S. A. Shargunov. Kataev. In pursuit of eternal spring

Abstract

The review of S. Shargunov’s Kataev. In Pursuit of Eternal Spring [Kataev. V pogone za vechnoy vesnoy], opens with a description of the book’s history and structure. The reviewer specifies the biographer’s take on its hero and traces their spiritual and creative similarities in an attempt to explain why S. Shargunov chooses to depict V. Kataev as a ‘first-rate’ and unjustly forgotten writer. The review also takes a look at the biographer’s style and assessment of the turning points in Kataev’s life and legacy. The book covers the writer’s role in the development of the Odessa school of writing in the 1910s–1920s, the young writers’ group centered around Kataev-managed journal Yunost in the 1960s, and the novel My Diamond Crown [Almazniy moy venets], which, published in 1978, provoked a serious debate. In the conclusion, author enumerates the discoveries made by the biographer, and notes the researcher’s interest in history perceived through people.