What “PR of Sodom” Suggests
“PR of Sodom” by Narek Malian, Counselor to the Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia, is a fascinating and unique novel, with such rapid developments that it seems to be the script of an impressive adventure film. “PR of Sodom” is about human obsession, greed, loyalty, the pleasures of the rich, Christian truths, and everybody. Of course, it is also about the subtleties of working with PR and information flows, "playing" people through PR and information tricks.
One of the main characters is Victor, a security guard at an unremarkable institution, a loser left by his wife, and someone they want to get rid of at work any minute earlier. It seems that no one needs a penniless and insignificant man, but no, some people need him, for example, like the wife of his rich and influential friend, Sergei, who went underground. Victor needs to try to find Sergei, who is associated with the TMG oil company, that is why he needs to get to Europe, meet suspicious people in the most absurd conditions, appear in the strangest places and in the center of stories, up to marijuana, having sex on stage during a theatrical performance. He needs to get acquainted with the strangest theories, for example, that people are divided into two types, they are either cows or deer.
Moreover, according to the author of this theory, "cows" are more useful and dignified people than "deer". And the funny thing is, Victor is also among the cows. He is like that, willing, supporting, sometimes self-sacrificing, but not naive… There is another point in the novel: not everything is based on money, the important thing is the goal, and those whose only dream is money are lazy and unimaginative, and empty-headed rich people are the most dangerous type. One can see our present and our reality in the novel…
There is an episode in “PR of Sodom” that explains to the hero how the most dangerous and destructive idea, cannibalism for instance, can eventually be made acceptable, even necessary, and even scientifically substantiated. Moreover, bloggers and mass media with a problem with the audience can contribute to that process, or more precisely, as the hero phrases, the followers of apocalyptic journalism. In the novel, the story ends and resolves in Armenia, in the ancient Geghard Monastery. This is where the mystery of Sergei's disappearance is revealed. Victor's fate takes a different course, in the arms of Sergey's wife. This is life: one’s star fades, the other’s shines again, besides, merci is the only "attainment" of the dying ...
One of the main features of the novel, constantly circulating in different contexts, comes to the following- it is important not to make mistakes, most importantly not to make mass mistakes, as in the famous story, the people demanded to release the criminal Barabbas and to crucify Jesus.
We will not open other brackets about the book because one should read it. Also, as one of the heroes says. "People are not provided with details, they dig into the details themselves." Narek Malian may not agree, but we somehow notice the influence of Kafka and Bulgakov on the novel "PR of Sodom", however, in general, it bears the stamp of the author's intellect and professional experience.
Gohar Hakobyan