Avakoum Zahov Versus 07
Lazenby880
LondonPosts: 525MI6 Agent
I do not think this has been mentioned on AJB, however over at Teleport City there is a very interesting review of the novel Avakoum Zahov Versus 07. This is a Bulgarian novel written by Andrei Gulyashki with a obviously Red angle: 'Bond' (07) is defeated by the communist hero. I first read about this novel while reading a book on espionage fiction, although this is the first time I have read an actual review of it.
Find the link here.
Find the link here.
Comments
As for the book...leave it to a Bulgar :v
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Please be advised that my good friend Avakoum has graciously decided to make available the infamously rare (and allegedly classified as "secret" by MI6) English language version of his infamous encounter with "Agent 07".
Yes, after a long wait of approximately 50 years it is once again accessible for study at en.bookFI.net
The Russian edition, of course, has always been widely available and can be read here at: http://libbabr.com/?book=3891
Following his defection to the west, Comrad Zahov--although now frail yet still in good health--is currently enjoying his twilight years reportedly residing somewhere in the proximity of Hyde Park where Miss Moneypenny has on occasion spotted him feeding the pigeons.
ACCESS TO THE WEBSITES LISTED ON THIS PAGE HAS BEEN BLOCKED PURSUANT TO ORDERS OF THE HIGH COURT
You have the right to apply to the High Court to vary or discharge the Orders below if you are affected by the blocks which have been imposed. Any application must be made to the High Court directly and must (i) clearly indicate your identity and status as an applicant; (ii) be supported by evidence setting out and justifying the grounds of the application, and (iii) be notified to all parties 10 days in advance.
http://www.ukispcourtorders.co.uk/
Over a very nice lunch of fish and chips on Southdale Road today, Avakoum and I had a chuckle as we puzzled over the ignoble attitude of ostensibly "democratic" Internet providers of the Free World in their attempt to deny online access to harmless literature--including my modest friend's fictional encounter with "Agent 07".
As for "intellectual property infringement", this would be highly doubtful considering that the venerable British Library itself offers no less than 62 of Andrei Gulyashki's Bulgarian-language works ("Avakoum Zahov vs. 07" being number 46) and available in the Reading Room or as a download for a modest fee at:
http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=BLVU1
Since the Spanish version "Avakum Zajov contra 07" and likewise the Italian edition "Avakum Contro Mr. X", among others, are readily available via a simple Google search, could it be possible that long ago some secret "Ivory Tower" committee had decided to bury the English version, deeming it "inappropriate" or "embarrassing"?
If such a conspiracy theory is indeed true, this should come as no surprise for was not Vladimir Nabokov demonized as well (to no avail, thankfully) for his "scurrilous" novel "Lolita"? Indeed, were not the perversely descriptive poems of Gaius Valerius Catullus for far too long exclusively restricted to readers of Latin and deliberately not made available to the "riff raff" who were considered "unworthy" of translations in their own "heathen" languages?
Alas, be not discouraged for where there is a will, there is a way around such barriers. Seek and ye shall find. If at first you do not succeed...
The Cold War spy novel "Avakoum Zahov versus 07" is now also accessible at:
https://www.scribd.com
https://archive.org/
Book review: It is a quick read but having limited character development with "07" portrayed as coldly efficient, yet crude and brutal. But that, of course, is to be expected from the evidently Soviet-sympathetic author Gulyashki. Not sure if he had a change of attitude following Glasnost and Perestroika.
Due, no doubt, to the usual "lost in the translation" issues, grammatical and typographical errors can be found. Nevertheless, this novel is a curiosity; an artifact straight out of the 1960's Cold War era and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Exactly why this English language edition has been "buried" for so long is unknown since it can still be retrieved in Bulgarian, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, etc., via a determined online search as well as from specific public libraries.
In any event, the "time capsule" has finally been opened. B-)