The article offers a comparative analysis of modern literature in France and Russia and examines the oeuvres of master prose writers who achieved recognition in their native country and abroad in the late 20th - early 21st cc. The authors come to the conclusion about a close affinity between Russian and French literature in terms of form and experimentation with new means of artistic expressiveness; the two appear particularly related typologically in their attitude towards literature that transcends classical traditions, i. e. towards Postmodernist writers. The authors find, however, that the two literatures differ in their preferred themes. Thus, modern French writers seem to be drawn to perennial existential problems, while their Russian counterparts prefer specific historical topics, often from the recent past. The aforementioned differences could be explained by the fact that the two nations' historical memories were shaped by principally different socio-political and cultural circumstances.