Contemporary Russian Satire: A Genre Study

by Karen L. Ryan-Hayes

Overview

This wide-ranging study presents an examination of the extraordinary diversity and range of satirical writing in contemporary Russian literature. Through the close analysis of seminal satirical texts written by five Russian and emigré authors in the 1970s and 1980s, Karen Ryan-Hayes demonstrates that formal and thematic parody is pervasive and that it provides additional levels of meaning in contemporary Russian satire. The author focuses on different subgenres of satire and offers practical criticism on each text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521475150
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/26/1996
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Russian Literature
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Note on the translation; Introduction; 1. Iskander's transparent allegory: Rabbits and Boa Constrictors; 2. Beyond picaresque: Erofeev's Moscow-Petushki; 3. Satire and the autobiographical mode: Limonov's It's Me, Eddie; 4. The family chronicle revisited: Dovlatov's Ours; 5. Dystopia redux: Voinovich and Moscow 2042; Conclusions; Notes; Select bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"I highly recommend this book for advanced undergraduate courses in Russian and world literature, and also for specialists." Valerie Z. Nollan, The Russian Review

From the Publisher