Book Review: "The Foundation Pit" by Andrey Platonov

“The Foundation Pit” by Andrey Platonov is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. A depiction of the life of people in the pinnacle of Soviet Russia, it stands as a metaphor for what the government tells you as opposed to what they are actually doing. “The Foundation Pit” is filled with images of heartbreaking violence, of torment and existentialism. The main characters find themselves losing all sense of autonomy in a society which deems them fit to work as their mental state spirals out of control. In this book we are faced with the fact that even when the government thinks they do what is best for us, in reality it is an entirely different situation altogether. The government does not, will not and will never give a shit about you or me. That is the message of this book. We may as well be digging our own graves - it would make better use of our time than to work in a society where the top five percent work the ninety-five percent to absolute death. At least we would be doing something for ourselves. Platonov’s realistic and anti-establishment view is so raw and filled with hatred for his governing body and yet, it is so understandable because unfortunately, we still live within the confines of that reality. Timeless and brutal, it seeks to build us an alternative to listening to our dictators but our own tragedies would be far from over even if we did succeed.

The book’s quotations are only testament to the anger and raw, coarseness that penetrates through the story and is polluted by the requirement to be subservient to some sort of greater cause. It is a mind-blowing story and here are some of my key choice quotations from the beginning of the book, to look at:

“On the day of the thirtieth anniversary of his private life, Voshchev was made redundant from the small machine factory where he obtained the means for his own existence. His dismissal notice stated that he was being removed from production on account of weakening strength in him and thoughtfulness amid the general tempo of labour…”

The opening paragraph to this book only proves that whatever is bigger than this character does not care about his ‘own existence’ but rather the greater good. And most of the time, the greater good only helps those who have already got a grip on their own existence and do not have to work for it. It is the first few steps into this anger and rage that resonates long after you finish the novel.

“Voshchev lowered himself over crumbs of earth, into the gully and lay down on his stomach there in order to fall asleep and so part from himself. But sleep required forgiveness of past grief and the peace of a mind that trusts in life, whereas Voshchev was lying there in a dry tension of awareness, and he did not know whether he was of use to the world or whether everything would get along just fine without him. A gust of wind blew from an unknown place, so that people would not suffocate, and a dog on the outskirts of town let it be known, in a weak voice of doubt, that is was on duty. “The dog’s bored. It’s like me - living only thanks to its birth.” Voshchev’s body grew pale with exhaustion. He felt the cold on his eyelids and used them to close his warm eyes.”

This paragraph really puts everything into perspective after he had been laid off his job. Since he has no job, he has no meaning in this Soviet society and so, he can lay down in a gutter without anyone batting an eyelid his way out of confusion, as if this is a normal thing that happens.

When it comes to the way in which this book progresses, only after a couple of pages, you can begin to feel the cold and shrewd reality of Soviet Russia without all the masquerading of common folk being united in work. The reality is that when they are no longer needed, they are tossed aside and left to rot. This is only the very beginning though, of a society that cost millions of lives almost needlessly.