The Executioner

One of Eduard Limonov’s most famous novels, which brought him fame as a powerful and hard-edged prose writer. The main character, a Polish émigré, ends up in the United States in the 1970s and becomes a professional gigolo. He calls himself an executioner, the master of rich and well-fed ladies. In essence, this is a sad story about loneliness and spiritual emptiness, told mercilessly and frankly, with violations of linguistic and behavioral norms.

In his book, Limonov reflected the sadomasochistic nature of modern society.

Only after becoming the Executioner did Oskar begin to achieve success. In this way, Limonov wanted to show that the more cruel a person is, the more readily people submit to him. Limonov himself, speaking for example about de Sade, maintained that through the description of perversion he conveys the perverted nature of the state itself. And although Oskar is Limonov’s prototype, within the author there also lives a philosopher-friend. And judging by everything, inside Limonov the philosopher won... Although, most likely, it is the reader who starts reflecting on what the book is about, while Limonov is not trying to teach anyone anything.