Roadside Picnic

This is a second Slovenian translation of Roadside Picnic and this time we got uncensored version of the book translated by the same translator. It has a very informative foreword which speaks about the fight that brothers Strugacky with the Soviet Union state bureaucracy to get this work published. What is really interested is that the censors in the end took out the bad language in the swear words. Roadside picnic is, according to the foreword, one of the few books that won the battle against censorship. The book is apolitical with slight anti-capitalist subtone so it is hard to imagine why it was not approved by the censors in the first place.

Regarding the book itself it is very gripping sci-fi thriller that questions what is humanity. It is almost at the top of my suggestion list.

The idea behind the title is fantastic. The creativity is amazing, but the story itself seemed a little clunky, maybe due to the translation/cultural differences. It's a very 70's Russian science fiction story. Recommended if you like that era.

If I had to pick one word to describe Roadside Picnic, it would be clever. All about this book feels rascalous, chaotic, full of energy and vitality. I think the main theme here is how people and culture can adapt to almost anything. No matter how bleak, odd or desperate the situation, the spark of life can be found in the most unexpected of places and that's something I'd gladly take to my heart from this book, especially in these trying times.