“And if you asked us now ‘What did America seem like to you?’ our honest answer would sound something like this: ‘The most advanced technology in the world and a horrifyingly oppressive, stupefying social order.”

Ilf and Petrov’s chronicle of their two-month road trip from New York to California and back again in 1935 is delightful in many ways – their humor of course, but also their keen insight and commentary on America as seen from an outsider, accompanied by the large number of photographs Ilf took. The context is extraordinary – America still mired in the Depression, the USSR just about to go through Stalin’s purges, and Ilf soon to die at just 39 from tuberculosis. (Petrov himself would also die young at 39, during the war). It all gives added meaning to the photographs and writing. Their observations of course are tinged with bias, given their own country’s politics at the time, but most of it is searing and truthful.

What’s interesting is that so much of what was true in 1935 is also true today – America’s obsession with cars, its advertising and culture of consumerism, and the low-brow taste of most Hollywood films. Most moving were the chapters on black people and Native Americans, which commented directly on racism, segregation, and the lack of opportunity and thus poverty for people of color.

There are also very light and amusing bits, such as being dazzled by popcorn - “kernels of corn, fried in a brazier, that have popped open and turned into little white buds (people pour butter on them, sprinkle them with salt, and eat them)…” – it’s kind of mind-boggling to think that this was less than 100 years ago. We also get little observations like “The young women in their long wide trousers of fine wool were a sign that Hollywood was close by.”

As for the American demeanor, see if these observations from the authors ring true: their incredible friendliness, helpfulness, optimism, and efficiency, but at the same time, their profound lack of curiosity, lack of appreciation for conversation around art and culture, and how quickly they eat their dinner. Ilf & Petrov honestly don’t seem to be making these types of comments for political reasons, and if anything a certain admiration shines through.

It’s not an incredibly detailed travelogue or written in diary form, which I think makes it highly readable (even if I wish it was longer). Some other miscellaneous bits that I found interesting:

- Meeting director Rouben Mamoulian and novelist Theodore Dreiser.
- Seeing the giant Redwood trees, one “only 1,684 years old” and philosophizing about man’s transience.
- Seeing Alcatraz, where Al Capone was in prison.
- Seeing Redwood City California’s sign which I myself have always chuckled over - “Climate Best by Government Test” – and to think, they were right there, under the same sign.
- Lastly, the bridge at Cameron, Arizona, built in 1911 and at the time the longest west of the Mississippi – what was interesting is that Ilf & Petrov point out that it was built with profits from oil found on a Reservation, prompted a lawsuit by Native Americans, whereas if you poke around online about this bridge, you’ll only see reference to it being built to “improve access to the Navajo and Hopi Reservation,” with no mention of those other things. It’s a random little detail, but one wonders just how much else is glossed over even today in what we find written about history.

Quotes:
On America as a meritocracy, which I found incredibly perceptive and true to this day:
“Along with Bible stories, the biographies of famous millionaires, who all, as if by previous agreement, started their careers as errand, paper, or shoeshine boys, are drilled into people’s heads from early childhood. It’s a simple ideology: anyone can become a millionaire. All these dizzying careers have been history for a long time; millionaires long ago became a closed caste that governs the country; people have been inheriting millions for a long time. Still, in schools, churches, movies, and newspapers, the same story gets crammed down people’s throats with ever-increasing insistence. That’s why American optimism is irritating.”

On American optimism, related to the above:
“Chekhov once said that he had to squeeze the slave out of himself one drop at a time. For a long time yet, drop by drop, Americans will have to squeeze out their optimism, which the combined forces of the church, school, movie industry, and newspapers strive to maintain.”

On the last images of America, ah, such a touching note:
“When the Majestic, on which we were sailing, went past Wall Street, the banking region of New York, it had already gotten dark and the lights had come on in the huge bank buildings. Golden electric light shone in the windows; maybe it was light reflecting off real gold, who knows?! That sparkling, that last golden vision, accompanies us all the way out to where we entered the open sea. After two hours, no trace of America was left. A lighthouse blinked once – that was all. The cold January wind ruffled the tall ocean waves.” ( )

A time capsule of one culture's view of another, with what was probably a heavy sprinkling of propaganda. The writing was very amusing! ( )

Attention, goodreads denizens: Ilf and Petrov's American Road Trip is NOT a different edition of [b:Одноэтажная Америка/One-Storied America/Little Golden America|10005508|Little Golden America|Ilya Ilf|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348579640s/10005508.jpg|21843654]. It's an entirely different book.

While some of the material overlaps between the two books, since they are based on the same experience, American Road Trip is much shorter--it is really more of a photo essay. Unlike the in-print English edition of Little Golden America, American Road Trip is illustrated with Ilf's photos.

Honestly, I felt like American Road Trip lost many of the best stories and portions of Ilf and Petrov's travelogue, and the added photographs didn't do much for me. The introduction gave some interesting background, though. ( )

In 1935, Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, lauded Soviet satirists, landed in New York, rented a car, and set off on a road trip across America and back. Their trip westward took them through the Midwest, the deserts of the Southwest to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Returning eastward, they drove through Texas, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and up the eastern seaboard back to NYC. They chronicled their journey with written and photographic snapshots of the landscape and people of America, which were published in the Soviet magazine OGONEK -- somewhat comparable the US's LIFE.

This is a fascinating view of Depression-era America from the perspective of outsiders. The black-and-white photographs, which do not have the quality or preservation of similar era American photographs (they're more snapshots than art) are, nevertheless, wonderfully evocative. Here are a few quotes of the authors' observations:

"The roads are one of the most remarkable phenomena of American life. American life specifically, not just American technology."

"At the center of the commercial life of the town in the center of the business district, so to speak, is the drugstore. This is a completely different, purely American kind of commerce. Cigarettes, razors, kitchenware, haberdashery, alcohol, and books are all sold here."

"There are many attractive qualities in the character of the American people. They are excellent workers, jacks-of-all-trades....They are precise, but not so much as to be pedantic. They are neat and punctual, without being so fussy that other people would start to make fun of them for it . They know how to keep their word, and they trust other people's words. They are always ready to help.... But the most interesting childlike quality, curiosity, is almost absent among Americans. Americans just aren't curious. This is especially true of young people."

"All the tremendous accomplishments of American culture -- schools, universities, literature, theater, -- all are crestfallen before the film industry. You can graduate from twenty schools and universities and after a few years of regular cinema attendance turn into a total idiot."

Ah -- the more things change, the more they remain the same. ( )

I've been a fan of the Russian writing team of Ilf and Petrov since the Mel Brooks movie of "The Twelve Chairs" came out, and I tracked down a copy of the original book. In the thirties, the team came to America and took a road trip from New York to California and back, recording their impressions in words and photographs for their Russian countrymen. Their work was originally published in serial form, and later as a book.

This translation is an interesting period piece. Much of the writing is dull and dated, with strained attempts at social commentary, but there are also some witty passages and occasional flashes of insight. For me, the soft, black and white photographs of the road, small towns and the people they met along the way are the most interesting part of this book. ( )