Sometimes I seem to like the idea of an author or a book more than how an author writes a book. Rubanov fits that category: he's very good at gathering and using sociocultural and sociopolitical details that define a time and place, and he creates characters that I can easily visualize, probably largely because they feel familiar. I give him credit for that; so, apparently, do award juries since this book made two 2017 shortlists. But Патриот, like Готовься к войне, which features the same main character, feels less like a novel to me than a character study because (for me, anyway) it lacks both plot-based drive and a distinctive writing style or form. I find this especially disappointing because there are plenty of Russian novels with enough formal interest to keep me interested but good mainstream novels with decent writing, intriguing characters, and strong plots seem very hard to come by.