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. Redrink 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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