Love, Identity and Loss in The Funeral Party - Book Report/Review Example

The Funeral Party Introduction The book The Funeral Party, which is composed by Ludmila Ulitskaya opens up at a sizzling apartment in New York City whereby a group of émigrés from Russia gather around Alik’s deathbed, a popular artist, and a charismatic person who was loved by all, especially those women who take turns to nurse him as he is leaving this world. The recollections that these people have regarding the dying man as well as those of their lives are dominated by squabbles and debates. The major debate in the room is based on who Alik loved the most. They also question whether he should be christened before he dies, like in the case of his wife, Nina, who used to be an alcoholic, or whether he should be reconciled to his birth’s faith by a rabbi. They also wonder what the Yeltsin putsch will mean to them, which is taking place across the globe, since the Moscow that they once knew has lost right before their eyes as they witness on CNN (Lord, 2001). This paper will evaluate how the book The Funeral Party has managed to portray themes of love, identity and loss, despite the idea that the characters portray mixed ideologies and behaviors. Discussion Passage Overview The passage to be analyzed reveals four out of the five women present in the beginning of Ludmila Ulitskaya’s touching yet mordantly observed work The Funeral Party have taken off their clothes. However, this does not mean that they have gathered together for a sensual romp. However, they have gathered together on a mission of love. They have appeared before the deathbed of Alik, who used to be a painter, an aggressive yet unassimilated Russian emigrant, and an accomplished philanderer (Ulitskaya, 2010). The group surrounding Alik at his deathbed is strange and mixed. For instance, Irina used to be Alik’s former lover as well as a one-time acrobat at a circus. She has gone through law school in what can be referred to as “feathers and sequins”, and she used to spend most of her time winding her legs in a club that used to be visited by rich people. Nina, who is Alik’s wife was the daughter of a powerful agent at KGB, though she is a fanatic of religion and a drunkard. Despite the fact that her Christianity is based on Russian Orthodox, she practices it the American way by inhibiting drinks that are sweet, weak and at the same time ceaseless. Goia is an Italian neighbor to Alik, and she narrates Dante to him using her “glass-clinking language,” though she is not aware that he is capable of speaking it like she does. Valentina is the current fiancée to Alik, and she weeps at his body. Maika is the fifth woman in the room, and she distances herself from the others. She is fully-dressed, aged 15 years, and is the daughter of Irina, which makes her the daughter of Alik as well given the timeframe that her mother spent with him (Lord, 2001). Moreover, the passage reveals that the heat was terrifying, and the humidity was at 100 percent. This meant as if the entire great city together with magical parks, inhumane buildings together with people of different colors as well as dogs managed to reach a point that allowed them to realize transition. Also, during any moment those people who appeared to be semi-liquefied were capable of flowing freely in the soupy environment (Ulitskaya, 2010). Passage Analysis The Funeral Party presents a deft as well as economical description of a number of characters whose behavior is occasionally eccentric, and can be categorized into various dimensions. This book serves a mediation to the identity of Russians, and the point to which the uniqueness can be maintained. The sense of being a Russian is one of the single yet defining force in the dwindling life that Alik is connected with. Being away from home, Alik has been able to build his own Russia in the region where he resides (Ulitskaya, 2010). Ludmila Ulitskaya is a geneticist from Moscow whose scientific identifications were taken from her in the 1970s, which served as punishment towards her when she translated a novel that had been banned. As a result, she sets the story of Alik during the 1991 summer, against a background putsch that was being televised, and which removed President Mikhail Gorbachev from power. She notes that émigrés constantly look for evidence so that they can find their reason to leave. Alik together with his friends observe how they justify their verdict to leave while watching CNN. The faces that they witness on the screen are characterized by corruption. However, most of the Russians who are living in America cannot get rid of the Russianness that haunts them (Lord, 2001). It not easy for one to resist the contrast that prevails between The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy and The Funeral Party. In fact, Ludmila Ulitskaya is noted to have set up parallels in a deliberate manner with the popular work so as to illustrate how the experience of the Soviet changed the way of life of the Russians. For instance, Ivan is noted to be running away from the realities of life, which Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identifies as the “Isolation” phase that is attributed to dying, though Alik does not seem to withdraw at all. Moreover, his departure will not free up the desirable spot that is evident on top of the administrative heap. In the 19th century, Russia was highly stratified, and most of the business associates who interacted with Ivan treat his death as being an opportunity to advance their ventures. The emigrant world that Alik lives in on the other hand is characterized by non-hierarchical mess. No one is seen to bother to fill the place that he is leaving behind. Unlike in the case of the wife of Ivan, Nina never shows concern for experiencing penniless widowhood since she is already impoverished (Ulitskaya, 2010). However, with regard to the inadequacy that is linked to medicine, Ulitskaya and Tolstoy reveal identical stories. Both Alik and Ivan’s doctors are capable of determining what their patients are suffering from. This is reflected vaguely in the case of the would-be healers in the case of Alik, who have many years’ of experience to rely on. However, their inexperience offers Ulitskaya with an excuse to make comments towards the random manner with which medical licensing, especially since Fima, who is the doctor that gives more attention to Alik is not permitted to reveal his experience. Though he is bad at undertaking tests but good at offering care to his patients, he has not been given appropriate certification like other émigrés in the country that they have adopted (Ulitskaya, 2010). The translation of the novel The Funeral Party, by Cathy Porter revealed awkwardness as being associated with the story. All the émigrés are subjected to conditions that make them to weather. To survive in such a hostile environment, characters adopt a comical jargon, such as part-Yiddish, part-Russian, and part-English, which makes them to adopt a criminal slang that is viewed as exotic. This speech is regarded as a hybrid, and it plays a crucial role with respect to the descriptions that Ulitskaya gives, which serve as verbal translations that are linked to visual falsification (Lord, 2001). The first book that Ludmila Ulitskaya published in the English language does not censor itself so as to address the standards that are linked to political correctness in America. The harsh wittiness that she adopts does not spare anyone. In the beginning of The Funeral Party, she makes an introduction of the first female émigré as one who lives so that she can be able to buy as well as sell any consumer good that is conceivable (Lord, 2001). Based on the mercilessness that is associated with The Funeral Party, one is reminded of various early novels such as A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh whereby the death of a protagonist’s son is reflected in a manner that is poignant and immense, and is also caricatured broadly. In order to gain surety, Ludmila Ulitskaya and Evelyn Waugh chronicle in various wild subcultures, but after getting past the apparent details, such as adopting characters who get drunk at all times on whisky as opposed to vodka, then the two writers have been able to accomplish their tasks in remarkably similar manner (Ulitskaya, 2010). Conclusion In conclusion, the paper has revealed that The Funeral Party may have been a dull reflection of an emigrant community. Ludmila Ulitskaya presents the novel in a riotously funny manner. Therefore, it is a tender and quirky story whose loss, identity and love themes are witnessed beyond the boundaries of geography and language. References Lord, M. G. (2001). A Russian novel, A dying hero, Five women, and Four states of undress. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/02/11/reviews/010211.11lordlt.html Ulitskaya, L. (2010). The Funeral Party by Ludmila Ulitskaya. Retrieved from http://theliterarylollipop.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/the-funeral-party-by-ludmila-ulitskaya/ Read More