The Translator-Detective in Post-Soviet Fiction
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Boris Akunin and the Rise of the Russian Detective Genre
Olga Sobolev Boris Akunin and the Rise of the Russian Detective Genre There are very few people in Russia who have not read at least one of Boris Akunin’s nine Adventures of Erast Fandorin, do not have a cou- ple of them lying on a coffee table or who are unable to discuss ‘Erast’ at social events. Akunin’s detective novels have thousands of admirers all over Russia, and recently Fandorin has reached an even wider audi- ence, with ORT1 producing a television version of the first book in the series, Azazel′ (first published in 1988).2 Not surprisingly, then, critics refer to ‘Erastomania’.3 However, popularity and critical recognition are often mutually exclusive, and the opinion of Russian scholars is far from being unanimous. On the one hand, the virtues of Akunin’s work were acknowledged when his Coronation (published in 1999) won the 2000 Anti-Booker Prize; on the other, this award gave rise to numerous ob- jections, which can be briefly summarized in the question: why should a literary prize be awarded to a bestseller?4 Putting aside the tricky concept of ‘worthy’ literature, which causes much of the controversy surrounding Russian literary prizes,5 one might focus on the notion that awards such as the Anti-Booker (and, arguably, the Booker) attempt to identify the predominant and typical trends in contemporary literary life. Prizes are, therefore, often awarded to works embodying, or providing paradigms, of these trends, and it is against the background of such a generic notion that Akunin’s work can best be discussed. -
Boris Akunin the Winter Queen Pdf
Boris akunin the winter queen pdf Continue BORIS AKUNIN - pseudonym Grigory Chkhartishvili, who was born in the Republic of Georgia in 1956; he is a philologist, critic, essayist and Translator of Japanese. He published his first detectives in 1998 and in a very short time became one of the most read authors in Russia. To date, he has written nine novels by Erast Fandorin, as well as working on two other series. Akunin enjoys almost legendary popularity in Russia. He lives in Moscow.ANDREW BROMFIELD was born in Hull, England. For a long time he lived in Moscow, where he was a co-founder and editor of the literary magazine Glas, and now lives and works in the countryside of Surrey. He is best known for his well-known translations of Victor Pelevin's short stories and novels, including On the Life of Insects, The Little Finger of the Buddha, and Homo zasien. Winter queen Recent Russian editionAutoorBoris AkuninOriginal title (Azasel')TranslatorAdru BromfieldCountryRussiaGaRussiaRussiaRaceeras FandorinGenerIstorist DetectiveOublichersharov (Russia) Weidenfeld and Nicholson (UK) Random House (USA) Publication date1998Media ) Paperback), free online textPages222 pp (HB)ISBN5-8159-0494-5 (Russian HB)OCLC64556503After the Turkish gambit Winter queen (Russian: the queen, Azazel) is the first novel in a series of historical detective novels by Erast Fandorin, written by Russian author Boris Akunin. It was the subtitle of The Mystery of the Conspiracy. The story summary of the Novel opens on May 13, 1876 by university student Peter Kokorin, committing suicide in a public park in front of a beautiful young noblewoman Elizabeth von Evert-Kolokoltseva. -
Pelagia and the Red Rooster by Boris Akunin
Read and Download Ebook Pelagia and the Red Rooster... Pelagia and the Red Rooster Boris Akunin PDF File: Pelagia and the Red Rooster... 1 Read and Download Ebook Pelagia and the Red Rooster... Pelagia and the Red Rooster Boris Akunin Pelagia and the Red Rooster Boris Akunin The ship carrying the devout to Jerusalem has run into rough waters. Onboard is Manuila, controversial leader of the “Foundlings,” a sect that worships him as the Messiah. But soon the polarizing leader is no longer a passenger or a prophet but a corpse, beaten to death by someone almost supernaturally strong. But not everything is as it seems, and someone else sailing has become enmeshed in the mystery: the seemingly slow but actually astute sleuth Sister Pelagia. Her investigation of the crime will take her deep into the most dangerous areas of the Middle East and Russia, running from one-eyed criminals and after such unlikely animals as a red cockerel that may be more than a red herring. To her shock, she will emerge with not just the culprit in a murder case but a clue to the earth’s greatest secret. Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel features its beloved heroine’s most exciting and explosive inquiry yet, one that just might shake the foundations of her faith. Pelagia and the Red Rooster Details Date : Published 2009 by Phoenix (first published 2000) ISBN : 9780753826164 Author : Boris Akunin Format : Paperback Genre : Historical, Cultural, Russia, Literature, Russian Literature, Mystery Download Pelagia and the Red Rooster ...pdf Read Online Pelagia and the Red Rooster ...pdf Download and Read Free Online Pelagia and the Red Rooster Boris Akunin PDF File: Pelagia and the Red Rooster.. -
And Post-Soviet Literature and Culture
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2017 Russia Eternal: Recalling The Imperial Era In Late- And Post-Soviet Literature And Culture Pavel Khazanov University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Eastern European Studies Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, European History Commons, and the European Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Khazanov, Pavel, "Russia Eternal: Recalling The Imperial Era In Late- And Post-Soviet Literature And Culture" (2017). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2894. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2894 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2894 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Russia Eternal: Recalling The Imperial Era In Late- And Post-Soviet Literature And Culture Abstract The return of Tsarist buildings, narratives and symbols has been a prominent facet of social life in post- Soviet Russia. My dissertation aims to explain this phenomenon and its meaning by tracking contemporary Russia’s cultural memory of the Imperial era. By close-reading both popular and influential cultural texts, as well as analyzing their conditions of production and reception, I show how three generations of Russian cultural elites from the 1950s until today have used Russia’s past to fight present- day political battles, and outline how the cultural memory of the Imperial epoch continues to inform post- Soviet Russian leaders and their mainstream detractors. Chapters One and Two situate the origin of Russian culture’s current engagement with the pre-Revolutionary era in the social dynamic following Stalin’s death in 1953. -
Detective Fiction Has Become Enormously Popular in Russia Over the Past Decade
ABSTRACT Detective fiction has become enormously popular in Russia over the past decade. Although primarily intended as entertainment, these stories may also contain messages about current events and the reader can be influenced more than he would by a newspaper editorial or op-ed, since it is generally understand that those articles are meant to be read critically. When reading detective stories, the reader focuses on the question of “whodunit” and how the perpetrator will be caught, rather than on any political or moral message, and thus, may absorb such messages without examining them. After a survey of historical images of and attitudes toward the Jews and Israel, we examine some of the recent works of the authors Alexandra Marinina, P. Dashkova, Friedrich Neznanski, Changiz Abdulaev, and Boris Akunin. Though many of the Jewish characters in these novels are portrayed sympathetically, it is clear that the authors draw on both earlier and more recent stereotypes of Jews and images of the state of Israel. INTRODUCTION Over the past decade in Russia, the genre of detective fiction has developed greatly and gained in popularity across the country.1 As everywhere, this type of literature is aimed at entertaining the reader. However, occasionally fiction of this kind contains messages regarding current events; in such cases, the reader can be influenced more than he would by a newspaper editorial or op-ed, since readers of these articles generally understand that they are meant to be read critically, not accepted blindly. On the other hand, when reading detective stories, the reader focuses on “whodunit” and how the perpetrator will be caught, rather than on any political or moral message. -
Russian Outlook Series Have Been Translated Into German, Japanese, “Very Fine” Stylization; and the “Meticulous” Lan- French, and Italian
Summer 2002 A Private Hero for a Privatized Country By Leon Aron The most interesting phenomenon on Russia’s market: there is little sex (and its brief descrip- literary scene today is the popularity of the Erast tions are positively Victorian); fights, while Fandorin mysteries by Grigoriy Shalvovich Chkhar- brutal and explicitly portrayed, are infrequent; tishvili, who writes as Boris Akunin. the language is not just clean but pristinely Although the books are expensive by Russian old-fashioned. standards at an equivalent of almost $3 for a copy, In the absence of pat explanations, the success series sales skyrocketed from 50,000 in 1999 to of the Fandorin mysteries may signal momentous 3 million in 2001.1 In July 2000, 200,000 copies developments in Russian culture and society as of the latest two books sold in one week; by the nation enters its second post-Soviet decade. early August the two volumes were in the third printing.2 By the end of 2000 Chkhartishvili had A Delightful Read become “Russia’s most widely read contemporary writer.”3 Strategically positioned inside the cover of every Russian television launched a series based on the Fandorin book are several pages of rave reviews first book of the Fandorin cycle, Azazel, in March from leading Russian periodicals, which extol the 2002. Two months later a Moscow theater staged a series for the “hard-boiled,” “clever,” “paradox- play based on the same book. Several books in the ridden,” and “intricate” plots; the “brilliant” and Russian Outlook series have been translated into German, Japanese, “very fine” stylization; and the “meticulous” lan- French, and Italian. -
UGS 303 Syllabus Page 2
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/slavic/ Spring Semester 2013 UNDERGRADUATE SIGNATURE COURSE “A World Apart: Russian Sci-Fi in Literature and Film” UGS 303 (#64810-64885) COURSE SYLLABUS Instructor: Prof. Thomas. J. Garza Offices: Calhoun CAL 406 (mailbox in CAL 415) and Rainey HRH 4.190 Phone: 471-3607 or 475-9649 Email: [email protected] Office hours: T 11-12:30 (CAL 406), M 2-3:30 (HRH 4.190) and any other time by appointment Class time: MW 1:00-2:00 pm in FAC 21 Friday meeting time according to section Required texts: [available at the UT Co-op or from online sellers] • Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy. Alexander Levitsky, New York, NY: Overlook Press, 2008. • We, Evgeny Zamyatin, [Natasha Randall, trans.] New York: Modern Library, 2006. • A Dog’s Heart, Mikhail Bulgakov, [Andrew Bromfield, trans.] New York: Penguin Books, 1998. • Prisoners of Power (The Inhabited Island), Strugatsky Brothers, Moscow. [available on Blackboard] • Course Packet (CP) [available at Speedway Printers at 715 W. 23rd Street] Films: [excerpted in class, most available in full versions online or on Netflix] • Aelita Queen of Mars, «Аэлита», Jakov Protozanov, dir. (1924). • Space Flight, «Космический рейс», Vasily Zhuravlev, dir. (1935). • Planet of Storms, «Планета бурь», Pavel Klushantsev, dir. (1961). • His Name Was Robert, «Его звали Роберт», Ilya Olshvanger, dir. (1967). • Soliaris, «Солярис», Andrei Tarkovsky, dir. (1972). • Stalker, «Сталкер», Andrei Tarkovsky, dir. (1979). Spring 2013 UGS 303 Syllabus page 2 • The Heart of a Dog, «Собачье сердце», Vladimir Bortko, dir. -
Transmesis in Slavic Literary Postmodernism
Transmesis in Slavic Literary Postmodernism: Understanding Translation through Fiction by Roman Ivashkiv A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies University of Alberta ©Roman Ivashkiv, 2015 ii Abstract This dissertation examines the phenomenon of transmesis — the mimesis or portrayal of translation in fiction — in three postmodernist novels in Ukrainian and Russian and their English translations: Yuri Andrukhovych’s Perverziia (translated by Michael Naydan), Serhiy Zhadan’s Depesh Mod (translated by Myroslav Shkandrij), and Viktor Pelevin’s Generation “П” (translated by Andrew Bromfield). My objective is to explore the use and identify the purposes of transmesis in fiction, to investigate issues of untranslatability to which it gives rise, and to identify the implications of transmesis for translation theory and practice. Transmesis, a term coined by Thomas Beebee, stands for the representation in fiction of translation, both as a process and a product, as well as for the portrayal of the figure of the translator in a fictional text. In a larger historico-theoretical framework, the concept of transmesis stands at the juncture of the so-called cultural and fictional turns in translation studies. While the former has been pivotal in expanding our understanding of translation as a cultural rather than merely a linguistic act, the latter has unraveled the potential of fictional portrayals of translation, -
Rumors: a Traditional Motif and Image in the Fictional Worldview
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2016 9) 695-704 ~ ~ ~ УДК 811.161.1 + 808.1 Rumors: a Traditional Motif and Image in the Fictional Worldview Elena V. Osetrova* Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University named after V.P. Astafiev 89 Ada Lebedeva Str., Krasnoyarsk, 660049, Russia Received 20.12.2015, received in revised form 24.01.2016, accepted 01.03.2016 One of the traditional images of the Russian linguistic worldview is reconstructed in the article. Based on the material of historical-detective novels about Erast Fandorin by B. Akunin and by the means of semantic analysis, three metaphorical patterns of rumors that significantly diversify the fictional world of the author were identified. The first one creates a movable picture of the physical movement of a living being or a liquid element, which, with varying degrees of activity captures the space (“rumors circulate / go / leak”). The second one is based on the idea of the extensive and intensive sound signal with a fixed source and spread limits, but, sooner or later, it always becomes silent (“Moscow was buzzing”; “they rustled in Europe”). The third one is controversial, it is either based on the understanding of rumors as a global and comprehensive speech act, which active subject is the whole space of communication (“the whole Paris speaks”), or reduces their process to a specific work of tongue as an instrument of oral speech (“evil tongues say”). These patterns are absolutely transparent in the semantic and formal-linguistic version: they are based on the reinterpretation of one phase of rumors spread – Transmitting – and exist within simple sentences. -
Some Perspectives on Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin Series
Eugenia Gresta From Moscow to London and Return: Some Perspectives on Boris Akunin’s Erast Fandorin Series The beginnings of crime fiction in Russia date back to the second half of the 19th century. Detektivy appeared at roughly the same time as the detective story in England, but very different literary traditions developed in the two countries. Arthur Conan Doyle and then the authors of the Golden Age explored and expanded the classic “whodunit”. The layout of the plot in a detective story envisages a murder, investigated by a sleuth, who’s usually a private individual. The detective gathers evidence and identifies the culprit. The offender is punished, and order is eventually restored. In Russia crime writing debuted with Fëdor Dostoevskii’s Crime and Punishment, published in 1866. The protagonist is a student, Rodion Raskol’nikov, who kills an old pawnbroker and her sister. What motivates the culprit is a strong sense of social justice. Raskol’nikov wants to take from the evil woman what she exploited from people in need, and give it to the poor. The aim to bring justice combines with a dilemma originating from the crime itself: whether it is ethically acceptable to kill an evildoer in the name of good. In this first attempt at crime fiction, Dostoevskii introduces the offender at the beginning of the story; the reader is acquainted with his crime right away, and knows he is the murderer. Through the use of dramatic irony, the author keeps the offender’s identity concealed from the other characters, and sets up an investigation. -
2004 04, the National Interest, 'A Champion for the Bourge…
- Spring 2004 - A Champion for the Bourgeoisie Reinventing Virtue and Citizenship in Boris Akunin’s Novels By Leon Aron With this summer's publication by Random House of The Winter Queen, the American reader will finally have a chance to savor what is without doubt the most interesting phenomenon in Russia's contemporary literary marketplace. Published in 1998 as Azazel, it was the first detective novel by the then 42-year-old Grigory Chkhartishvili, a professional philologist, literary critic, editor and translator of classic Japanese literature who writes under the pseudonym Boris Akunin. Today, Chkhartishvili is Russia's most popular writer, having sold over 8 million copies since 1998 despite their unusually high--for Russian books--price of a ruble equivalent of almost $3 each (his latest book, Almaznaya Kolesnitza, or "The Diamond Chariot", sold its first printing of 200,000 in a week's time). His success in Russia is particularly startling, since none of his books contains the ingredients said to be the sine qua non of popularity in a post-authoritarian, post-censorship literary market: There is little sex (and its brief descriptions are positively Victorian); fights, while brutal and explicitly portrayed, are infrequent; the language is not just clean but pristinely old-fashioned. The texts are crafted carefully and tastefully after the classic 19th-century Russian prose of Nikolai Leskov, Ivan Goncharov and Sergei Aksakov, with echoes of Nikolai Gogol and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Indeed, every novel in the Fandorin series is dedicated: "To the Nineteenth Century, when literature was great, the belief in progress boundless, and crimes were committed and solved with elegance and taste." In keeping with the genre, the Akunin books owe much of their appeal to the hero, the master sleuth. -
Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin: the Peculiarities of Akunin’S Dialogue with Conan Doyle1
RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism 2020 Vol. 25 No. 3 479–486 http://journals.rudn.ru/ Вестник РУДН. Серия: Литературоведение. Журналистика literarycriticism DOI 10.22363/2312-9220-2020-25-3-479-486 UDC 821.16.1 Research article Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin: the peculiarities of Akunin’s dialogue with Conan Doyle1 Oxana V. Afanasyeva1, Kamilla F. Gereikhanova2 1Moscow Information and Technological University – Moscow Architecture and Construction Institute 32 Volgogradskii Ave, bldg 11, Moscow, 129164, Russian Federation 2Institute of International Law and Economics named after A.S. Griboedov 21 Entuziastov Highway, Moscow, 111024, Russian Federation Abstract. The article analyzes the receptions of A.С. Doyle’s masterpieces and the cir- cle of novels “Fandorin” by Boris Akunin. Based on the analysis of the works “Azazel”, “Decorator”, “Scarpei Baskakovs”, “Prisoner of the Tower”, a number of conclusions are made about the specifics of B. Akunin’s intertextual strategy. It is shown that the intertextual dialogue between Akunin and Conan Doyle is carried out through character and narrative pro- jections, in particular, structural stylization, the transposition of the plot on Russian soil, etc. The ambiguous role of Conan Doyle receptions, performing, firstly, the para-genre (detective) function of plot-semantic coding, secondly, the function of the transtextual riddle, the solution of which lies outside the work – in the Conan Doyle pretext, thirdly, the function of a parody imitation of the predecessor’s stylistic manner, including the specifics of Russian translations of short stories about Sherlock Holmes, is revealed. Keywords: intertextual dialogue, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, Boris Aku- nin, Fandorin, Dr.