Victor Pelevin - Literary Style

Literary Style

Pelevin's prose is usually devoid of dialogue between the author and the reader, whether through plot, character development, literary form or narrative language. This corresponds to his philosophy (both stated and unstated) that, for the most part, it is the reader who infuses the text with meaning. His novel Babylon ("Generation П" or "Generation P" is the Russian title) bears on its cover the inscription, "Any thought that occurs in the process of reading this book is subject to copyright. Unauthorized thinking of it is prohibited".

In a conversation with BOMB Magazine, Pelevin named Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita as an early influence on his reading, saying, "The effect of this book was really fantastic. This book was totally out of the Soviet world." Pelevin avoids, however, listing authors who have specifically influenced his writing, for he believes that "the only real Russian literary tradition is to write good books in a way nobody did before."