The most famous writers of our time. The most famous modern Russian writers
The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is inscribed with heavenly fire, that every letter in it screams, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later. "Dead Souls"
For what? It's like inspiration
Love the given subject!
Like a true poet
Sell your imagination!
I am a slave, a day laborer, I am a tradesman!
I owe you, sinner, for gold,
For your worthless piece of silver
Pay with divine payment!
"Improvisation I"
Literature is a language that expresses everything a country thinks, wants, knows, wants and needs to know.
In the hearts of simple people, the feeling of the beauty and grandeur of nature is stronger, a hundred times more vivid, than in us, enthusiastic storytellers in words and on paper.
"Hero of our time"
And everywhere there is sound, and everywhere there is light,
And all the worlds have one beginning,
And there is nothing in nature
Whatever breathes love.
In days of doubt, in days of painful thoughts about the fate of my homeland, you alone are my support and support, oh great, mighty, truthful and free Russian language! Without you, how can one not fall into despair at the sight of everything that is happening at home? But one cannot believe that such a language was not given to a great people!
Poems in prose, "Russian language"
So, I complete my dissolute escape,
Prickly snow flies from the naked fields,
Driven by an early, violent snowstorm,
And, stopping in the wilderness of the forest,
Gathers in silver silence
A deep and cold bed.
Listen: shame on you!
It's time to get up! You know yourself
What time has come;
In whom the sense of duty has not cooled,
Who is incorruptibly straight in heart,
Who has talent, strength, accuracy,
Tom shouldn't sleep now...
"Poet and Citizen"
Is it really possible that even here they will not and will not allow the Russian organism to develop nationally, with its own organic strength, and certainly impersonally, servilely imitating Europe? But what should one do with the Russian organism then? Do these gentlemen understand what an organism is? Separation, “detachment” from their country leads to hatred, these people hate Russia, so to speak, naturally, physically: for the climate, for the fields, for the forests, for the order, for the liberation of the peasant, for Russian history, in a word, for everything, They hate me for everything.
Spring! the first frame is exposed -
And noise burst into the room,
And the good news of the nearby temple,
And the talk of the people, and the sound of the wheel...
Well, what are you afraid of, pray tell! Now every grass, every flower is rejoicing, but we are hiding, afraid, as if some kind of misfortune is coming! The thunderstorm will kill! This is not a thunderstorm, but grace! Yes, grace! It's all stormy! The northern lights will light up, you should admire and marvel at the wisdom: “from the midnight lands the dawn rises”! And you are horrified and come up with ideas: this means war or pestilence. Is there a comet coming? I wouldn’t look away! Beauty! The stars have already taken a closer look, they are all the same, but this is a new thing; Well, I should have looked and admired it! And you are afraid to even look at the sky, you are trembling! Out of everything you have created a scare for yourself. Eh, people! "Storm"
There is no more enlightening, soul-cleansing feeling than that which a person feels when acquainted with a great work of art.
We know that loaded guns must be handled with care. But we don’t want to know that we must treat words in the same way. The word can kill and make evil worse than death.
There is a well-known trick of an American journalist who, in order to increase subscriptions to his magazine, began to publish in other publications the most harsh, arrogant attacks on himself from fictitious persons: some in print exposed him as a swindler and perjurer, others as a thief and murderer, and still others as a debauchee on a colossal scale. He didn’t skimp on paying for such friendly advertisements until everyone started thinking - it’s obvious he’s a curious and remarkable person when everyone is shouting about him like that! - and they began to buy up his own newspaper.
"Life in a Hundred Years"
I... think that I know the Russian person to his very depths, and I do not take any credit for this. I didn’t study the people from conversations with St. Petersburg cab drivers, but I grew up among the people, on the Gostomel pasture, with a cauldron in my hand, I slept with it on the dewy grass of the night, under a warm sheepskin coat, and on Panin’s fancy crowd behind the circles of dusty habits...
Between these two clashing titans - science and theology - there is a stunned public, quickly losing faith in the immortality of man and in any deity, quickly descending to the level of a purely animal existence. Such is the picture of the hour illuminated by the brilliant noonday sun of the Christian and scientific era!
"Isis Unveiled"
Sit down, I'm glad to see you. Throw away all fear
And you can keep yourself free
I give you permission. You know, the other day
I was elected king by everyone,
But it doesn't matter. They confuse my thoughts
All these honors, greetings, bows...
"Crazy"
- What do you want abroad? - I asked him while in his room, with the help of the servants, his things were being laid out and packed for sending to the Warsaw station.
- Yes, just... to feel it! - he said confusedly and with a kind of dull expression on his face.
"Letters from the Road"
Is the point to get through life in such a way as not to offend anyone? This is not happiness. Touch, break, break, so that life boils. I am not afraid of any accusations, but I am a hundred times more afraid of colorlessness than death.
Poetry is the same music, only combined with words, and it also requires a natural ear, a sense of harmony and rhythm.
You experience a strange feeling when, with a light pressure of your hand, you force such a mass to rise and fall at will. When such a mass obeys you, you feel the power of man...
"Meeting"
The feeling of the Motherland should be strict, restrained in words, not eloquent, not talkative, not “waving your arms” and not running forward (to appear). The feeling of the Motherland should be a great ardent silence.
"Secluded"
And what is the secret of beauty, what is the secret and charm of art: in the conscious, inspired victory over torment or in the unconscious melancholy of the human spirit, which does not see a way out of the circle of vulgarity, squalor or thoughtlessness and is tragically condemned to appear complacent or hopelessly false.
"Sentimental Memory"
Since birth I have lived in Moscow, but by God I don’t know where Moscow came from, what it is for, why, what it needs. In the Duma, at meetings, I, together with others, talk about the city economy, but I don’t know how many miles there are in Moscow, how many people there are, how many are born and die, how much we receive and spend, how much and with whom we trade... Which city is richer: Moscow or London? If London is richer, why? And the jester knows him! And when some issue is raised in the Duma, I shudder and be the first to start shouting: “Pass it over to the commission!” To the commission!
Everything new in an old way:
From a modern poet
In a metaphorical outfit
The speech is poetic.
But others are not an example to me,
And my charter is simple and strict.
My verse is a pioneer boy,
Lightly dressed, barefoot.
1926
Under the influence of Dostoevsky, as well as foreign literature, Baudelaire and Edgar Poe, my fascination began not with decadence, but with symbolism (even then I already understood their difference). I entitled the collection of poems, published at the very beginning of the 90s, “Symbols”. It seems that I was the first to use this word in Russian literature.
The running of changeable phenomena,
Past the howling ones, speed up:
Merge the sunset of achievements into one
With the first shine of tender dawns.
From the lower reaches of life to the origins
In a moment, a single overview:
In one face with a smart eye
Collect your doubles.
Unchanging and wonderful
Gift of the Blessed Muse:
In the spirit the form of harmonious songs,
There is life and heat in the heart of the songs.
"Thoughts on Poetry"
I have a lot of news. And all are good. I'm lucky". It's written to me. I want to live, live, live forever. If you only knew how many new poems I wrote! More than a hundred. It was crazy, a fairy tale, new. I am publishing a new book, completely different from the previous ones. She will surprise many. I changed my understanding of the world. No matter how funny my phrase may sound, I will say: I understand the world. For many years, perhaps forever.
K. Balmont - L. Vilkina
Man - that's the truth! Everything is in man, everything is for man! Only man exists, everything else is the work of his hands and his brain! Human! It's great! It sounds... proud!
"At the bottom"
I feel sorry for creating something useless and no one needs right now. A collection, a book of poems at this time is the most useless, unnecessary thing... I do not want to say that poetry is not needed. On the contrary, I maintain that poetry is necessary, even necessary, natural and eternal. There was a time when everyone seemed to need entire books of poetry, when they were read in bulk, understood and accepted by everyone. This time is the past, not ours. The modern reader does not need a collection of poems!
Language is the history of a people. Language is the path of civilization and culture. That is why studying and preserving the Russian language is not an idle activity because there is nothing to do, but an urgent necessity.
What nationalists and patriots these internationalists become when they need it! And with what arrogance they mock the “frightened intellectuals” - as if there is absolutely no reason to be afraid - or at the “frightened ordinary people”, as if they have some great advantages over the “philistines”. And who, exactly, are these ordinary people, the “prosperous townsfolk”? And who and what do revolutionaries care about, in general, if they so despise the average person and his well-being?
"Cursed Days"
In the struggle for their ideal, which is “liberty, equality and fraternity,” citizens must use means that do not contradict this ideal.
"Governor"
“Let your soul be whole or split, let your worldview be mystical, realistic, skeptical, or even idealistic (if you are so unhappy), let creative techniques be impressionistic, realistic, naturalistic, let the content be lyrical or fabulistic, let there be a mood, an impression - whatever you want, but I beg you, be logical - may this cry of the heart be forgiven me! - are logical in concept, in the construction of the work, in syntax.”
Art is born in homelessness. I wrote letters and stories addressed to a distant, unknown friend, but when the friend came, art gave way to life. I'm talking, of course, not about home comfort, but about life, which means more than art.
"You and I. Love Diary"
An artist can do no more than open his soul to others. You cannot present him with pre-made rules. It is a still unknown world, where everything is new. We must forget what captivated others; here it is different. Otherwise, you will listen and not hear, you will look without understanding.
From Valery Bryusov's treatise "On Art"
Well, let her rest, she was exhausted - they tormented her, alarmed her. And as soon as it’s light, the shopkeeper gets up, starts folding her goods, grabs a blanket, goes and pulls out this soft bedding from under the old woman: wakes the old woman up, gets her on her feet: it’s not dawn, please get up. It's nothing you can do. In the meantime - grandmother, our Kostroma, our mother, Russia! "
"Whirlwind Rus'"
Art never addresses the crowd, the masses, it speaks to the individual, in the deep and hidden recesses of his soul.
Mikhail Andreevich Osorgin (Ilyin) (1878 - 1942)
How strange /.../ There are so many cheerful and cheerful books, so many brilliant and witty philosophical truths, but there is nothing more comforting than Ecclesiastes.
Babkin was brave, read Seneca
And, whistling carcasses,
Took it to the library
Noting in the margin: “Nonsense!”
Babkin, friend, is a harsh critic,
Have you ever thought
What a legless paralytic
A light chamois is not a decree?..
"Reader"
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The critic's word about the poet must be objectively concrete and creative; the critic, while remaining a scientist, is a poet.
"Poetry of the Word"
Only great things should be thought about, only great tasks should a writer set himself; put it boldly, without being embarrassed by your personal small strengths.
“It’s true that there are goblins and water creatures here,” I thought, looking in front of me, “and maybe some other spirit lives here... A powerful, northern spirit that enjoys this wildness; maybe real northern fauns and healthy, blond women wander in these forests, eat cloudberries and lingonberries, laugh and chase each other.”
"North"
You need to be able to close a boring book...leave a bad movie...and part with people who don't value you!
Out of modesty, I will be careful not to point out the fact that on my birthday the bells were rung and there was general popular rejoicing. Evil tongues connected this rejoicing with some great holiday that coincided with the day of my birth, but I still don’t understand what another holiday has to do with it?
That was the time when love, good and healthy feelings were considered vulgarity and a relic; no one loved, but everyone thirsted and, as if poisoned, fell for everything sharp, tearing apart the insides.
"The Road to Calvary"
“Well, what’s wrong,” I say to myself, “at least in a short word for now?” After all, exactly the same form of saying goodbye to friends exists in other languages, and there it does not shock anyone. The great poet Walt Whitman, shortly before his death, said goodbye to his readers with a touching poem “So long!”, which in English means “Bye!” The French a bientot has the same meaning. There is no rudeness here. On the contrary, this form is filled with the most gracious courtesy, because the following (approximately) meaning is compressed here: be prosperous and happy until we see each other again.
"Alive as Life"
Switzerland? This is a mountain pasture for tourists. I myself have traveled all over the world, but I hate these ruminant bipeds with Badaker for a tail. They devoured all the beauty of nature with their eyes.
"Island of Lost Ships"
Everything that I have written and will write, I consider only mental rubbish and I do not regard my merits as a writer as anything. I’m surprised and perplexed why apparently smart people find some meaning and value in my poems. Thousands of poems, whether mine or those of the poets I know in Russia, are not worth one singer from my bright mother.
I am afraid that Russian literature has only one future: its past.
Article "I'm afraid"
We have been looking for a long time for a task similar to a lentil, so that the united rays of the work of artists and the work of thinkers, directed by it to a common point, would meet in a common work and would be able to ignite and turn even the cold substance of ice into a fire. Now such a task - the lentil that guides together your stormy courage and the cold mind of thinkers - has been found. This goal is to create a common written language...
"Artists of the World"
He adored poetry and tried to be impartial in his judgments. He was surprisingly young at heart, and perhaps also in mind. He always seemed like a child to me. There was something childish in his buzz cut head, in his bearing, more like a gymnasium than a military one. He liked to pretend to be an adult, like all children. He loved to play “master”, the literary boss of his “gumilets,” that is, the little poets and poetesses who surrounded him. The poetic children loved him very much.
Khodasevich, "Necropolis"
Me, me, me. What a wild word!
Is that guy over there really me?
Did mom love someone like that?
Yellow-gray, half-gray
And all-knowing, like a snake?
You have lost your Russia.
Did you resist the elements?
Good elements of dark evil?
No? So shut up: you took me away
You are destined for a reason
To the edges of an unkind foreign land.
What's the use of moaning and groaning -
Russia must be earned!
"What you need to know"
I didn't stop writing poetry. For me, they contain my connection with time, with the new life of my people. When I wrote them, I lived by the rhythms that sounded in the heroic history of my country. I am happy that I lived during these years and saw events that had no equal.
All the people sent to us are our reflection. And they were sent so that we, looking at these people, correct our mistakes, and when we correct them, these people either change too or leave our lives.
In the wide field of Russian literature in the USSR, I was the only literary wolf. I was advised to dye the skin. Ridiculous advice. Whether a wolf is dyed or shorn, it still does not look like a poodle. They treated me like a wolf. And for several years they persecuted me according to the rules of a literary cage in a fenced yard. I have no malice, but I am very tired...
From a letter from M.A. Bulgakov to I.V. Stalin, May 30, 1931.
When I die, my descendants will ask my contemporaries: “Did you understand Mandelstam’s poems?” - “No, we didn’t understand his poems.” “Did you feed Mandelstam, did you give him shelter?” - “Yes, we fed Mandelstam, we gave him shelter.” - “Then you are forgiven.”
Maybe go to the House of Press - there is one sandwich with chum caviar and a debate - “about the proletarian choral reading”, or to the Polytechnic Museum - there are no sandwiches there, but twenty-six young poets read their poems about the “locomotive mass”. No, I will sit on the stairs, shiver from the cold and dream that all this is not in vain, that, sitting here on the step, I am preparing the distant sunrise of the Renaissance. I dreamed both simply and in verse, and the results turned out to be rather boring iambics.
"The Extraordinary Adventures of Julio Jurenito and His Students"
Modern Russian literature is rich in a variety of names. Many book resources compile their own ratings of the most read authors, best-selling books, top-selling books (RoyalLib.com, bookz.ru, LitRes. Ozon.ru, Labirint.ru, Read-Gorod, LiveLib.ru). We present the “twenty” of the most popular contemporary writers in Russia, whose works can be found in the collections of the Centralized Library System of Volgodonsk.
Speaking about modern Russian literature, one cannot help but recall the masters of writing novels.
Lyudmila Ulitskaya. A bright representative of Russian literature of the post-Soviet period. She began writing prose when she was already over forty. In her own words: “First I raised children, then I became a writer.” The first collection of stories by the writer, “Poor Relatives,” was published in 1993 in France and was published in French. Ulitskaya’s book “Medea and Her Children” brought her to the finalists for the 1997 Booker Prize and made her truly famous. The “Big Book” prize was awarded to: the collection of stories “Our Tsar’s People”, “Daniel Stein, Translator”, which soon received bestseller status. In 2011, Ulitskaya presented the novel “The Green Tent,” which tells about dissidents and the lives of people of the “sixties” generation. The writer’s autobiographical prose and essays were included in the book “Sacred Trash,” published in 2012. Fans of the writer characterize her work exclusively as bold, subtle, and intelligent.
Dina Rubina. Critics often call her a “women's writer,” although her novel On the Sunny Side of the Street won her third Big Book Prize in 2007, when the first went to Ulitskaya's Stein. The 2004 novel “The Syndicate,” which describes the Moscow branch of the Israeli agency “Sokhnut” with a satirical intonation, quarreled her with many in Israel. But Russian readers still remain big fans of her work. The story “When Will It Snow” brought particular popularity to the author. The work went through several editions, was filmed, and played on theater stages. The writer's books are distinguished by their colorful language, colorful characters, rough sense of humor, adventurous plots and ability to speak clearly about complex problems and things. Among the latest works is the “Russian Canary” trilogy. The plot, the character of the characters, the Rubin language - it’s impossible to tear yourself away from all this!
Aleksey Ivanov.High-quality Russian prose in the genre of realism. The words of one critic that “Alexei Ivanov’s prose is the gold and foreign exchange reserves of Russian literature” are often reproduced on the covers of his books. Ivanov's heroes - be they the mythical Voguls of the 15th century ("Heart of Parma"), semi-mythical raftsmen of the 18th century ("Gold of Rebellion") or mythologized modern Permians ("The Geographer Drank the Globe Away"), speak a special language and think in a special way. All works are very different, but they are united by the author’s subtle humor, which gradually turns into satire. The writer Alexey Ivanov is notable for the fact that, while emphasizing his “provincialism,” he nevertheless carefully ensures that the plot follows all the laws of a Hollywood action movie in any novel. His latest novel, Bad Weather, was received ambiguously by the reading public. Some talk about the cardboardness and lifelessness of the characters, the hackneyed nature of the criminal theme, others speak with delight about the writer’s ability to create a portrait of our contemporary - a man brought up during socialism, who received a good Soviet education, and during the global breakdown of society, he was left alone with his conscience and questions. Isn't this a reason to read the novel and form your own opinion about it?
Oleg Roy.A bright name among novelists. He lived outside of Russia for a little over a decade. It was at this time that his creative career as a writer began. The title of the debut novel, “Mirror,” was presented to post-Soviet readers as “Amalgam of Happiness.” After this book he became famous in book circles. O. Roy is the author of more than two dozen books of various genres for adults and children, as well as articles in popular print publications. The writer's work will appeal to those who simply love good prose. He writes in the genre of urban novel - life stories, slightly seasoned with mysticism, which gives the author’s work a special flavor.
Pavel Sanaev.The book “Bury Me Behind the Baseboard” was highly appreciated by critics and readers - a story in which the theme of growing up seems to be turned upside down and takes on the features of surreal humor! A book in which the very idea of a happy childhood is parodied in a homerically funny and subtly evil way. The continuation of the now cult story was published only in 2010 under the title “The Chronicles of Razdolbay.”
Evgeny Grishkovets.
He started out as a playwright and performer of his plays, but then the dramatic stage seemed not enough for him. He added music studies to this, and then turned to prose writing, releasing the novel “The Shirt.” It was followed by a second book, “Rivers.” Both works, judging by the reviews, were warmly received by readers. Short stories and collections of stories began to be published. Despite the fact that the author works very seriously on each of his works and then proudly notes that his “author’s position” in this book is not at all similar to the “author’s position” in the previous one, one gets the impression that Grishkovets, with his plays, performances, in prose and songs all his life he writes the same text of his name. And at the same time, each of his viewers/readers can say: “He wrote this directly about me.” The author’s best books: “Asphalt”, “A...a”, collections of stories “Plank” and “Traces on Me”.
Zakhar Prilepin.His name is known to the widest circle of readers. Prilepin spent his childhood and youth in the USSR, and grew up in the difficult 90s of the 20th century. Hence the frequent reviews of him as the “voice of generations.” Zakhar Prilepin was a participant in the Chechen campaigns of 1996 and 1999. His first novel, “Pathology,” which tells about the war in Chechnya, was written by the author in 2003. The writer’s best books are the social novels “Sin” and “Sankya,” in which he shows the life of modern youth. Most of the author’s books were warmly received by the public and critics; “Sin” received rave reviews from fans and two awards: “National Bestseller” and “Loyal Sons of Russia.” The writer also has the “Supernational Best” award, which is awarded for the best prose of the decade, as well as the All-China “Best Foreign Novel” award. The new novel, “The Abode,” about life in the Solovetsky special purpose camp, became a bestseller due to its historical and artistic content.
Oksana Robski.She made her debut as a writer with the novel “Casual,” which laid the foundation for the genre of “secular realism” in Russian literature. Books by Oksana Robski - “The Day of Happiness is Tomorrow”, “About LuOFF/ON”, “Oysters in the Rain”, “Casual 2. Dancing with Head and Feet”, etc. caused numerous and contradictory reviews from critics. According to some observers, the novels truthfully reproduce the atmosphere of “Rublevka” and indicate the lack of spirituality and artificiality of the world of the so-called Rublevka wives. Other critics point out numerous inconsistencies and say that Robski's works have little to do with the realities of everyday life of the business elite. The artistic merits of her works are generally assessed as low; At the same time, some critics emphasize that Robski, in fact, does not pretend to high artistic goals, but presents events easily, dynamically and in clear language.
Boris Akunin.Fiction writer. Akunin is a pseudonym, and not the only one. She also publishes her works of art under the names of Anna Borisova and Anatoly Brusnikin. And in life - Grigory Chkhartishvili. The author became famous for his novels and stories from the “New Detective” series (“The Adventures of Erast Fandorin”). He also created the series “Provincial Detective” (“The Adventures of Sister Pelagia”), “The Adventures of the Master”, “Genres”. In each of his “brainchild”, a creative person amazingly combines literary text with cinematic visuality. Positive reviews from readers indicate the popularity of all stories without exception.
Many readers prefer detective genres and adventure literature.
Alexandra Marinina.
She is called by critics nothing less than the queen, the prima donna of the Russian detective story. Her books are read in one sitting. They are distinguished by realistic plots, which makes the reader wholeheartedly experience the events that happen to the characters, empathize with them and think about important life issues. Some of the author’s new works, which have already become bestsellers: "Execution without malice", “Angels Can’t Survive on Ice,” “Last Dawn.”
Polina Dashkova.The writer gained wide fame after the publication of the detective novel “Blood of the Unborn” in 1997. During the period 2004-2005. The author’s novels “A Place in the Sun” and “Cherub” were filmed. The writer's style is characterized by vivid characters, an exciting plot, and good style.
Elena Mikhalkova. Critics say she is a master of the "life" detective story. The best books of the writer are detective stories in which all the characters have their own story, which is no less interesting to the reader than the main storyline. The author takes ideas for plots for his works from everyday life: a conversation with a supermarket salesperson, leaflet texts, family conversation at breakfast, etc. The plots of her works are always thought out to the smallest detail, making each book very easy to read. Among the most popular books: “The Whirlpool of Other People’s Desires”, “Cinderella and the Dragon”.
Anna and Sergei Litvinov.
They write in the genres of adventure and detective literature. These authors know how to keep the reader in suspense. They have written more than 40 novels together: “The Golden Maiden”, “Sky Island”, “The Sad Demon of Hollywood”, “Fate Has Another Name” and many others. In their reviews, readers admit that the Litvinovs are masters of intrigue and exciting plots. They harmoniously combine a mysterious crime, colorful characters and a love line in their texts.
One of the most popular literary genres among Russian readers is the women's romance novel.
Anna Berseneva. This is the literary pseudonym of Tatyana Sotnikova. She wrote her first novel, Confusion, in 1995. Anna Berseneva is the only author who managed to populate modern women's novels with extraordinary male heroes. After all, it is the lack of expressive male characters, according to sociologists, that is the reason that women's novels are practically absent from the domestic book market. A series of novels by A. Berseneva about several generations of the Grinev family - “An Unequal Marriage”, “The Last Eve”, “The Age of Third Love”, “The Catcher of Small Pearls”, “The First, the Accidental, the Only” - formed the basis for the multi-part television film “Captain’s Children” "
Ekaterina Vilmont.
Her books are loved by readers all over Russia. She wrote her first romance novel at the age of 49 (“The Journey of an Optimist, or All Women are Fools”). Then I tried myself in the children's detective genre. In her women's novels, Vilmont reveals the inner world of modern, mature, independent women who are able to control circumstances, talk about their failures and victories, tragedies and joys, and about what worries every reader - about love. Ekaterina Vilmont’s novels are full of humor, cheerfulness and witty titles: “In Search of Treasures”, “The Happiness Hormone and Other Nonsense”, “Incredible Luck”, “With all the Dope!” ,"An Intellectual and Two Ritas"
. This is an ironic, light, lively prose that is read in one breath and charges readers with optimism and self-confidence.
Maria Metlitskaya.
Her works appeared on the market of modern women's love literature relatively recently, but have already managed to win the respect of fans. The first novel has been published since 2011. The writer's best books are known for their precision of detail, life-affirming mood and light humor. Reviews from her fans indicate that these books helped them find a way out of difficult life situations. Today, the list of the writer’s works includes more than 20 novels and stories. Among her latest works, it is worth highlighting the following: “Our Little Life”, “The Mistake of Youth”, “The Road to Two Streets”, “The Faithful Husband”, “Her Last Hero” and others.
In Russian modern science fiction there is a whole galaxy of talented writers whose names and works deserve attention.
One of the most widely circulated authors among science fiction writers. The first circulation of his book “The Last Watch” was 200 thousand copies. Films based on his novels became an important factor in increasing popularity. The release of the blockbusters “Night Watch” and “Day Watch” increased the circulation of this author’s books by more than seven times.
Nick Perumov.He gained widespread fame after his first publication in 1993 of the epic "The Ring of Darkness", set in the Middle-earth of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. From novel to novel, Nick's style becomes more and more individual and unique, and the initial opinion of critics and him as a Tolkienist is a thing of the past. The best books by Perumov and his series are included in the treasury of Russian science fiction literature: “The Chronicles of Hjervard”, “Chronicles of the Rift”, “Soul Stealers”, “Black Blood” and many others.
Andrey Rubanov.His fate was not easy: he had to work as a driver and bodyguard in the difficult 90s, and live in the Chechen Republic at the height of the military campaign. But this gave him the necessary life experience and helped him successfully start his path in literature. The most flattering reviews were earned by the works that are rightly included in the list of the best books of the science fiction writer: “Chlorophylia”, “Plant and it will grow”, “Living Earth”.
Max Fry.The author's genre is urban fantasy. Her books are for people who have not lost faith in fairy tales. Stories about ordinary life and a light style can captivate any reader. What makes the image of the main character popular and extraordinary is the attractive contrast: the male external role and behavior and the female motives for action, the way of describing and assessing what is happening. Among the popular works: “The Power of the Unfulfilled (collection)”, “Volunteers of Eternity”, “Obsessions”, “Simple Magical Things”, “The Dark Side”, “Stranger”.
These are not all the names of modern Russian literature. The world of Russian works is diverse and fascinating. Read, learn, discuss - live with the times!
Russian literature has always been famous for its traditions. Domestic writers are included in school curricula around the world; the authors of the best works receive international awards and recognition both among their compatriots and abroad. Of course, not all books become bestsellers. We decided to tell you about the most striking books by modern Russian writers that you will like.
1. Vladimir Sorokin, “Managara”
@with_love_to_books_and_stitch
Publisher: AST, Corpus
Age restrictions: 18+
The 63-year-old writer has been writing since 1969. During this time, he wrote 10 novels, 11 plays and published 10 collections of short stories, received many awards from Russian literary prizes, was awarded by the German Ministry of Culture and was nominated for the international Booker.
His latest novel is Manaraga. What will be the fate of a paper book in the world of smart fleas and holograms, viviparous fur and goldfish, after the New Middle Ages and the Second Islamic Revolution? In the novel “Manaraga,” Vladimir Sorokin sets an unexpected vector for thinking about the relationship of humanity with the printed word. The unusual profession of the main character - an underground worker, a romantic, a professional - makes us take a fresh look at the book. Sorokin's novel can be read as an epitaph to paper literature - and as a hymn to its eternal life.
2. Mikhail Weller, “Legends of Nevsky Prospekt”
@tatiana_begun
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 16+
A talented writer, journalist and publicist, over the 70 years of his life, he wrote more than 10 novels and two dozen collections of stories. But his most famous collection remains “Legends of Nevsky Prospekt,” which was first published in 1993. Incredibly hilarious stories with a special charm will give you a good time and will not let you tear yourself away for a minute.
The stunning lightness of the ironic style and the combination of sarcasm with nostalgia made Legends of Nevsky Prospect a truly national bestseller. Incredible stories from our recent past, told by the master, are increasingly perceived not as the fantasies of a writer, but as if they are turning into a reality known to many.
3. Mikhail Shishkin, “Pismovnik”
@lilyinbookishland
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 16+
Mikhail Shishkin is the only winner of three major literary awards in Russia: “Russian Booker” (“The Taking of Ishmael”), “National Bestseller” (“Venus’s Hair”) and “Big Book” (“Pismovnik”).The works of Mikhail Shishkin are incredibly subtle and piercing, touching the strings of the soul and captivating us into the depths of the plot.
In the novel “Pismovnik”, at first glance, everything is simple: he, she. Letters. Country house. First love. But fate does not like simple plots. A piece of paper in an envelope explodes the world, the connection of times is broken. The past becomes the present: Shakespeare and Marco Polo, the adventures of a polar pilot and the capture of Beijing by Russian troops. Lovers meet each other halfway to connect the broken time. This is a novel about mystery. That death is as much a gift as love.
4. Evgeny Vodolazkin, “Aviator”
@jeannecojeanne
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 16+
Evgeniy Vodolazkin is a living classic. He was twice awarded the Big Book Prize for his novels Laurel and The Aviator. In addition to Russian awards, he was awarded Serbian and Italian awards. According to the Guardian newspaper, the novel “Laurel” was included in the top 10 books in world literature about God.
The hero of the novel “The Aviator” is a man in a state of tabula rasa: waking up one day in a hospital bed, he realizes that he knows absolutely nothing about himself - not his name, not who he is, not where he is. Hoping to restore the history of his life, he begins to write down the memories that visited him, fragmentary and chaotic: St. Petersburg at the beginning of the twentieth century, dacha childhood in Siverskaya and Alushta, gymnasium and first love, the revolution of 1917, falling in love with aviation, Solovki... But where is he from? accurately remembers the details of everyday life, phrases, smells, sounds of that time, if the calendar shows 1999?
5. Dmitry Bykov, “June”
@alina.valyaeva
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 18+
Writer, journalist and literary critic Dmitry Bykov, in addition to novels, wrote biographies of Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Bulat Okudzhava and Maxim Gorky. He has 16 Russian and international awards. He wrote 19 novels and published 16 collections of poetry. His latest novel has been shortlisted for the Big Book Prize, which will take place at the end of 2018.
Dmitry Bykov's new novel is, as always, a bright experiment, a literary event. Three independent stories, three different genres. A tragicomedy in which a poet, a student of the famous IFLI, finds himself. The drama of a Soviet journalist: love and betrayal, emigration and denunciation, arrest and betrayal. A grotesque, conspiracy tale about a mad scientist who discovered the mechanisms of controlling the world with the help of language and text. At the center of all the stories is the twentieth century, the premonition of war and the fate of people in their clash with the era.
6. Victor Pelevin, “Secret views of Mount Fuji”
Publisher: Eksmo
Age restrictions: 18+
Victor Pelevin is the most mysterious Russian author. Several years ago, TV presenter Alexander Gordon suggested that the author did not exist at all, and that a group of authors were writing on behalf of Viktor Pelevin. But this myth was dispelled thanks to the stories of people who were personally acquainted with the writer - his classmates, fellow students, colleagues and teachers. He has 16 Russian literary awards to his name. He received the last one, the Andrei Bely Prize for the novel “iPhuk 10” in 2017.
Description of the novel: Are you ready to experience reality the way the ascetics and magicians of ancient India experienced it two and a half thousand years ago? And if so, do you have enough money for this?The startup “Fuji experiences” operates not in Silicon Valley, but in Russian realities, where the requirements for a new business are much stricter. People who are able to finance a new project, cross...But this book is not only about the problems of Russian startups. This is about the long and painfully difficult return home of Russian oligarchs. And also a heart-tugging story of true female success.For the first time in world literature, the esoteric secrets of Mesoamerican feminism are revealed with a detailed description of its energy practices. It also talks about some interesting aspects of classical Buddhist meditation.
7. Guzel Yakhina, “Zuleikha opens her eyes”
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 16+
Guzel Yakhina wrote only two novels, but both are required reading for those who are passionate about Russian literature. Her debut work, “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes,” was awarded six Russian and foreign awards and nominations.
The novel “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” begins in the winter of 1930 in a remote Tatar village. Peasant woman Zuleikha, along with hundreds of other migrants, are sent in a heated carriage along the age-old convict route to Siberia.Dense peasants and Leningrad intellectuals, declassed elements and criminals, Muslims and Christians, pagans and atheists, Russians, Tatars, Germans, Chuvash - everyone will meet on the banks of the Angara, daily defending their right to life from the taiga and the ruthless state.
8. Leonid Yuzefovich, “Lighthouse on Hiiumaa”
@bestbook_sochi
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 16+
Yuzefovich is not only a writer, but also a historian. In his bibliography you will find historical novels, detective stories, and short prose. Leonid Yuzevofich is the winner of Russian awards such as “National Bestseller” and “Big Book”.
The book “The Lighthouse on Hiiumaa” contains stories from different years, including those related to the author’s many years of historical research. He meets with the grandson of the white colonel Kazagrandi, who died in Mongolia, talks about Ungern with his German relatives, feeds a former Latvian rifleman with soup, and investigates a complicated plot about the love of an Ungern officer for the Jewish woman he saved from execution. Shadows of long-dead people come into our lives, and every story from the past has a continuation in modern times.
9. Alexey Ivanov, “Bad weather”
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 18+
Almost every one of us knows about Ivanov’s book “The Geographer Drank His Globe Away” or at least watched the film. Alexey Ivanov is the winner of many literary prizes and awards, including those from the Russian government for his novel “Bad Weather.” By the way, on Monday, November 12, the TV channel “Russia” began a series of the same name, based on the novel by Alexei Ivanov.
Description of the novel: 2008. A simple driver, a former soldier of the Afghan war, single-handedly organizes a daring robbery of a special van that transports money from a large shopping center. Thus, in the million-strong, but provincial city of Batuev, the long history of the powerful and active union of Afghan veterans ends - either a public organization, or a business alliance, or a criminal group: in the dashing nineties, when this union was formed and gained strength, it was difficult to distinguish one from another. But the novel is not about money or crime, but about bad weather in the soul. About the desperate search for a reason why a person should trust a person in a world where only predators triumph - but it is impossible to live without trust. The novel is about how greatness and despair have the same roots. About the fact that each of us risks accidentally falling into bad weather and never getting out of it, because bad weather is a refuge and a trap, salvation and destruction, great consolation and the eternal pain of life.
10. Narine Abgaryan, “Three apples fell from the sky”
@very_literary
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 16+
Narine Abgaryan became famous thanks to the autobiographical novel “Manyunya,” which she initially wrote on her blog. In 2015, she was awarded the Alexander Greene Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature. In addition to cute children's stories for children, the writer also gave the world “adult books.”
“Three Apples Fell from the Sky” is the story of one small village, lost high in the mountains, and its few inhabitants, each of whom is a little eccentric, a little grumpy, and in each of whom lie real treasures of the spirit.
11. Zakhar Prilepin, “Sin”
Publisher: AST
Age restrictions: 18+
Zakhar Prilepin is a diploma holder and winner of many literary awards for his novel “Abode? he received the “Big Book” award, and the novel “Sin” was awarded the “Super National Best” award and was named the best book of the decade.
A small provincial town and a quiet village, lost in the troubled nineties. The imperceptible transformation of a boy into a man: from barefoot childhood with discoveries and tragedies that will last a lifetime - to tender and fragile youth with the first unrequited love, to the drunken and bad frenzy of youth, to surprised fatherhood - with responsibility for his children and his woman . SIN is reflection and love, fun and courage, boyishness dissolved in blood, and happiness, tight as a sail, ringing summer and greedy joy of life. Poetic, subtle, poignant, very personal story of a hero named Zakharka.
12. Lyudmila Ulitskaya, “Jacob’s Ladder”
@books_o_clock
Publisher: Edited by Elena Shubina
Age restrictions: 18+
Lyudmila Ulitskaya is the winner of the “Big Book” and “Russian Booker” awards, her books have been translated into 25 languages, her works are filmed, and the novels themselves certainly become bestsellers.
“Jacob's Ladder” is a parable novel, an intricately branched family chronicle with many characters and a delicately structured plot. At the center of the novel are the parallel destinies of Yakov Ossetsky, a man of books and an intellectual born at the end of the 19th century, and his granddaughter Nora, a theater artist, a willful and active person. Their “acquaintance” took place at the beginning of the 21st century, when Nora read the correspondence between Yakov and grandmother Maria and received access to his personal file in the KGB archive... The novel was based on letters from the author’s personal archive.
Preview photo: @vanackercom
Women excel in many fields, and writing is no exception. There are a great many women writers who have written outstanding books that can change lives. It is quite difficult to choose the best of them, but still below you will find our list of the 10 best and most popular modern female writers in the world.
— 10 —
JK Kathleen Rowling
The creator of children's books that explore the fascinating and magical world of Harry Potter is considered one of the most influential women in Britain. More than 450 million copies of her bestselling series have been sold worldwide.
She says the idea for the story came to her on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990. Her books reflect how Joan's imagination goes far beyond everyday reality.
Thanks to the Harry Potter series of books, in five years she changed her status from an unemployed woman living on welfare to a billionaire.
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With 800 million books sold, Steele is currently the best-selling writer alive and the fourth best-selling author ever published. All of her novels became bestsellers. Their plot, as a rule, is about how rich families experience crises and complex love stories. Steele has also tried writing children's fiction and poetry.
She also raises funds for the treatment of psychiatric diseases. Her books have been translated into 28 languages, and films have been made based on 22 of her works.
— 08 —
Her novels are distinguished by interesting and carefully written characters and vivid dialogues. Her best novels are The Bluest Eyes (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Songs (1977) and Beloved (1987).
She is the proud owner of the Pulitzer Prize, the US National Book Award and the Nobel Prize in Literature, and on May 12, 2012, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
— 07 —
Stephenie Meyer is famous for her vampire saga "Twilight", which has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. Her books have been translated into 37 languages and have become a worldwide phenomenon.
Her annual income exceeded $50 million, and in 2010 she was ranked 59th on Forbes magazine's list of the most powerful celebrities.
Geneticist by training and writer by vocation. She worked a lot in the theater and writes scripts. She came to literature late: she published her first book in 1993, when she was 50 years old. She managed to collect many awards: the French Medici Prize, the Italian Giuseppe Acerbi Prize, the Russian Booker and the Big Book. Her works have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Ulitskaya is considered the most successful and widely read Russian writer. The heroes of her novels are most often women, and the plot is based on love relationships. Some critics consider her works to be dark because they all explore themes of life and death and human destiny.
Writer and playwright, trained journalist and linguist. She wrote the famous trilogy about Peter the Pig, which later became a meme, and a cycle of linguistic fairy tales, “Batie Puski,” in a fictional language vaguely reminiscent of Russian. She made her debut at the age of 34 with the story “Across the Fields.”
The writer has many awards: the Pushkin Prize of the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, the State Prize of the Russian Federation, the Triumph Prize and the Stanislavsky Theater Prize. In addition to literary activities, Petrushevskaya plays in her own theater, draws cartoons, makes cardboard dolls and raps. Films and cartoons are produced based on her scripts. Petrushevskaya's works have been translated into 20 languages.
Distinctive features of Petrushevskaya's works are experiments with language, fantastic and fairy-tale plots.
Lada Vesna/rfi.fr A writer with a big name and so far only one completed bestseller. Her novel “Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes” was published in 2015 and won the prestigious “Big Book” award. Yakhina has already taken up writing a second work, also historical and about the Soviet era. In her own words, she is most interested in the period from 1917 to 1957.
Yakhina's prose is heartfelt and minimalistic: short sentences and a small amount of detail allow her to hit the target.
unic.edu.ru Zherebtsova was born in Grozny in the mid-1980s, so each of her works is an eyewitness testimony to three Chechen wars. Studying, falling in love for the first time, and quarrels with her parents coexist in her diaries with bombings, hunger and poverty. Zherebtsova’s documentary prose, written from the perspective of the growing girl Polina, reveals a person’s defenselessness before the system, the vulnerability and fragility of life. However, unlike other authors of this genre, Zherebtsova writes easily, often with humor.
In addition to literature, the writer is involved in human rights activities. Since 2013 he has lived in Finland.
Stepanova, former editor-in-chief of the online publication OpenSpace and current editor-in-chief of Colta.ru, is better known for her poetry rather than her prose. All the prizes she has received are poetic: the Pasternak Prize, the Andrei Bely Prize, the Hubert Burda Foundation Prize, the Moscow Account Prize, the Lerici Pea Mosca Prize, the Anthologia Prize.
However, with the publication of the research novel “Memory of Memory” in 2017, one can talk about her as an original documentary prose writer. This book is an attempt to write the history of one’s own family, an answer to the question of whether it is possible to preserve the memory of the past. The work consists mainly of letters and postcards from the writer's ancestors, interspersed with the author's reflections.
Breuninger writes a column for the literary magazine Literratura and teaches at Harvard. I have managed to write only one novel so far - “There Was No Adderall in the Soviet Union.” It was noted by many critics and was included in the short and long lists of several awards. According to critic Galina Yuzefovich, the writer gave hope to Russian literature. We will be able to verify this only after the publication of Breuninger’s second work.