Novels of the 20th century. Scientific and critical works
Several periods can be distinguished in Russian literature of the 20th century. The first two decades were called " silver age": this is an era of rapid development of literary trends, the emergence of a whole galaxy of brilliant Masters of Words. The literature of this period exposed the deep contradictions that arose in the society of that time. Writers were no longer satisfied with the classical canons, the search for new forms, new ideas began. Universal human, philosophical themes about the meaning of life, about morality, about spirituality. More and more religious themes began to appear.
Three main literary trends were clearly identified: realism, modernism and the Russian avant-garde. The principles of romanticism are also being revived, this is especially clearly represented in the works of V. Korolenko and A. Green.
In the 1930s, a “great turning point” emerged: thousands of members of the intelligentsia were subjected to repression, and the existence of severe censorship slowed down the development of literary processes.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a new direction appeared in Russian literature - military. Initially, genres close to journalism were popular - features, essays, reports. Later, monumental paintings would appear that captured all the horrors of war and the fight against fascism. These are works by L. Andreev, F. Abramov, V. Astafiev, Yu. Bondarev, V. Bykov.
The second half of the 20th century is characterized by diversity and inconsistency. This is largely due to the fact that the development of literature was largely determined ruling structures. That is why there is such unevenness: now ideological dominance, now complete emancipation, now the commanding cry of censorship, now relaxation.
Russian writers of the 20th century
M. Gorky- one of the most significant writers and thinkers of the beginning of the century. Recognized as the founder of this literary direction like socialist realism. His works became a “school of excellence” for writers new era. And Gorky’s work had a huge influence on the development of world culture. His novels and stories were translated into many languages and became a bridge connecting the Russian revolution and world culture.
Selected works:
L.N.Andreev. The work of this writer is one of the first “swallows” of emigrant Russian literature. Andreev’s creativity fits harmoniously into the concept critical realism, which exposed the tragedy of social injustice. But, having joined the ranks of the white emigration, Andreev for a long time was forgotten. Although the significance of his work had a great influence on the development of the concept of realistic art.
Selected work:
A.I. Kuprin. Name of this greatest writer undeservedly placed at a lower rank than the names of L. Tolstoy or M. Gorky. At the same time, Kuprin’s work is a vivid example of original art, truly Russian, intelligent art. The main themes in his works: love, features of Russian capitalism, problems of the Russian army. Following Pushkin and Dostoevsky, A. Kuprin pays great attention to the topic " little man"The writer also wrote many stories specifically for children.
Selected works:
K.G.Paustovsky- an amazing writer who managed to remain original, to remain true to himself. There is no revolutionary pathos, loud slogans or socialist ideas in his works. Paustovsky's main merit is that all his stories and novels seem to be standards of landscape, lyrical prose.
Selected works:
M.A. Sholokhov- a great Russian writer whose contribution to the development of world literature can hardly be overestimated. Sholokhov, following L. Tolstoy, creates amazing monumental canvases of Russian life in the most turning points stories. Sholokhov also went down in the history of Russian literature as a singer native land- Using the example of life in the Don region, the writer was able to show the full depth of historical processes.
Selected works:
A.T. Tvardovsky — the brightest representative literature Soviet era, literature socialist realism. His work raised the most pressing problems: collectivization, repression, excesses of the idea of socialism. As the editor-in-chief of the magazine " New world"A. Tvardovsky revealed to the world the names of many “forbidden” writers. It was in his light hand A. Solzhenitsyn began to be published.
A. Tvardovsky himself remained in the history of literature as the author of the most lyrical drama about the war - the poem "Vasily Terkin".
Selected work:
B.L.Pasternak is one of the few Russian writers to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel Doctor Zhivago. Also known as a poet and translator.
Selected work:
M.A. Bulgakov... In world literature, perhaps, there is no more discussed writer than M. A. Bulgakov. The brilliant prose writer and playwright left many mysteries for future generations. His work harmoniously intertwined the ideas of humanism and religion, ruthless satire and compassion for man, the tragedy of the Russian intelligentsia and unbridled patriotism.
Selected works:
V.P. Astafiev- Russian writer in whose work the main themes were two: war and the Russian village. Moreover, all his stories and novels are realism in its most vivid embodiment.
Selected work:
- one of the most massive figures in Russian Soviet literature, and perhaps the most famous Turkic-speaking writer. His works depict the most different periods Soviet history. But Aitmatov’s main merit is that he, like no one else, was able to colorfully and vividly embody the beauty of his native land on the pages.
Selected work:
With the collapse of the USSR, Russian literature reached an absolutely new stage of its development. Strict censorship and ideological orientation have become a thing of the past. The newfound freedom of speech became the starting point for the emergence of a whole galaxy of writers of a new generation and new directions: postmodernism, magical realism, avant-garde and others.
It is very nice to know that a good book can be found not only among the works of writers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Very often, in order to find worthy reading material, we turn to the works best writers 20th century.
20th century literature
Today, it is possible to get acquainted with almost any book written by one of the most famous writers 20th century. Foreign literature beckons with its fantasy worlds and intriguing detectives. At the same time, the works of domestic authors are more addressed to the soul. Many Russian writers of the 20th century have world name. Here are some of the foreign writers, whose contribution to the development of literature is worthily appreciated by readers.
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is the favorite writer of many teenagers around the world. This famous author comics. He has already pleased the world with his famous works: « iron Man", "Wanted", the "X-Men" series and many others. Almost all the results of his activities became stories for many modern films. Writers of the 20th century accepted this author into their ranks, and now he is one of the most successful writers 21st century.
Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most recognizable horror authors. Of course this one American writer was engaged in writing not only thrillers, but it was they who brought him world fame. Books written by King are easy to read and quickly draw you into their atmosphere. “Dream Catcher” alone is worth it. In any case, writers of the 20th century are glad to have such a sharp shooter with words in their ranks.
Laureate Nobel Prize 1954, Ernest Hemingway is a classic of the adventure genre. The author's masterpieces often appear in school curriculum, and books in considerable quantities decorate any library. He significantly influenced almost all the literature of our time. Many writers of the 20th century respect this author and often consider him their ideal.
Arthur Conan Doyle
Today we can enjoy reading the world masterpiece "Sherlock Holmes" thanks to the writer Arthur Conan Doyle. This brilliant master of the pen, according to many, is the best they can imagine English writers 20th century. The writer has published many of his books, among which are: famous works, like “Waterloo”, “Angels of Darkness” and many others. The writer was a friend of H.G. Wells, but perceived his genre as completely opposite to the one in which he himself worked. Nevertheless, the works of both great writers are considered world heritage.
Russians writers 20 century
Writers in Russia had a hard time in the 20th century. The era was not characterized by calm. She was filled with anxiety in anticipation of inevitable changes. Hard fates awaited almost all people of art, including writers. But even
this state of affairs was used to convey the experiences of readers. And it really worked. Today you can enjoy a variety of really good books, the authors of which were writers of the 20th century who lived in Russia. The number of such writers is really large, and it is difficult to single out someone - after all, many of them wrote really good books.
Alexander Kuprin
I would like to dwell on the work of the famous Russian writer Alexander Kuprin. Big success had his story “The Duel,” which was published at the very beginning of the 20th century. Many of his works have been collected into collections. They are quite popular.
33 best books according to users of Goodreads - the most authoritative online portal for book lovers.
Yesterday, Book Day was celebrated all over the world. Therefore, we invite you to pay attention to the list, which includes the best works published in the twentieth century. We remember some of the books presented from school, while others are not so well known in Russia, but will undoubtedly bring a lot of aesthetic pleasure.
The overall user rating of the Goodreads portal includes 4,560 books and takes into account the votes of more than 30,000 users and regular readers of the site. Among them are eminent critics, publicists and modern writers, have earned the right to publication.
In honor of this symbolic date, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of reading preferences abroad and remember best quotes from your favorite books.
To Kill a Mockingbird
“Courage is when you know in advance that you have lost, and yet you get down to business and, despite everything in the world, go to the end. You win very rarely, but sometimes you still win.”
1984
“If you are in the minority - and even in singular, - this does not mean that you are crazy"
Lord of the Rings
“Many of the living deserve to die. And others die, although they deserve a long life. Can you reward them? So don't rush to hand out death sentences. Even the wisest cannot foresee everything."
Catcher in the rye
“If a girl comes on a date and looks beautiful, who will be upset that she is late? Nobody!"
The Great Gatsby
“If you suddenly want to judge someone, remember that not all people in the world have the advantages that you had.”
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
“Truth is the most beautiful, but at the same time the most dangerous thing. Therefore, it must be approached with great caution.”
Anne Frank's Diary
“You only recognize a person after a real quarrel. Only then does he show his true character."
A little prince
“It is much more difficult to judge yourself than others. If you can judge yourself correctly, then you are truly wise.”
The Grapes of Wrath
“Anyone can despair. But to control yourself, you need to be human.”
451 degrees Fahrenheit
“There are worse crimes than burning books. For example, don’t read them.”
One Hundred Years of Solitude
“Prosperous old age is the ability to come to terms with your loneliness”
O brave new world
“In its natural form, happiness always looks miserable next to the flowery embellishments of unhappiness. And, of course, stability is much less colorful than instability. And satisfaction is completely devoid of the romance of battles with evil fate, there is no colorful struggle with temptation here, no aura of disastrous doubts and passions. Happiness is devoid of grandiose effects"
Gone With the Wind
“A person cannot move forward if his soul is corroded by the pain of memories”
Lord of the Flies
“If the face changes completely depending on whether it is illuminated from above or below, what is the face worth? And what is everything worth then?
Slaughterhouse-Five or the Children's Crusade
“One of the most important consequences of war is that people end up becoming disillusioned with heroism.”
Lolita
“Lolita, the light of my life, the fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-li-ta: the tip of the tongue takes three steps down the palate, only to hit the teeth on the third. Lo. Lee. Ta"
Over the cuckoo's nest
“You won’t be truly strong until you learn to see the funny side of everything.”
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
“This planet has - or rather, had - one problem: most of the people living on it did nothing but suffer, because they did not find happiness in life. Many solutions were born, but almost all of them boiled down to the redistribution of small green pieces of paper - which in itself is very strange, since some, who, and the little green pieces of paper did not experience any suffering, because they were not looking for happiness.”
A crack in time
“One thing I know for sure is that you don’t have to understand what’s what to understand what’s going on.”
The Handmaid's Tale
“No one dies from lack of sex. Dying from lack of love"
Memoirs of a Geisha
“Sometimes we encounter troubles only because we imagine the world as we picture it in our imagination, and not as it really is.”
Outsider
“And then I saw a line of faces opposite. They all looked at me, and I realized that these were the jury. But I couldn’t tell them apart, they were somehow the same. It seemed to me that I got on a tram, passengers were sitting in a row in front of me - faceless strangers - and everyone was staring at me and trying to notice what to laugh at.”
The Chronicles of Narnia
“What kind of person you are and where you look from depends on what you see and hear!”
Charlotte's Web
“If this is what we call freedom, then I’d rather stay in the barn!”
A tree grows in Brooklyn
“The ability to forgive is a great gift. Moreover, it costs nothing.”
Ender `s game
“With true understanding to defeat the enemy comes love for him. Apparently, it is impossible to get to know someone, to delve into their desires and faith, without loving them as they love themselves. And at this very moment of love...
- You win"
Night
“I blessed God for creating dirt in His endless and wonderful world.”
The Old Man and the Sea
“Man was not created to suffer defeat. Man can be destroyed, but he cannot be defeated."
Atlas Shrugged
“In my opinion, there is only one form of human downfall: loss of purpose.”
Generous tree
"And the apple tree was happy"
Ship Hill
“Animals don’t behave like people. They fight when they have to fight, and they kill when they have to kill. But they will never use all their natural resourcefulness and ingenuity just to invent new way cripple the life of another living being. They never lose their sense of self-worth and animality."
Under a glass cover
“From somewhere far away I will see a person who seems perfect to me, but as soon as he comes closer, I will begin to discover one flaw in him after another and in the end I will decide that he is no good at all.”
Prayer for Owen Meany
“When a loved one dies unexpectedly, you don’t lose them right away. This happens gradually, step by step, over a long period of time - so the letters stop coming - then the familiar smell disappears from the pillows, and then from the wardrobe and drawers. Gradually you accumulate in your consciousness some disappearing parts of this person; and then the day comes when you notice that something special has disappeared, and you are overcome by a nagging feeling that this person is no longer there and will never be; and then another day comes, and it turns out that something else has disappeared ... "
Goodreads was founded in 2006. The purpose of creating the site is to enable people to find and use books that they need and are interested in. Since the portal's existence, 395 million books have been placed in its catalogs and more than 20,000 book clubs have been created.
At a time when Russia was solemnly celebrating the beginning of a new, 20th century, writers whose work reached its peak in the 19th century—L. Tolstoy, Chekhov, Korolenko—still continued their activities. The voice of Tolstoy the publicist sounded throughout the world, inspiring people with disgust for violence, lies, injustice and calling for love, mercy, and brotherhood. In 1903, at the age of 75, the writer created one of his best stories, “After the Ball,” and a year later he completed work on the story “Hadji Murat.” At the beginning of the 20th century, Chekhov wrote his famous plays, which are still successfully performed today - “Three Sisters” and “ The Cherry Orchard" Korolenko is working on “The History of My Contemporary”, on articles and memoirs.
But the poets and prose writers of new generations who were destined to connect their fate with the 20th century are becoming more and more noticeable - M. Gorky, L. Andreev, I. Bunin, A. Kuprin. A. Blok, A. N. Tolstoy, later - V. Mayakovsky, S. Yesenin, M. Tsvetaeva. M. Sholokhov comes to literature. K. Paustovsky, M. Bulgakov, A. Platonov, N. Zabolotsky, A. Tvardovsky, and finally - A. Solzhenitsyn, V. Rasputin and others.
20th century - time greatest tragedies and achievements in the history of Russia and humanity. It is not for nothing that Blok, in his poem “Retribution,” prophetically predicted that “black, earthly blood” promises “unprecedented revolts” and “unheard-of changes.”
And, indeed, less than four years had passed since these lines were written when the First World War broke out. World War, and three years later, two revolutions broke out - the February and October 1917, which radically changed the life of the country: the great and tragic seventieth anniversary came Soviet power. 24 years after the revolution, an unprecedented war in the world began with Nazi Germany. How many dead have literature mourned, how many broken lives portrayed! The people achieved victory, but at what cost! You will read (or re-read) Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man.” His hero lost everything during the war and found some semblance of happiness only in an adopted boy. On everything significant that has been created in the literature about the Great Patriotic War, there are reflections of a heroic and - we repeat - a tragic era.
The fates of writers of the 20th century were not easy. The martyrology, which was once compiled by A. I. Herzen, was continued in the twentieth century. At the age of forty, essentially broken by hardships and suffering, Blok died. Unable to find a place for himself in contemporary reality, Yesenin committed suicide at the age of thirty. Due to personal troubles, 37-year-old Mayakovsky shot himself. Unable to bear the difficulties of the war years and loneliness, at the 49th year of her life M. Tsvetaeva hanged herself, before that long years was in exile. Were forced to leave home country during Civil War Bunin, Kuprin and many other writers. Kuprin returned to Soviet Union in 1937, shortly before his death, and Bunin died in a foreign land. A. I. Solzhenitsyn spent several years as a prisoner in the Gulag, and upon his release, he was soon deported outside the country.
But we would make an irreparable mistake if we presented all the literature of the 20th century in such gloomy tones. Even those writers who came into conflict with the authorities and Soviet reality did not give in to despair. From literature of the 19th century century Russian literature of the 20th century took up the baton high ideals, morality, humanism. This is easy to see by reading the stories and story “Childhood” by M. Gorky, the works of A. Kuprin, I. Bunin and other writers. “But still... still there are lights ahead!..” exclaimed Korolenko. “The clouds won’t hide the sun, no, they won’t!” - Gorky seemed to echo him. “Erase random features, / And you will see - the world is beautiful!” - these words belong to Blok, who created more than one sad, even pessimistic poem. Literature called on readers not to give up, to overcome the incredible trials that befell them. Bunin, who was in exile, highly appreciated Tvardovsky's war poem "Vasily Terkin", the hero of which is a resilient Russian soldier. Writers such as Mayakovsky, Sholokhov, Paustovsky, Tvardovsky, each in their own way participated in the transformations unfolding in the country, striving artistic words to instill in readers faith in the future, to increase their vital activity.
Both in the pre-war and during the war years, and in our days, Russian literature has done and is doing a lot to ensure that justice, purity of feelings and relationships triumph in the country, so that everything that is denoted by the short and succinct word “evil” goes into the irrevocable past, - political tyranny, rudeness of ball-bearers (" dog's heart"Bulgakov), veneration for rank, reaching the loss of human appearance, to self-abasement (Mayakovsky's satire), selfishness, self-interest, acquisitiveness (Thaddeus from Solzhenitsyn's story " Matrenin Dvor"). The deep respect of the reader was earned by such heroes of literature of the 20th century as Andrei Sokolov from Sholokhov’s story “The Fate of a Man”, a young teacher from V. Rasputin’s story “French Lessons”, Matryona from A. Solzhenitsyn’s story “Matrenin’s Dvor” and others.
Russian writers of the 20th century continue and develop the realistic traditions of their predecessors. At the same time, many of them write in a romantic manner: K. Paustovsky. M. Prishvin, K). Kazakov.
And what a variety of genres distinguishes Russian literature of the 20th century! Here are novels (Gorky, Sholokhov), and poems (Tvardovsky), short stories and tales - realistic (Bunin, Kuprin, Shukshin, Kazakov), satirical (Bulgakov), fantastic (Green); here and dramatic works(Marshak), and cycles of novels and short stories (V. Astafiev), and tales (Bazhov), and the richest lyrics.
Russian writers of the 20th century enriched the visual and expressive possibilities of literature with musicality, songlike verse (Blok, Yesenin), colloquial and oratorical verse (Mayakovsky), compressed speech, as if compressed to the limit (Tsvetaeva), melted in the crucible of talent in folk speech(Sholokhov, Astafiev, Tvardovsky. Solzhenitsyn).
The past century has given humanity many talented authors. Writers of the 20th century worked in an era of global social upheaval and revolution, which was inevitably reflected in their works. Any historical event influenced literature - if you remember, the largest number of war novels were written during the Second World War and in the next 15 years.
The most famous Russian writers of the 20th century are Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Mikhail Bulgakov. Solzhenitsyn revealed the horror to the world Soviet camps in his work “The Gulag Archipelago”, for which he was subjected to severe criticism and persecution in our country. Later, Solzhenitsyn was exiled to Germany, and he lived and worked abroad for a long time. It was returned to him only in 1990 by a special presidential decree, after which he was able to return to his homeland.
It is interesting that in our country the 20th century became the era of writers and poets in exile - abroad in different years turned out to be Ivan Bunin, Konstantin Balmont, Raisa Bloch and many others. Mikhail Bulgakov became famous throughout the world for his novel “The Master and Margarita” and the story “The Heart of a Dog.” It is noteworthy that he wrote the novel “The Master and Margarita” for more than 10 years - the basis of the work was created immediately, but editing continued for many years, until the death of the writer. Mortally ill, Bulgakov brought the novel to perfection, but never had time to finish this work, so literary mistakes can be found in the work. And yet the novel “The Master and Margarita” became, perhaps, best work this genre for the entire 20th century.
Popular figures of the 20th century include, first of all, the queen of detective stories, Agatha Christie, and the creator of the best dystopia, Animal Farm, George Orwell. England has always given the world literary geniuses such as William Shakespeare, H.G. Wells, Walter Scott and many others. Last century was no exception, and people in all countries are now reading books by Pratchett Terry, John Windom and
In general, the writers of the 20th century were not at all like their predecessors - the authors of the 19th century. became more diverse, and if in the 19th century there were only 3-4 main directions, then in the 20th there were an order of magnitude more of them. Stylistic and ideological diversity has given rise to many genres and movements, and the search for a new language has given us a whole galaxy of thinkers and philosophers, such as Marcel Proust and
Russian writers of the 20th century limited themselves mainly to three stylistic directions - realism, modernism and avant-garde. An interesting phenomenon in Russian literature of the last century was the revival of romanticism in its original form, this fact was most fully reflected in the works of Alexander Green, whose works are literally permeated by ineradicable dreaminess and exoticism.
Writers of the 20th century left a noticeable mark on world literature, and we can only hope that the authors of the twenty-first century will be no worse than their predecessors. Maybe somewhere a new Gorky, Pasternak or Hemingway is already creating.