Чапаев и Пустота

A poet named Pyotr Pustota kills someone he has long known. He takes the dead man’s identity. He then serves as a commissar in Vasily Chapayev’s division. When he falls asleep, he wakes in a psychiatric hospital. He cannot tell which world is real. He does not know if either is real.

In the division, Pyotr falls in love with Anka. He talks with Chapayev about philosophy. At the hospital, he takes part in group sessions. These take him into other people’s minds.

Viktor Pelevin blends postmodern fiction with questions from Zen Buddhism. His novel suits readers drawn to tales that test the bounds of self and reality. Eksmo publishes this paperback.