled by the absolutely unexpected ending of the novel and of the diamond search. I won’t reveal it here, but suffice it to say that the Communist censors might have had something to do with it.

This journey across nations, cities, mountains and sea(s) allows the writers to depict all the social strata of Soviet society, and to give the reader a good understanding of its functioning in the 1920s. This novel proves, once again, that reading literature is the best way to understand history. Thanks should be given to Anne O. Fischer for her (mostly successful) effort to translate this huge and difficult novel, and for the research she’s done in the process. The book has a long, helpful and non-intrusive list of notes at the end.
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Jan 09, 2012 Borys rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, russian, some_philosophy, humor, classic, favs

Well, I've read this book for about 3 or 4 times so far and listened once to a radio dramatisation. All in Russian, of course. The first acquaintance with the book occurred when I was just a little boy, of about 10. Knowing very little about USSR's grievous past, about uneasy 20s or new economical policy (NEP) introduced by Lenin, about hardships of a newly born communist empire and so forth, all these being a setting for the novel in question, I enjoyed it much nonetheless.

Then I read this boo...more Well, I've read this book for about 3 or 4 times so far and listened once to a radio dramatisation. All in Russian, of course. The first acquaintance with the book occurred when I was just a little boy, of about 10. Knowing very little about USSR's grievous past, about uneasy 20s or new economical policy (NEP) introduced by Lenin, about hardships of a newly born communist empire and so forth, all these being a setting for the novel in question, I enjoyed it much nonetheless.

Then I read this book as a part of a high school program, paying then more attention to details. I learned for example that the authors saw the protagonist not as a hero or positive character but rather as a way to joke about old regime and kulachestvo (a term for merchants and those who had some land and didn't want to "share" it with others in kolchoses (collective household)) and other such things. This idea is more developed in the 'Golden Lamb' (you should read that one if you've enjoyed the '12 chairs') where Ostap gains a million roubles and knows not what to do with them in an ideal state of honest workers. And that's why *spoiler* Ostap and Kisa fail in the end of this novel *spoiler*. I enjoyed it even more then being more mature and paying more attention to details and very beautiful language constructions.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the translation. The original uses a pretty complex language constructions but the humour should be understandable perfectly well in a translation I think, of course you are probably going to miss some rather subtle details, but the main human sins of every man in every state are portrayed rather well (a greedy priest and Kisa, cowardly 'fighters for the revolution', large numbers of not very honest men who are conned by Ostap who plays on their dishonesty, some 'bright fashionable things' like Ellochka and other bright images). And yes, this book is a satire, and so it laughs at some not very pleasant things in our lives. Because of this one can view it as a rather sad but, well, that's what satire out there is for: to laugh through tears at our own selves (or in this case, at our socialist predecessors')

And in the end I'd like to say that expressing ideas in a foreign language may be a difficult task to undertake for me as a Ukrainian. So I feel very very cumbersome about my language and style and expressions, so please do forgive me those grammar & spelling errors and vague semantic constructions.(less)

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Jun 30, 2012 Realini rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved both The Golden Calf and The Twelve Chairs, by Ilf and Petrov. I would say for both books, what Sinclair said about The Golden Calf:

"....Upton Sinclair “assured us that he'd never laughed as hard ashe did while reading

The Little Golden Calf.

... he announced thathe practically had it memorized.”—

Letters of Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov (1935)

There is a sadness and regret as I write this, since I had to live through all that: Yes, Ilf and Petrov make it all sound very funny, but the humor is...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Algernon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Good fun. It feels a bit dated, but that may be due to me being a Romanian and reading a 1960 English translation of a 1927 Russian text, and losing some of the original flavor along the way. Still, it is easy to see why Twelve Chairs is considered a classic, both inside and outside the Soviet space. At the first glance, it is an extremely sharp satire of the times in which the talented duo from Odessa were both witnesses and actors, as seen in the chapters about the editor of a Moscow newspap...more
Good fun. It feels a bit dated, but that may be due to me being a Romanian and reading a 1960 English translation of a 1927 Russian text, and losing some of the original flavor along the way. Still, it is easy to see why Twelve Chairs is considered a classic, both inside and outside the Soviet space. At the first glance, it is an extremely sharp satire of the times in which the talented duo from Odessa were both witnesses and actors, as seen in the chapters about the editor of a Moscow newspaper and about writing the epic poem The Gavriliad ) about a stalwart Russian [insert occupation here]. At the second glance, the plot and the characters gain a timeless quality that transcends cultural borders to speak about greed, corruption, selfishness, vanity, envy, fear ... Proof of this universal appeal can be glimpsed in the many adaptations of the story - from Cehia or Cuba, to England and the United States. Some particular scenes (the 1st of May launching of a new tram line in Stargorod, the meetings of the secret Alliance of The Sword and Ploughshare) have a strong resemblance to more recent cinema works by Milos Forman ( The Firemen's Ball ) or Emir Kusturica ( Underground ; Black Cat, White Cat ) . The analogy is not only in the keen eye for the comical situation and the slightly grotesque cast, but also in the more tender touch, as of a stern parent who might criticize his child, but keeps loving him deeply despite his many shortcomings. The satire of Ilf and Petrov is often harsh, but never mean spirited or ugly. A particular scene from the book comes to mind - of Ilf and Petrov getting lyrical about a spring Sunday in Moscow and young people going to the flea market to purchase a mattress - a symbol of status in an impoverished neighborhood, but also of love and hope for the future.

The plot i think it is known : the ailing mother-in-law of the main actor (Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, a.k.a. Pussy) confesses on her death bed that she has hidden a treasure in jewelry inside one walnut chair - one of twelve that were later appropriated by the communist authorities. This McGuffin sets up a wild treasure hunt across the Soviet Union, from Stargorod to Moscow, from Georgia to Crimeea. Vorobyaninov is ill equipped to deal with the hardships of the quest, and soon falls under the influence of a "smooth operator" - Ostap Bender - a young rake familiar with all the tricks and lies of a life of crime. Soon, Bender will steal all the best scenes in the book, setting up one shady deal after another, lying his way into marriage only to elope the next day, claiming to be a chess Grandmeister, a painter, a fire inspector, a white revolutionary, a tourist guide, and on and on - one impersonation after another. A more crooked alter-ego to the typical Communist hero promoted by the party propaganda machine is hard to imagine, yet he is surprisingly credible in the context of the period (a more liberal pre-Stalinist society, with encouragement of free enterprise and private initiative) . It is hard not to cheer for Ostap, when he is gaming the system, always betting on the stupidity and self-interest of his victims.

The supporting cast is as memorable as Ostap or Vorobyaninov, even if they have a lesser role to play. I recognize in them archetypes of people I'm still meeting today:
- Father Fyodor: the renegade priest who sells his soul for a piece of the treasure
- Victor Polesov, the mechanic intellectual : the know-it-all busybody, with a firm opinion about everything under the sun, morbidly curious about everybody elses business and slovenly about his own work.
- Ellochka Shukin (The Canibal) : the perky man-teaser with high society airs, copying the fashions from foreign magazines and driving her husband crazy with her social climber ambitions.
- Elena Stanislavovna - former call girl / mistress and now neighbourhood psychic seeing the future in cards or coffee cups.
- the Widow Gritsatsuyev - the gullible middle aged lady chasing after the treacherous Ostap
- Absalom Vladimirovich Iznurenkov - the scatterbrained writer of jokes and heroic poetry
- Liza Kalachov - the pretty student who craves a bit of salami while her boyfriend sings praises to the healthier (and cheaper) vegetarian lifestyle
- assorted undertakers, engineers, accountants, building administrators, government functionaries, actors, students, reporters - each with his or her moment in the limelight.

While there are some slapstick moments in the book, most of the humor is situational or in conversations. My favorite parts are the authors riffs on general subjects, when they really let loose with their wit. Here's a short teaser to end my review:
Statistics know everything.
It has been calculated with precision how much ploughland there is in the USSR, with subdivision into black earth, loam and loess. All citizens of both sexes have been recorded in those neat, thick registers – so familiar to Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov – the registry office ledgers. It is known how much of a certain food is consumed yearly by the average citizen in the Republic. It is known how much vodka is imbibed as an average by this average citizen, with a rough indication of the titbits consumed with it. It is known how many hunters, ballerinas, revolving lathes, dogs of all breeds, bicycles, monuments, girls, lighthouses and sewing machines there are in the country.
How much life, full of fervour, emotion and thought, there is in those statistical tables!
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Jan 21, 2013 Guna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lai gan mucā gluži augusi neesmu, jāatzīst, ka vēl nesen par Divpadsmit krēsliem neko nebiju dzirdējusi. Ostapa Bendera vārdu gan zināju, bet nekad necentos noskaidrot, kas tas par putnu. Nu tad beidzot es zinu!
Pirms lasīšanas, apskatot recenzijas, nopratu, ka būs daudz jāsmejas. Nu, laikam nebiju pareizajā stāvoklī, jo pārāk bieži nesmējos, lai gan romāns nudien ir asprātīgs, man drīzāk bija slinkums smieties. Taču nodaļa par dzejnieku Luņķi man šķita absolūti ģeniāla, un es smējos nepieklājīgi...more

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Jan 13, 2013 BoekenTrol rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to BoekenTrol by: Igor

Shelves: books-i-own, humor, literature_and_fiction, russian_language

Saying "I liked this book" will probably get me lots of comments, how I dare to only give it 3 stars. It is such a great book....!

Well, yes it is. Or at least, that is what I hear around me. But.... I've grown up here in the west, Russian is not my mother tongue and therefor reading this book did not come all naturally to me.
Of course I liked it, but I sometimes was more busy trying to figure out if it was satirical, just humor or neither. And to see if I could find parallels between the charact...more

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Jul 24, 2010 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Russian Lit People

Shelves: russian

When you hear me say: "Don't tell me how to live," you hear me quotethis book. You might need to know a little about Russian history to enjoy this, or not. Times were tough, money was scarce, and Moscow was having a housing crisis. You're prepared. Go read it.

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Sep 20, 2007 michael spencer harmon marked it as to-read

Shelves: unowned-to-reads

So far, whatever comes of high recommendedation by Sir Joe of Bergesen, I am correspondingly finding of high enjoyment. So, on the list it goes.

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May 24, 2012 Misha Erementchouk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Didn't read it for maybe more than twenty years and want to re-read. The thing was more I'd read it more satirical it had appeared. I wouldn't be surprised if now the book would seem downright sad.

Those days, mid-20's - beginning of 30's of the last century, were unique in the literary conscience of Russia. That was a result of an almost impossible combination of classical education with complete remodeling of worldview supported by unique for Russian in XX century freedom of expression (soon th...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Grifonus rated it 5 of 5 stars

Классика.
Сейчас в очередной раз перечитываю, всё так же получаю удовольствие.
Всё таки в экранизации много не вошло(хотя они и неплохи). Чего стоит одна история о гусаре, который решил стать отшельником, и искал смысл жизни и смешно и поучительно. Собственно, то же самое можно сказать о всей книге.

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Jun 08, 2012 Harry Kane rated it 5 of 5 stars

All my life this was the funniest book I have ever read. Once a year or two I would revisit it and double up instantly in helpless mirth. Because of this book I can pinpoint with accuracy the year I matured - it was the year I reread the book and realized that in spite of it playfull wittiness, it described a crushingly depressive vision of humanity. The last time I reread this book I didn't laugh once. I only cringed and groaned. Still brilliant, but suddenly not so lighthearted at all.
Good thi...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Tessyohnka rated it 3 of 5 stars

So I was telling Tatyana, a Russian manicurist who is now more of a friend than a service provider, that I was reading The Twelve Chairs. She frowned at me and said "i don't think you will enjoy it, you have to have a Russian... a Russian..." Together we found the word "sensibility." After our vocabulary success, she said "If you want to read something by a Russian, read Anna Karenina." She orders me around pretty regularly.
Then I noticed that at some point, the book had been made into a movie...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Olga rated it 4 of 5 stars

Наверно я единстенная, но я не смотрела фильм и не читала книгу "Двенадцать стульев" до сегодняшего дня, т.е. до моих 25 лет. А тут неожиданный и такой приятный подарок от подруги на Новый Год - "Двенадцать стульев" и "Золотой теленок" Ильфа и Петрова в необычном издании. Чтение началось с "Двенадцати стульев", как перовго совместого произведения этих писателей, которое сделало их легендами.
Я даже представить себе не могла, что столько фраз в нашей повседневной жизни было заимствовано именно из...more Наверно я единстенная, но я не смотрела фильм и не читала книгу "Двенадцать стульев" до сегодняшего дня, т.е. до моих 25 лет. А тут неожиданный и такой приятный подарок от подруги на Новый Год - "Двенадцать стульев" и "Золотой теленок" Ильфа и Петрова в необычном издании. Чтение началось с "Двенадцати стульев", как перовго совместого произведения этих писателей, которое сделало их легендами.
Я даже представить себе не могла, что столько фраз в нашей повседневной жизни было заимствовано именно из этой книги; это, пожалуй, самое большое открытие, которое я сделала для себя. (Нет, я не говорю про "Вечером деньги, утром стулья", происхождение которого я знала и ранее.) Теперь многие из них приобретают бОльший смысл для меня, зная оригинальный контекст: "Лёд тронулся, господа присяжные заседатели, лёд тронулся!", "Дело помощи утопающим — дело рук самих утопающих.", "Есть еще от жилетки рукава, круг от бублика и мертвого осла уши", "Кто скажет, что это девочка, пусть первый бросит в меня камень", "Молодая была уже не молода", "Остапа несло" и т.п. Кому интересно, идите в раздел "Цитаты" - читать не перечитать.
Великий комбинатор так находчив, что кажется, ему может удасться все, что он захочет, главное поставить перед ним цель! Не было еще в те времена голливудских фильмов-экшенов и тем более такого рода книг, это, можно сказать, основы приключенческо-авантюрного жанра (всякие друзья Оушена или коллеги из Миссия невополнима просто курят в сторонке). От первого до последнего стула приключений все больше!
Отдельно хочу выделить образ отца Федора - очень ново для меня видеть такое в литературе, просто прелесть, а не персонаж, улыбалась каждому его действию и письму жене.
Ну все, а теперь можно и фильм посмотреть :)(less)

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Feb 04, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ru-books

Фильм «12 стульев» я видела множество раз. Думаю, также, как и все. А вот до книги добралась только сейчас. Естественно, после многочисленных просмотров киноверсии книга уже не так веселит, как должна бы. Но я все равно в восторге!

Авторы действительно очень талантливы! Их сатира живая, острая, поучительная. Остап Бендер — характер просто шедевральный! Кстати, в этой роли Арчила Гомиашвили я люблю больше, чем Андрея Миронова.

Книгу можно разносить на цитаты, что и было уже сделано до меня. Так ч...more

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May 21, 2013 Larry rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was a decidedly mixed bag for me. It's a rather Walt Disney-esque treatment of what becomes a seemingly never endless pursuit of something very valuable. In fact, I was rather reminded of the 1963 movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It was written and takes place during the early days of Soviet Russia. While I have seen descriptions of the book refer to its "heroes", I found not a single character of much personal appeal or respect. The "journey" that the lead characters follow is...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Anna Matsuyama rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, favourite, historical-fiction, humour, made-into-a-film, read-in-2012, русские

Is this one of the works that are untranslatable like Eugene Onegin, I'm not sure. Could be.

Ostap Bender is now one of my favourite characters. I've suspicion he might be a sociopath, someone you would wish to avoid in real life but as fictional character it's hard not to like him. He is very charming.

Osip Shor (Осип Шор) - the prototype of Ostap Bender. Interesting personality.

Free audiobook available here. Password: Bibe.ru.

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Apr 08, 2013 Arnis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tomēr aizmocīju līdz galam.
Pirmo smaidu grāmata izvilināja tikai 309. lapaspusē. Humors tomēr noveco. Paskaidrojumi gan sakrita uz nerviem. Piemēram, 31. nodaļā paskaidrojumu teksts ir tikpat vai pat garāks par pašu grāmatas nodaļu.
Ja kādu interesē, tad 166. lapaspusē var atrast avotu no kurienes nāca slavenais Putina izteiciens par "sprāguša ēzeļa ausīm" Abrenes kontekstā. Redz' kā lasot klasikas grāmatas var iemācīties labāk izprast mūsdienu Pasauli!
Lielos vilcienos - no paskaidrojumiem maz jē...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Katinki rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: russian-lit, everyone-should-read-this

I read this in Russian years ago. While it's absolutely hilarious in its native language, the translation works just fine, too. To really appreciate, however, you'll need to have a decent grasp of Russian culture and humor, specifically during the Soviet era.

I loved this enough that let's put it this way... I have a cat named Ostap. :D

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Sep 16, 2010 Tristy rated it 1 of 5 stars

I think I missed the boat on this. It came highly recommended as being hilariously funny and a true classic of Russian literature. Perhaps it is the translation I read (by John H. Richardson in 1961). It struck me as mostly mean and sad. I could catch glimmers of witty but again, I think the translation was created for a 1960's audience.

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Jan 23, 2009 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love Russian satire from the late imperial and early Soviet period. It's basically a picaresque - Ostap Bender is a rogue who knows Soviet society so deeply and truly that he can exploit it for his own gain. Voryobaninov is dragged along (well, mostly :-) and everyone else is basically a caricature - but what brilliant caricatures! I&P do for the Soviet period what Gogol did for the Imperial - basically, show that nothing's changed.

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Jun 11, 2012 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Carey Coombe

Shelves: film-only, summer-2012, slavic, translation, amusing, picaresque, treasure, satire, tongue-firmly-in-cheek

Director: Mel Brooks

Ron Moody ... Ippolit Vorobyaninov
Frank Langella ... Ostap Bender
Dom DeLuise ... Father Fyodor
Andréas Voutsinas ... Nikolai Sestrin
Diana Coupland ... Madame Bruns

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Mar 05, 2013 Agnese rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: russian, movies, humour, b2m-2013

All the time it was going so nice, so funny, but then the ending...!!!

OMG! First I thought I've misunderstood something, after third time rereading all I can say: F you Ilya Ilf, F you! I still cant believe it! Not Bender! Please!

But I can't give it less than 5 (though i have to try to forget 'THE ENDING'), pure humour, loved it.

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Nov 12, 2012 Nika rated it 5 of 5 stars

One more "untested" translation read in Russian several times. I love this book and its sequel, The Golden Calf. Both books are a lot of fun, although sometimes the humor gets so dark, I feel horrified. And still laugh. Brilliant satire with a plot of a thriller.

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Apr 03, 2013 Sabine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: clean-your-shelf-challenge, 2013, 2013-classic-challenge, classic, humor, history, wishlist

I chose this because it was classic. And most of the time, you can never go wrong with classics. I was a bit wrong. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't brilliant either. Something in the middle, nothing that stays in memory for a long time.
After reading Remarque (which I absolutely love), then "Sh*t my dad says" (gorgeous, for sure), this was just "eh, nothing special". Maybe if I'd read it in different circumstances, I'd love it! That's why I'm going to re-read it some day.
I thought that the humor was...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have to say that I'm kind of disappointed by this one. I really liked The Little Golden Calf, but this book felt rushed and rudderless. It lacked much of the humor and cleverness of the Calf. I think if I had read this first, I would not have progressed on to what I feel was the superior of the two titles.

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Jan 08, 2012 Misha rated it 5 of 5 stars

It is a very good book, but it is one of these books, in my opinion, which cannot be translated into other languages. It is so typical Soviet Russian book, unfortunately you have to be born and raised in Soviet Russia to fully appreciate it.

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Jan 27, 2013 Elvira Baryakina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: russian-classics, humor

Great novel, but I'm afraid it's just impossible to translate it into foreign languages. There's too many cultural issues, and for those who did not live in Russia for a long time, it would not be clear why this book is so funny.

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Aug 31, 2011 Ilze Folkmane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sen jau biju apņēmusies izlasīt šo grāmatu, jo vēl no bērnības atceros, ka vecāki un māsa mēdza citēt frāzes no tās un stāstīja, cik ārkārtīgi smieklīgi "Divpadsmit Krēsli" ir. Tomēr augstās cerības grāmatas sakarā salikumā ar faktu, ka daudzas atsauces uz Padomju Savienības nejēdzībām, grāmata tomēr man nelikās tik izcili smieklīga, lai arī reizēm pieķēru sevi vēlamies dažas rindkopas nolasīt kādam priekšā, lai padalītos ar ko tik smieklīgu. Autoru ironija brīžiem spraucās ārā starp rindiņām, u...more

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Latvija: ĀRZEMJU-aprīlis-Divpadsmit krēsli	6	56	Apr 25, 2013 11:56am

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About Ilya Ilf

Ilya Ilf (Iehiel-Leyb (Ilya) Arnoldovich Faynzilberg; 15 October 1897 in Odessa – 13 April 1937) was an extremely popular Soviet author of the 1920s and 1930s, who worked in collaboration with Yevgeni Petrov. See Ilf and Petrov for more info.

Ilya Ilf died from tuberculosis.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilf_and_...

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Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip: The 1935 Travelogue of Two Soviet Writers

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“Он любил и страдал. Он любил деньги и страдал от их недостатка.” — 25 people liked it

“Время, которое мы имеем, - это деньги, которых мы не имеем.” — 11 people liked it

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