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Discord. Essays on folk aesthetics in an era of disappearing time. On the novel The Best Is Still to Come [Vsyo vperedi] by V. Belov
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2021-3-59-73
Abstract
The article discusses V. Belov’s novel The Best Is Still to Come [Vsyo vperedi]. Published in 1986, the novel became a target of numerous scathing reviews, remaining one of the writer’s most controversial books to this day. The article examines the polemic between D. Urnov and A. Malgin published in Voprosy Literatury in 1987. The author goes on to propose the novel’s modern interpretation based on such concepts as I. Shaytanov’s ‘one-time form’ and Z. Bauman’s ‘retrotopia.’ He finds that The Best Is Still to Come is unique from the viewpoint of its genre, and so are Belov’s other works Harmony. Essays on folk aesthetics [Lad. Ocherki narodnoy estetiki] and The Daily Life of Russian North [Povsednevnaya zhizn russkogo Severa]. Analysed are the novel’s chronotope, shifts and disruptions of artistic time, and confusion in the artistic space. The key image of this urban novel by Belov, discord (raz-lad ) is contrasted with the image of harmony, con-cord (lad ) that permeates his writings about the traditional rural lifestyle.
About the Author
A. V. Chernov
Cherepovets State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Aleksandr V. Chernov - Doctor of Philology.
5 Lunacharsky Av., Cherepovets, 162600, Russian Federation.
References
1. Bauman, Z. (2019). Retrotopia. Translated by V. Silaeva. Moscow: VTsIOM. (In Russ.)
2. Bondarenko, V. and Belov, V. (2002). ‘I pray for Russia.’ Vl. Bondarenko’s conversation with Vasily Belov. Nash Sovremennik, 10, pp. 5-15. (In Russ.)
3. Malgin, A. (1987). In search of ‘all the world’s evil.’ Voprosy Literatury, 9, pp. 132-168. (In Russ.)
4. Shaytanov, I. (2011). One-time form. Voprosy Literatury, 1, pp. 238-251. (In Russ.)
5. Urnov, D. (1987). On the near and the far. Voprosy Literatury, 9, pp. 113-131. (In Russ.)
6. Zhurov, A. (2013). Vasily Belov: The experience of a fracture. Noviy Mir, 9, pp. 179-190. (In Russ.)
7. Zolotussky, I. (2002). Unusual business. Vyorsty, 22 Oct., p. 7. Available at: https://www.booksite.ru/belov/creature/23.htm [Accessed 28 Feb. 2021]. (In Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Chernov A.V. Discord. Essays on folk aesthetics in an era of disappearing time. On the novel The Best Is Still to Come [Vsyo vperedi] by V. Belov. Voprosy literatury. 2021;(3):59-73. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2021-3-59-73
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