''Razor's Edge'' (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Лезвие бритвы, ''Lezvie britvy'', ''Edge of the Razor'') is a 1963

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

writer and paleontologist

Ivan Yefremov Ivan Antonovich (Antipovich) Yefremov, sometimes Efremov (; 23 April 1908 – 5 October 1972) was a Soviet paleontologist, science-fiction author and social thinker. He founded taphonomy, the study of fossilization patterns. Biography He ...

. It includes four parts and is notable for a huge amount of the scientific facts and dynamism. Efremov used the word " eidetica" as an ability to a deliberate dreams, when man dreams in full details about something that is known to him only as told by friends, read in books or seen in pictures. In this novel such capability to see such

panoramic A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word ...

color images appears in one of the novel's characters after he is contused in the time of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

. Later on he arrives in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to ask the doctors explain this

symptom Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

. While healed he sees an even more detailed dream, but after he loses his unique ability.

Plot

The plot contains some storylines which are intertwined. We can name these storylines according to their setting places. The first one is the Soviet Storyline and is about the medical doctor and psychophysiologist Ivan Girin, who studies the hidden possibilities of human brain and is interested in human beauty. The second storyline is about a group of Italians who go to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

to find

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s, but find

Alexander The Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

's Crown with mysterious crystals in it. The third storyline is about Dayaram Ramamoorty, the sculptor from India, and Amrita Tillottama, the dancer. The characters meet each other in the end of the novel.

Characters

Ivan Girin

He is the main character in the soviet storyline and then, in the whole book, too. He is a medical doctor, who worked as a surgeon, but later dedicated himself to psychophysiology. Soviet scientist

Alexey Bystrow Alexey Petrovich Bystrow, sometimes spelled Alexey Petrovich Bystrov and Aleksei Petrovich Bystrow, (; February 1, 1899 – August 29, 1959) was a Soviet paleontologist, anatomist, and histologist. Biography Born in the village of Tarasov ...

is a prototype of his character and Italian actor

Amedeo Nazzari Amedeo Nazzari (10 December 1907 – 5 November 1979) was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Although he emerged as ...

is a prototype of his appearance.

Serafima Yuryevna (Sima) Metalina

She is a 28-year-old sportswoman (modern rhythmic gymnastics). She meets Girin at the exhibition where Anna's statue is present. Sima breaks a stereotype of sportswoman: instead of being ignorant, she is well-educated, fond of literature and arts and speaks

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. Polish actress

Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass (1 June 1940 – 6 March 1995) was a Polish actress. Early life and career Barbara Kwiatkowska was born in Patrowo, a village near Gostynin in central Poland, then under Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German ...

is a prototype of her appearance.

Dayaram Ramamoorty

Dayaram Ramamoorty is the main character in the Indian Storyline. He is a sculptor and is looking for a way to sculpt his idea of perfect beauty.

Tillottama

Tillottama is a second main character in the Indian storyline. The readers meet her with Dayaram in the Khajuraho Temple. She catches Dayaram's eye by her beauty, but after she is acquainted with him and proves to be very heartful and intellectual. Dayaram is curious about her life, and she tells him her life story. Her real name is Amrita Vidiadevi.

Sandra Citti

Sandra Citti is from the Italian Storyline. She is Ivo Flaiano's girlfriend, young, beautiful and glamorous. She goes on the adventurous yacht trip with Cezare, Lea and Ivo. During the trip she reveals that she is not just a beautiful young actress, but also an ancient history specialist.

Composition

The novel consists of prologue, four main parts and epilogue.

External links

*
''Razor's Edge'' by Ivan Yefremov
{{Ivan Yefremov 1963 novels Novels by Ivan Yefremov 1963 science fiction novels