A young Russian dreams of flight, but everything crashes and burns in the familiar Soviet style. 
 This novel has a lot going for it. I enjoyed the absurdist imagery of the criticism - the sham within a sham that so perfectly captures Soviet Russia. A few of these images (such as the one in which Kissinger kills the bear) are haunting, and will probably stay with me. 
 Overall, though, I can't say that I enjoyed the book much. I'm not sure if I've just been tired lately and haven't had the concentration to read it properly, or if the translation fell short, or if the writing itself is flawed... or maybe it's a combination of all three. But I found the narrative to be a bit disjointed. Sometimes things would be happening and it would take me a while to figure out what and why. 
 I also never connected with the main character. Despite the fact that we're in his head, his voice just isn't that strong. We're told the story of his life, but with a remove that prevents the emotional weight from really making itself felt. Even when his mind circles around particular images, and I could sense the significance (the little trapped pilot, the bear), I never knew why these images were significant to Omon. From my bird's eye perspective, I know that the trapped pilot is foreshadowing, and I know that the bear represents the common people in the USSR, but Omon doesn't seem to draw these conclusions. So why does he keep the pilot? Why does he think of the bear? It's that lack of distinction between what the reader knows and what the character knows that made it difficult to connect with Omon's humanity. 
 It's a fine book, an interesting read, another example of absurdist social commentary. The "sham within a sham" aspect was particularly biting. But, overall, this one just didn't do it for me.