Oldboy, that book is written very much in the way that a British person would SPEAK, it is not necessarily elegant written language... But this is precisely one of the reasons why the book is entertaining to read. The other reason is the super-dry English humour. My advice would be to simply read the book and disregard any bit that you don't understand... As you read on, it will become clear. Also, the book is available in audio format off the internet. If I were you, I'd get that and listen on an mp3 player.

There is an American book written with the same "SPEAKING" style English (American style); that is "The Catcher in the Rye". I'd recommend it. The language in that book is a bit 1950s... but it's a really nice and very funny book.

I am sure there must be Russian books written in the same style.