I'm almost ashamed for not enjoying this book a lot more, but I suppose I've read it too late. The beginning was one of the funniest I've come across in a long time, there were hilarious moments when I laughed out loud, the plot was really well crafted at times and it had some interesting insights into Russian social and political climate around 1920's. I was amazed to discover that some of the observations are valid even today - some things never change, it seems.
Yet, the language was a little bit outdated and there were so many digressions from the main subject that I started to lose interest. It felt like Ilf and Petrov wanted to cover all the flaws of Russian society in a single book - an honorable feat nonetheless. I am the guilty party here, as it seems I am out of patience for this kind of writing.
You should read this book, don't mind my rating. It really has some solid things to say.