Chapaev and Void

"Chapaev and Void," sometimes published as "Buddha's Little Finger" or "The Clay Machine Gun," is a seminal novel by Viktor Pelevin, considered one of the key works of Russian postmodern literature. The action unfolds across two realities: during the Civil War years, where the protagonist Pyotr Pustota fights alongside Vasily Chapaev, and in a psychiatric clinic in the 1990s. The novel explores themes of the illusory nature of reality, the search for truth, and self-discovery through the lens of Buddhist philosophy.