The Holy Drinker - Tapa dura

'Randalls style is reminiscent of the young prose of the 1960s which broke the drought of Socialist Realist literature published in the Soviet Union for three decades prior to that. The Holy Drinker is replete with Russian motifs, in fact it is set in a Russian village and is populated by workers and peasants whose lives are hopelessly entrenched in the backwaters of this provincial environment which is frozen in a non-descript backward time, outside history. The dialogues are gripping...the novel comes across as something authentic from a long-forgotten yet not yet overcome past. The pathos of existential despair which dominates in the portrayal of all the characters is a recovery of a past aesthetics that of Modernism. The intensity of this negative experience is Strindbergian in proportion, with dreams and drunken hallucinations as symbols of a better utopian world. All in all, this novel can be called a postmodern novel in the best sense of the word: it recycles Modernism and is transcultural in its attempt at universality.' --Professor Slobodanka Millicent Vladiv-Glover, School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Linguistics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies

'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies

'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies

'In The Holy Drinker, Randall draws on the Gogolian tradition, writing something that is essentially a long short story, a popular genre in classic Russian literature. Like Gogol the action moves swiftly and is highly entertaining, incorporating folk beliefs and elements of the supernatural. However there are essential differences. The Holy Drinker is a tale with a strong moral running throughout, illustrating the dangers of drink. Life is grim for many of the characters who use alcohol to escape into the past without thought for the future. But lest this sound depressing, the compensation comes in the form of a cast of distinctive characters, and plenty of action.' --Professor Faith Wigzell, ULC School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies

When Maximov-the-Drinker collapses on his settee after a five-day binge, visions of his first love and glimpses of life as it once was, and can never be again, flood his mind. A horrible sense of sadness and regret overwhelms him—he has wasted his youthful years on drink. When his housekeeper enters the room the next morning, she finds in place of her master, a vat of ruby-red wine. The local priest, captain of the military garrison, and Chernov-the-Moneylender, visit the house. Awed by such a strange and compelling sight, they agree to keep the discovery between themselves until a military delegation arrives from Petersburg. However, none of them can resist sampling the wine, each experiencing wondrous visions. What’s more, the vat miraculously replenishes itself, providing an inexhaustible supply. The Holy Drinker is written in the style of a Gogolian fable. It is set in a provincial Russian town at the turn of the twentieth century.