This book was first published in 1998 and went through three editions. Now readers are offered its newly reviewed and expanded version. The author made an attempt to read the famous works of the genius of Russian and world satire anew, without political and opportunistic goals, precisely as ethical and aesthetic creations. The chapter on “The History of a City” examines the beginnings on which Shchedrin’s artistic world was created. “The Golovlevs” cannot be understood without attention to the psychologism of Saltykov’s prose, an understanding of the concept of man created by the writer. The originality of the picture of reality that developed in Saltykov’s work is expressively revealed in fairy tales, and the books “Abroad” and “Poshekhon Antiquity,” among many other things, make it possible to clearly see the foundations defining the moral ideals affirmed in his works. The study is written in living language. The author tries to captivate the reader, to prove to him that the dialogue with Saltykov’s works is not only serious, but also joyful. By comprehending the logic of the creative development of Saltykov the writer, the reader will free himself from misinterpretations of his books and make many amazing discoveries...
To cite this article
Dmitrenko S.F. Shchedrin: The unfamiliar world of familiar books. - M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 2019. - 160 p.
This book was first published in 1998 and went through three editions. Now readers are offered its newly reviewed and expanded version. The author made an attempt to read the famous works of the genius of Russian and world satire anew, without political and opportunistic goals, precisely as ethical and aesthetic creations. The chapter on “The History of a City” examines the beginnings on which Shchedrin’s artistic world was created. “The Golovlevs” cannot be understood without attention to the psychologism of Saltykov’s prose, an understanding of the concept of man created by the writer. The originality of the picture of reality that developed in Saltykov’s work is expressively revealed in fairy tales, and the books “Abroad” and “Poshekhon Antiquity,” among many other things, make it possible to clearly see the foundations defining the moral ideals affirmed in his works. The study is written in living language. The author tries to captivate the reader, to prove to him that the dialogue with Saltykov’s works is not only serious, but also joyful. By comprehending the logic of the creative development of Saltykov the writer, the reader will free himself from misinterpretations of his books and make many amazing discoveries...
For citations
Dmitrenko S.F. Shchedrin: The unfamiliar world of familiar books. - M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 2019. - 160 p.
Moscow University Press
