This last week, I spent the night at Ira's and Tanya's. I've done this several times over the past couple years, and it's always fun. This time, Tanya pulled out a Soviet-made movie that she'd found that included English subtitles. The movie is called Собачье сердце, which means "The Heart of a Dog." It is an adaptation of Bulgakov's book with the same name. I'd never read it, but now I'd kind of like to. For some background on the story, click here.
The story is a satire on the Soviet/Communist lifestyle. It was really interesting for me to compare things from that movie with things that I still run across today. The story, though, is about a brilliant doctor/scientist who has been experimenting with transplants among humans. He then decides to attempt a new project wherein he will transplant human organs (from a recently deceased person) into a dog (I am extremely squeamish and had to avert my eyes for this part...). Weird side effects begin to take place, and shockingly, the dog begins a transformation process into a person. He becomes uncontrollable and slovenly and crude and is an embarrassment and burden to the doctor and his assistants. Unfortunately, though, the doctor begins to have his tenuous control over his creation taken away from him by the government and is left with a big mess. In the end, however, he and his assistants resolve the issue, and things end well.
If you have a chance, read a little about this book. It was really rather illuminating for me. Weird, but illuminating nonetheless.
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