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LA CREATION DE ROBINSON et autres récits humoristiques et satiriques
Russian Book. Tekst, M. 477. 2007. Hardcover.
161 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Ilya Ilf
136 books209 followersIlya Ilf (Russian: Илья Ильф, pseudonym of Iehiel-Leyb (Ilya) Arnoldovich Faynzilberg was a popular Soviet journalist and writer of Jewish origin who usually worked in collaboration with Yevgeni Petrov during the 1920s and 1930s. Their duo was known simply as Ilf and Petrov. Together they published two popular comedy novels The Twelve Chairs (1928) and The Little Golden Calf (1931), as well as a satirical book One-storied America (often translated as Little Golden America) that documented their journey through the United States between 1935 and 1936.
Ilf and Petrov became extremely popular for their two satirical novels: The Twelve Chairs and its sequel, The Little Golden Calf. The two texts are connected by their main character, Ostap Bender, a con man in pursuit of elusive riches. Both books follow exploits of Bender and his associates looking for treasure amidst the contemporary Soviet reality. They were written and are set in the relatively liberal era in Soviet history, the New Economic Policy of the 1920s. The main characters generally avoid contact with the apparently lax law enforcement. Their position outside the organized, goal-driven, productive Soviet society is emphasized. It also gives the authors a convenient platform from which to look at this society and to make fun of its less attractive and less Socialist aspects. These are among the most widely read and quoted books in Russian culture. The Twelve Chairs was adapted for ca. twenty movies, in the USSR (by Leonid Gaidai and by Mark Zakharov), in the US (in particular by Mel Brooks), and in other countries.
The two writers also traveled across the Great Depression-era United States. Ilf took many pictures throughout the journey, and the authors produced a photo essay entitled "American Photographs", published in Ogonyok magazine. Shortly after that they published the book Одноэтажная Америка (literally: "One-storied America"), translated as Little Golden America (an allusion to The Little Golden Calf). The first edition of the book did not include Ilf's photographs. Both the photo essay and the book document their adventures with their characteristic humor and playfulness. Notably, Ilf and Petrov were not afraid to praise many aspects of the American lifestyle in these works.
Ilf and Petrov became extremely popular for their two satirical novels: The Twelve Chairs and its sequel, The Little Golden Calf. The two texts are connected by their main character, Ostap Bender, a con man in pursuit of elusive riches. Both books follow exploits of Bender and his associates looking for treasure amidst the contemporary Soviet reality. They were written and are set in the relatively liberal era in Soviet history, the New Economic Policy of the 1920s. The main characters generally avoid contact with the apparently lax law enforcement. Their position outside the organized, goal-driven, productive Soviet society is emphasized. It also gives the authors a convenient platform from which to look at this society and to make fun of its less attractive and less Socialist aspects. These are among the most widely read and quoted books in Russian culture. The Twelve Chairs was adapted for ca. twenty movies, in the USSR (by Leonid Gaidai and by Mark Zakharov), in the US (in particular by Mel Brooks), and in other countries.
The two writers also traveled across the Great Depression-era United States. Ilf took many pictures throughout the journey, and the authors produced a photo essay entitled "American Photographs", published in Ogonyok magazine. Shortly after that they published the book Одноэтажная Америка (literally: "One-storied America"), translated as Little Golden America (an allusion to The Little Golden Calf). The first edition of the book did not include Ilf's photographs. Both the photo essay and the book document their adventures with their characteristic humor and playfulness. Notably, Ilf and Petrov were not afraid to praise many aspects of the American lifestyle in these works.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 10, 2026
Creating a New Robinson Crusoe by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov, the authors of the magnificent, hilarious Twelve Chairs and The Golden Calf, favorites of mine, though only 1815th and 1387th on the Greatest Books of All Time – you can find a few thousand reviews on magnum opera from The GOAT and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
9 out of 10
Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... have delighted, dazzled this reader, and The Creation of New Robinson, though not on the level of their two masterpieces, shows the talent that the two Russian authors have, besides, this is also a criticism of propaganda
Especially the Soviet one, at least this is what comes across this adaptation for The National Radio that I have listed to- Fyodor Maltzev is twenty-eight, and in love with Sonja, he comes to her home, to ask her hand in marriage, but he has to confront this formidable father, who appears to know about Blink, without having read it
The bestseller and classic of psychology by Malcolm Gladwell demonstrates that we form opinions in less than one minute https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... you find about The Harding Effect, the astonishing success of John Gottman, the ultimate expert on marriage
The worried parent asks the suitor about his profession, and he is aghast to hear that the man is a…writer, and even worse, when asked what novels had he published, the young man has nothing to present, he is a poet, so the would-be father-in-law thinks of a friend he has, editor of The Adventure Magazine
This call brings to mind the nepotism and in fact, the other phenomenal magnum opus https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... The Golden Calf, wherein the narrative takes place in the early days of The Soviet Union, when corruption was just taking off, they have had this problem for centuries
Readers want adventure, so the editor wants the aspiring novelist to write about a new Robinson Crusoe, and the result is disappointing, because it does not respect the rules of the new regime, though they do not say this explicitly, it is just that the would-be father-in-law brings the family together to criticize the New Robinson…
It is possible to look at Robinson Crusoe from a different perspective, the proof is the magic, glorious Vendredi, La Vie Sauvage https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... by Michel Tournier, in which Robinson becomes a supporting character, and Vendredi takes center stage
Nevertheless, in this satire, they change Robinson in a ridiculous manner, they have a sports team, eventually masses of people landing on the island, thus creating the opposite, Robinson is the best-known solitary figure, and then here you mock it…let me just mention The Case of Comrade Tulayev at the end https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
9 out of 10
Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... have delighted, dazzled this reader, and The Creation of New Robinson, though not on the level of their two masterpieces, shows the talent that the two Russian authors have, besides, this is also a criticism of propaganda
Especially the Soviet one, at least this is what comes across this adaptation for The National Radio that I have listed to- Fyodor Maltzev is twenty-eight, and in love with Sonja, he comes to her home, to ask her hand in marriage, but he has to confront this formidable father, who appears to know about Blink, without having read it
The bestseller and classic of psychology by Malcolm Gladwell demonstrates that we form opinions in less than one minute https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... you find about The Harding Effect, the astonishing success of John Gottman, the ultimate expert on marriage
The worried parent asks the suitor about his profession, and he is aghast to hear that the man is a…writer, and even worse, when asked what novels had he published, the young man has nothing to present, he is a poet, so the would-be father-in-law thinks of a friend he has, editor of The Adventure Magazine
This call brings to mind the nepotism and in fact, the other phenomenal magnum opus https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... The Golden Calf, wherein the narrative takes place in the early days of The Soviet Union, when corruption was just taking off, they have had this problem for centuries
Readers want adventure, so the editor wants the aspiring novelist to write about a new Robinson Crusoe, and the result is disappointing, because it does not respect the rules of the new regime, though they do not say this explicitly, it is just that the would-be father-in-law brings the family together to criticize the New Robinson…
It is possible to look at Robinson Crusoe from a different perspective, the proof is the magic, glorious Vendredi, La Vie Sauvage https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... by Michel Tournier, in which Robinson becomes a supporting character, and Vendredi takes center stage
Nevertheless, in this satire, they change Robinson in a ridiculous manner, they have a sports team, eventually masses of people landing on the island, thus creating the opposite, Robinson is the best-known solitary figure, and then here you mock it…let me just mention The Case of Comrade Tulayev at the end https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review