It was obvious that everything in the book was satire, and that it was likely very cutting -- if only we knew what the target was. We can take the elements of the story and piece together (in our heads) the particular Soviet society ten years following the revolution, but by the time we've managed that the satire has no bite.

What remains to the modern reader is the story and characters, some funny interactions, some universal observations. Unfortunately, it is not enough. People in another country a few generations from now might have a similar reaction to watching the opening sketch of a Saturday Night Live.