Nina Malygina. Andrey Platonov: Dialogues with predecessors and contemporaries

Abstract

The review considers Nina Malygina’s monograph on Andrey Platonov’s oeuvre in the context of Russian literature. More than just a natural-born talent or a genius hermit, Platonov emerges as an inheritor of the classical tradition (especially F. Dostoevsky) as well as a participant of the early Soviet literary ex- perimentations. The influence of Russian Symbolists on Platonov’s writing is another scholarly hypothesis examined in the book. Malygina also studies the novelist’s interactions with A. Voronsky. The scholar demonstrates an innovative approach to Platonov studies in the chapter “Platonov in the context of literary avant-garde.” She establishes parallels and responses be- tween Platonov’s and Khlebnikov’s texts. She also uncovers more subtle references to Mayakovsky and Yesenin. In addition, Malygina successfully disproves the idea that Platonov rejected Mandelstam’s poetry. The final chapter of the study contains an unexpected twist related to V. Shalamov.