An edition of Omon Ra (1996)

Omon Ra

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Last edited by MARC Bot
August 1, 2024 | History
An edition of Omon Ra (1996)

Omon Ra

  • 4.0 (2 ratings) ·
  • 4 Want to read
  • 3 Have read

Omon Ra, by the gifted Russian writer Victor Pelevin, is a pointed, dead-on-satire of the now-defunct Soviet space program, and a moving account of a cosmonaut's coming-of-age.

The story is told in the beguiling voice of its young protagonist, Omon Ra, whose odd name combines a term for the Soviet special forces with the name of the sun god in Egyptian mythology. Ever since he was a boy, Omon has dreamed of flying in space. He enrolls in a training program for cosmonauts, only to learn that his first assignment will also be his last.

For although the Soviet space program claims to carry out its missions with unmanned rockets, its scientists haven't yet mastered the necessary technology; so Omon is to drive a supposedly unmanned landing vehicle across the moon's surface, put in place a device that will emit the words of Lenin into space, and then remain on the moon, abandoned, until he dies.

The voyage that results combines the absurdity of Soviet protocol with the wonder and pathos of space flight. As told in Pelevin's artful prose, the story of Omon's ill-fated trip to the moon has the nimbleness and buoyancy of the best contemporary Western fiction as well as the sting of great Russian satire.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
153

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Omon Ra
Omon Ra
February 1998, New Directions Publishing Corporation
Paperback in English
Cover of: Omon Ra
Omon Ra
June 1996, Farrar Straus Giroux
in English

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Book Details


First Sentence

"Omon is not a particularly common name, and perhaps not the best there is."

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
153
Dimensions
7.9 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
Weight
6.6 ounces

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL7999944M
Internet Archive
omonra00pele_1
ISBN 10
0811213641
ISBN 13
9780811213646
OCLC/WorldCat
37398092
Library Thing
16317
Goodreads
98956

Source records

Internet Archive item record

Links outside Open Library

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History

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August 1, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
April 17, 2024 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 6, 2021 Edited by New York Times Bestsellers Bot Add NYT review links
February 13, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot remove fake subjects
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page