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D. Portnova. The dotted line of distant joys

https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2021-5-296-301

Abstract

The review deals with a book of reminiscences by Dalila Portnova, a niece of the writer Yury Dombrovsky (1909–1978), a preeminent master of prison camp prose who wrote extensively about Stalin-era repressions. The chapters devoted to the author’s family include Portnova’s memories of her late uncle that were first printed in the Noviy Mir journal in 2017; a sensation at the time, they also provoked a mixed reaction of surviving family members and people who knew Dombrovsky well. Yet no coherent attempts were made to disprove the publication (other than comments on Facebook), even though Portnova’s account is not without flaws and inaccuracies. In his review, Igor Duardovich points out the valid new facts recounted in Portnova’s memoir as well as its discrepancies and explains why the book is relevant for a complete reconstruction of Dombrovsky’s biography: a project as yet unaccomplished, either in the form of separate publications or as a monograph.

About the Author

I. Duardovich
Voprosy Literatury literary journal
Russian Federation

Igor Duardovich, literary critic

10 Bolshoy Gnezdnikovsky Ln., Moscow, 125009



References

1. Criminal case No. 417 (arch. No. 03618). On the charge of Dombrovsky Yury Osipovich under Article 58, paragraph 10, part 1 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. 30 Mar. 1949 (2 vols). (1949). [case file] Directorate for Information and Statistics of the Information and Analytical Centre of the Police Department of Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan. (In Russ.)

2. Dombrovsky, Y. (1983). Gypsies in a noisy crowd... Voprosy Literatury, 12, pp. 187-202. (In Russ.)

3. Dombrovsky, Y. (2005). The messengers [Gontsy]. Moscow: MIK. (In Russ.)

4. Doyle, P. (2000). Iurii Dombrovskii: Freedom under totalitarianism. Manchester: Harwood Academic Publishers.

5. Kosenko, P. (1990). Letters of a friend, or the generous guardian: Historical chronicles. Alma-Ata: Zhazushy. (In Russ.)

6. Kuzmin, N. (2010). Alma-Ata story: Golgotha of the writer Dombrovsky. Moscow: Granitsa. (In Russ.)

7. Portnova, D. (2017). On Yury Dombrovsky. Memoirs. Noviy Mir, 7, pp. 88-132. (In Russ.)

8. Savelieva, V. and Shubin, S., eds. (2009). The letters written jointly. Almaty addressee of Klara and Yury Dombrovsky. Almaty: Iskander. (In Russ.)


Review

For citations:


Duardovich I. D. Portnova. The dotted line of distant joys. Voprosy literatury. 2021;(5):296-301. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2021-5-296-301

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ISSN 0042-8795 (Print)