Akiko
Published in Russia in 2003, Marina Wright's translation of this short story was published in the May 2007 issue of the 'London Miscellany'.
The short story
The first ever winner of the Russian Little Booker Prize, Victor Pelevin is one of the most prominent writers in Russian today. Since his debut, Pelevin's work continues to develop in adventurous ways. In his latest translated offering Akiko, a victim's obsession with an online porn site devolves into a losing pas de deux with a computer-generated concubine and her monkey Mao. Showcasing Pelevin's themes of occultism and the shadowy underside of society in the age of technology, Akiko raises the bar yet again with its author's trademark delicious -and malign- narrative wit.