Victor Pelevin’s novel, The Sacred Book of the Werewolf, is a crisp satire of modern-day Russia, told from the perspective of A-Hu-Li, a 2,000-year-old werefox — not to be confused with the werewolf referred to in the title. A-Hu-Li is originally from China and has the appearance of a beautiful, adolescent girl. Most women think she is a lesbian, she says while explaining her youthful looks, and most lesbians go crazy. Interestingly enough, A-Hu-Li makes her living as a prostitute in Russia’s National Hotel. However, despite her profession, she still remains a virgin. Her secret? Her long, fiery-red tail, which she uses to hypnotize her clients into thinking they are carrying out their deepest fantasies. They perform alone while she reads a magazine. She feeds off their sexual energy in order to maintain her youthful appearance; however, rather than biting humans, she eats “ordinary food (fairly close to the Atkins Diet).”

We see post-Communist Russia through the eyes of this insightful, hilarious, and often vulgar narrator. Even her name is a Russian vulgarity — “something like living in America and being called Whatze Phuck,” she says. A-Hu-Li explains her world by making lists of often contradictory explanations. She employs the logic characterizing the Far East: Zen Buddhism, Taoism and a sort of mystical reasoning.

The book really starts to pick up after A-Hu-Li meets Alexander, a Russian officer who is “unshaven, sullen and very good-looking.” There’s a reason why A-Hu-Li is attracted to Alexander — he’s secretly a werewolf.
As they begin to develop their relationship, we see further into the interesting habits of werecreatures. Alexander likes howling at a cow skull in order to summon oil from the ground, which he uses to build his fortune. A-Hu-Li transforms into a mangy fox and hunts chickens. However, the most interesting turn of events take place when A-Hu-Li finally kisses Alexander. The kiss transforms him into a five-legged black dog that may or may not be the super-werewolf referred to in the title. His transformation changes A-Hu-Li, too, although no one could have predicted the crazy turn of events that bring her moment of illuminating catharsis.

Despite the interesting observations and often hilarious turns of events, there are parts of the book that can be described only as preachy. A-Hu-Li’s rambles on philosophical topics and frequent celebrity name-dropping are often interesting; at times, however, they drag and sound a bit too sanctimonious. These passages echo the nature of the book itself. Sometimes, the only connection between the events seems to be A-Hu-Li’s witty, intelligent voice that invigorates even the densest ramblings.
The plot also struggles to emerge throughout the novel. Some major events feel tired and contrived. When we begin to delve into Alexander and A-Hu-Li’s relationship, the novel feels more like a sappy Nicholas Spark romance than an insightful satire.

Overall, this latest novel from Pelevin is a worthy read. Although it contains his characteristic philosophical wit, at times it lacks the coherent force of previous novels such as Buddha’s Little Finger and Omon Ra. Werewolf nevertheless offers an insightful view of modern Russia that Americans might not gain otherwise.

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Created Jul 10, 2009 at 4:33pm • Submit your own review...