Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Review
by Nina Claudia Soukhanovskii
A Tempting Quote:
“I look up at him, and my heart leaps into my
throat— I can’t say a word. I want to yell Stop, don’t move! and
can’t. And there probably isn’t enough time, anyway, it all happens so fast:
Kirill steps over the empty, turns around, and his back goes right into the
silver stuff. The only thing I can do is close my eyes” (Strugatsky 31).
Terms to Know:
The Zone- When some aliens visit this planet, they leave
behind a “dead” area known as the Zone. It contains many strange things that
humans struggle to explain, including random magnetic fields, electric
currents, and possible time travelling. Additionally, anyone who enters the
Zone carries with them series of bad luck and other effects on themselves and
those around them. For example, Redrick’s (the main character’s) daughter grows
less human after he continuously visits the Zone. She stops understanding the
human language and develops strange animal-like ways.
The Visit/Visitors- This term is used to describe the aliens that
“created” the Zone. Once again, science knows little about them and where they
came from.
Empty- One of the artifacts that the aliens left behind in the Zone.
They are really valuable, and will bring anyone a large pay if brought back.
However, one must endure the dangers of the Zone in order to obtain an empty,
so that is why not many are up for the challenge.
Golden Sphere- is rumored to grant a wish that you really
want from within. Redrick (the main character) and Arthur (who just happened to
have come along with him) try to find this so that they can fix the problems
that they experience in their lives.
Stalker- Someone who goes to the Zone to hunt for
artifacts and other clues. Redrick (the main character) is a stalker, and so
are most of his co-workers.
Summary:
In the beginning, readers are introduced to
Redrick Schuhart. He is very easy-going with his life, and often doesn’t see
the serious side of things. He enjoys going to the bar and drinking with his
friends, despite the seriousness of his position as a stalker, which means he
illegally enters the Zone at night to search for valuable artifacts.
We also meet his girlfriend, Guta, who is
pregnant. Despite all the scientific research that the children of stalkers are
born with strange mutations, Guta states that she wants to keep the baby.
Redrik and Guta later get married.
Then, during one of his trips to the Zone,
Redrick and his coworker run into a mysterious silvery web and before Redrick
can say anything, his coworker, Kiril, steps into the web by accident. This is
where the quote I wrote above comes in. Kiril seems to be fine at first, but he
dies from a “heart attack” several hours later. The loss of his friend causes
Redrick to really think about why he is a stalker.
The next time the readers see Redrick he is
part of a “gang” of stalkers, lead under a code name by Richard
Noonan. Certain decisions that he makes anger some, while please others. At
this point, he is torn between his family and his work (which leads him to jail
at one point) and it seems as if his work is taking over.
In the end, Redrick has to realize that maybe
all of the sacrifices he makes for his stalking are not worth it, and he has
one last chance to redeem himself. Whether or not he takes the chance, and how
he gets it is for the readers to find out.
My Thoughts
This book is a bit slow at first, but I
promise you that by the end, all of you will like it. There is also a huge
message behind the whole thing that will be revealed at the end. If you don’t
get the message, go back and reread the book until you get it. It’s practically
impossible to miss. In fact, my favorite part of the book was the last few
chapters because of how it all connected. I also enjoyed how the book was
broken up into sections and how each little section.
Rating
I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. The reason why I didn’t
give it full starts was because it might be difficult for some people to pick
up on the initial terminology and ideas. That’s why I included a few facts that
I thought might be helpful in the beginning of my review. Enjoy!
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