Monday Starts on Saturday

By: Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky, Andrew Bromfield - translator, Adam Roberts - foreword

Narrated by: Ramiz Monsef

Sasha, a young computer programmer from Leningrad, is driving north to meet some friends for a nature vacation. He picks up a couple of hitchhikers who persuade him to take a job at the National Institute for the Technology of Witchcraft and Thaumaturgy.

The adventures Sasha has in the largely dysfunctional institute involve all sorts of magical beings - a wish-granting fish, a tree mermaid, a cat who can remember only the beginnings of stories, a dream-interpreting sofa, a motorcycle that can zoom into the imagined future, a lazy dog-sized mosquito - along with a variety of wizards (including Merlin), vampires, and officers.

First published in Russia in 1965, Monday Starts on Saturday has become the most popular Strugatsky novel in their homeland. Like the works of Gogol and Kafka, it tackles the nature of institutions - here focusing on one devoted to discovering and perfecting human happiness. By turns wildly imaginative, hilarious, and disturbing, Monday Starts on Saturday is a comic masterpiece by two of the world's greatest science-fiction writers.

©2017 Boris Strugatsky and Arkady Strugatsky (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Really interesting

This is the first time I've read anything by a Russian author or anything that was translated - This was very good and I loved the connection between each story and the name.

The best translation!

This book was my favorite as a kid, and I am absolutely thrilled to find this wonderful translation!
I only wish the publishers included an index with references for all the Russian folk tales creatures and items, Soviet history references, meaningful names, and other inside jokes that are dropped in the text without explanation.
Perhaps in the next edition!

take a drink

I'm starting to think that there is a "dimension of miracles" written in every major country. hitchikers guide in britain and Tthis book written in the USSR. though it doesn't deal with a person lost in space but rather a programmer lost in fantasy. This was a very Talking fish out of water kind of story and I enjoyed it thuroughly.

Take a drink whenever a sofa is mentioned.
Take a drink when a double it mentioned.

Fantastically weird

By far one of the best sci books I've read or listened to in some time. Weird, funny, fantastic, outstanding.

All these Are good Descriptions of this book.

surprisingly amazing

seriously I'd love to play a D&D campaign based off this story. it is amazing, like if the discworld wizards were put into more modern times and made Russian. it's amazing and every fantasy fan should read/listen to it.

a true classic

I read this back in the 80s and was pleased to see it on audible. such a great and interesting story. little like douglas adams and terry pratchett but before either.

weird

Weird and very good over all performance is like the doom city book by Strugatsky brothers.

just ok

Perhaps some of the humor was lost in translation. There are parallels to the Unseen University and Discworld (though this book of course predates that series), but Pratchett's comic talent is far better. I caught some of the dogs at the old soviet system, but probably not all. The narrator did a fantastic job both the voices, leaving little doubt as to who is talking. For me, it got to be a slog by the last third of the book. I'll still try another book by the authors. Maybe their other works will speak to me more.

Fun quirky story

The story was fun and light hearted, voice actor was very pleasant also. I really enjoyed this book.

loved every minute of it

outstanding book. outstanding narration. delightfully surreal. it's like Harry Potter for grown ups on acid. I listened to it twice!