Popular contemporary writers. Modern writers (21st century) of Russia

Now the current generation sees everything clearly, marvels at the delusions, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, it is not in vain that this chronicle is scribbled with heavenly fire, that every letter screams in it, that a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at him, at him, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new delusions, which will also be laughed at by descendants later. "Dead Souls"

In the hearts of the simple, the feeling of the beauty and grandeur of nature is stronger, more alive a hundred times than in us, enthusiastic storytellers in words and on paper."Hero of our time"

Everywhere there is sound, and everywhere there is light,
And all the worlds have one beginning,
And there is nothing in nature
No matter how love breathes.

But others are not an example for me,
And my charter is simple and strict.
My verse is a pioneer boy
Lightly dressed, barefoot.
1926

"At the bottom"

"Whirlwind Rus'"

Mikhail Andreevich Osorgin (Ilyin) (1878 - 1942)
How strange /.../ How many cheerful and cheerful books there are, how many brilliant and witty philosophical truths - but there is nothing more comforting than Ecclesiastes.

"Poetry of the word"

» Jonathan Franzen, author of "Corrections" and "Freedom" - family sagas that have become events in world literature. On this occasion, book critic Lisa Birger compiled a brief educational program on the main prose writers of recent years - from Tartt and Franzen to Welbeck and Eggers - who wrote the most important books XXI century and deserving the right to be called new classics.

Lisa Birger

Donna Tartt

One novel in ten years - such is the productivity of the American novelist Donna Tartt. So her three novels are " secret history"in 1992," Little friend" in 2002 and "Goldfinch" in 2013 - this is a whole bibliography, a dozen articles in newspapers and magazines will be added to it at most. And this is important: Tartt is not just one of the main authors since the novel "The Goldfinch" won the Pulitzer Prize and demolished all the top lines of all the world's bestseller lists. She is also a novelist, keeping an exceptional fidelity to the classical form.

Starting with his first novel, The Secret History, about a group of antique students overindulged in literary games, Tartt brings the hulking genre of the big novel into the light of modernity. But the present is reflected here not in details, but in ideas - for us, today's people, it is no longer so important to know the name of the killer or even to reward the innocent and punish the guilty. We just want to open our mouths and froze in surprise, to watch how the gears rotate.

What to read first

After the success of The Goldfinch, its heroic translator Anastasia Zavozova retranslated Donna Tartt's second novel, The Little Friend, into Russian. The new translation, freed from the mistakes of the past, finally pays tribute to this spellbinding novel, whose main character goes too far, investigating the murder of her little brother, is at the same time scary tale about the secrets of the South and a harbinger of the future boom of the young adult genre.

Donna Tart"Little friend",
Buy

Who is close in spirit

Donna Tartt is often ranked with another savior of the great American novel, Jonathan Franzen. For all their obvious difference, Franzen turns his texts into a persistent commentary on the state of modern society, and Tartt is quite indifferent to modernity - both of them feel like the successors of the classic great novel, feel the connection of the centuries and build it for the reader.

Zadie Smith

An English novelist, about whom there is much more noise in the English-speaking world than in the Russian-speaking one. At the beginning of the new millennium, it was she who was considered the main hope of English literature. Like so many modern British writers, Smith belongs to two cultures at once: her mother is from Jamaica, her father is English, and it was the search for identity that became main theme her first novel, White Teeth, about three generations of three British blended families. "White Teeth" is notable primarily for Smith's ability to abandon judgments, not to see the tragedy in the inevitable clash of irreconcilable cultures and at the same time the ability to sympathize with this other culture, not to despise it - although this confrontation itself becomes inexhaustible source her caustic wit.

In her second novel, On Beauty, the collision of two professors turned out to be just as irreconcilable: one is a liberal, the other is a conservative, and both are studying Rembrandt. Perhaps it is the conviction that there is something that unites us all, despite differences, whether it be favorite paintings or the ground we walk on, that distinguishes Zadie Smith's novels from hundreds of similar identity seekers.

What to read first

Unfortunately, Smith's latest novel, "Northwest" ("NW"), was never translated into Russian, and it is not known what will happen to the new book "Swing Time", which will be released in English in November. Meanwhile, "North-West" is, perhaps, the most successful and, perhaps, even the most understandable book for us about collisions and differences. In the center is the story of four friends who grew up together in the same neighborhood. But someone managed to achieve money and success, but someone did not. And the further, the more socio-cultural differences become an obstacle to their friendship.

Zadie Smith"NW"

Who is close in spirit

Who is close in spirit

Next to Stoppard one is drawn to put some great figure of the last century like Thomas Bernhard. In the end, his dramaturgy, of course, is very much connected with the twentieth century and the search for answers to the difficult questions posed by him. dramatic history. In fact, Stoppard's closest relative in literature - and no less dear to us - is Julian Barnes, in which, in the same way, through the connections of times, the life of the timeless spirit is built. Nevertheless, the confused patter of Stoppard's characters, his love of absurdism and attention to the events and heroes of the past are reflected in modern drama, which should be sought in the plays of Maxim Kurochkin, Mikhail Ugarov, Pavel Pryazhko.

Tom Wolfe

The legend of American journalism - his "Candy-colored orange-petal streamlined baby", published in 1965, is considered the beginning of the "new journalism" genre. In his first articles, Woolf solemnly proclaimed that the right to observe and diagnose society now belonged to journalists, not novelists. After 20 years, he himself wrote his first novel, The Bonfires of Ambition, and today, 85-year-old Wolfe is still cheerful and throws himself at American society with the same fury to tear it to shreds. However, in the 60s, he just didn’t do this, then he was still fascinated by eccentrics going against the system, from Ken Kesey with his drug experiments to the guy who invented a giant lizard costume for himself and his motorcycle. Now Wolfe himself has become this anti-systemic hero: a Southern gentleman in a white suit with a wand, despising everyone and everything, deliberately ignoring the Internet and voting for Bush. His main idea - everything around is so crazy and crooked that it is already impossible to choose a side and take this curvature seriously - should be close to many.

It's hard to miss The Bonfires of Ambition - a great novel about New York in the 80s and the clash of the black and white worlds, the most decent translation of Wolfe into Russian (the work of Inna Bershtein and Vladimir Boshnyak). But you can't call it simple reading. The reader who is not at all familiar with Tom Wolfe should read "Battle for Space", a story about the Soviet-American space race with its dramas and human casualties, and the latest novel "Voice of Blood" (2012) about the life of modern Miami. Wolfe's books once sold in the millions, but his latest novels have not been as successful. And yet, for a reader who is not weighed down by memories of Wolfe of better times, this criticism of everything should make a stunning impression.

Who is close in spirit

The New Journalism, unfortunately, gave birth to a mouse - on the field where Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer and many others once ran rampant, only Joan Didion and the New Yorker magazine, which still prefers emotional stories in present tense in the first person. But the comics became the real successors of the genre. Joe Sacco and his graphic reports (so far only Palestine has been translated into Russian) - the best of what literature has managed to replace free journalistic chatter.

Leonid Yuzefovich

In the minds of the mass reader, Leonid Yuzefovich remains the man who invented the genre of historical detective stories, which has so comforted us in recent decades - his books about the detective Putilin came out even earlier than Akunin's stories about Fandorin. It is noteworthy, however, not that Yuzefovich was the first, but that, as in his other novels, a real person becomes the hero of detectives, the first head of the detective police of St. written) were published as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Such precision and attention to real characters- a distinctive feature of Yuzefovich's books. His historical fantasies do not tolerate lies, and they do not appreciate fiction. Here, starting from the first success of Yuzefovich, the novel "The Autocrat of the Desert" about Baron Ungern, published in 1993, there will always be a real hero in real circumstances, conjectured only where there are blind spots in the documents.

However, in Leonid Yuzefovich, what is important for us is not so much his loyalty to history as the idea of ​​how this history grinds absolutely all of us: whites, reds, yesterday and the day before yesterday, tsars and impostors, everyone. The further in our time, the more clearly the historical course of Russia is felt as inevitable, and the more popular and significant is the figure of Yuzefovich, who has been talking about this for 30 years.

What to read first

First of all - the last novel " Winter road» about the confrontation in Yakutia in the early 20s white general Anatoly Pepelyaev and the red anarchist Ivan Strod. The clash of armies does not mean a clash of characters: they are united by common courage, heroism, even humanism, and, ultimately, a common destiny. And now Yuzefovich was the first who was able to write the history of the Civil War without taking sides.

Leonid Yuzefovich"Winter road"

Who is close in spirit

The historical novel has found fertile ground in Russia today, and a lot of good things have grown on it over the past ten years - from Alexei Ivanov to Evgeny Chizhov. And even if Yuzefovich turned out to be a pinnacle that cannot be taken, he has wonderful followers: for example, Sukhbat Aflatuni(under this pseudonym the writer Yevgeny Abdullaev is hiding). His novel "The Adoration of the Magi" about several generations of the Triyarsky family is about the complex connections of the eras of Russian history, and about the strange mysticism that unites all these eras.

Michael Chabon

An American writer whose name we will never learn to pronounce correctly (Shibon? Chaybon?), so we will stick to the mistakes of the first translation. Growing up in a Jewish family, Chabon heard Yiddish from childhood and, along with what normal boys usually feed on (comics, superheroes, adventures, you might add), he was fed by the sadness and doom of Jewish culture. As a result, his novels are an explosive mixture of everything that we love. There is Yiddish charm and the historical heaviness of Jewish culture, but all this is combined with entertainment of the right kind: from noir detectives to escapist comics. This combination turned out to be quite revolutionary for American culture, clearly sawing the audience on smart and fools. In 2001, the author received the Pulitzer Prize for his most famous novel"The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay", in 2008 - the Hugo Award for the "Union of Jewish Policemen" and since then somehow calmed down, which is a shame: it seems that Chabon has not yet said the main word in literature. His next book Moonlight will be released in English in November, but this is not so much a novel as an attempt to document the biography of the entire century through the story of the writer's grandfather, told to his grandson on his deathbed.

Chabon's most deservedly famous text is "The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" about two Jewish cousins ​​who invented the superhero Escapist in the 40s of the last century. An escapist is a kind of Houdini on the contrary, saving not himself, but others. But miraculous salvation can only exist on paper.

Another well-known text by Chabon, The Union of Jewish Policemen, goes even further into the genre of alternative history - here the Jews speak Yiddish, live in Alaska and dream of returning to the Promised Land, which never became the State of Israel. Once upon a time, the Coens dreamed of making a film based on this novel, but for them there is probably too little irony in it - but just right for us.

Michael Chabon"The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay"

Who is close in spirit

Perhaps it is Chabon and his complex search for the right intonation for talking about escapism, roots, and one's own identity that are to be thanked for the emergence of two brilliant American novelists. This Jonathan Safran Foer with his novels "Full Illumination" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" - about a journey to Russia in the footsteps of a Jewish grandfather and about a nine-year-old boy who is looking for his father who died on September 11th. AND Juneau Diaz with the intoxicating text "Short fantasy life Oscar Wao” about a gentle fat man who dreams of becoming a new superhero, or at least a Dominican Tolkien. He will not be able to do this because of the family curse, the dictator Trujillo and bloody history Dominican Republic. Both Foer and Diaz, by the way, unlike poor Chabon, are perfectly translated into Russian - but, like him, they explore the dreams of escapism and the search for identity of not the second, but, say, the third generation of emigrants.

Michel Houellebecq

If not the main one (the French would argue), then the most famous French writer. We kind of know everything about him: he hates Islam, is not afraid of sex scenes and constantly claims the end of Europe. In fact, Houellebecq's ability to construct dystopias is polished from novel to novel. It would be dishonest for the author to see in his books only a momentary criticism of Islam or politics or even Europe - society, according to Houellebecq, is doomed for a long time, and the causes of the crisis are much worse than any external threat: it is the loss of personality and the transformation of a person from a thinking reed into a set of desires and functions.

What to read first

If we assume that the reader of these lines never discovered Houellebecq, then it’s worth starting not even with the famous dystopias like “Platform” or “Submission”, but with the novel “Map and Territory”, which received the Goncourt Prize in 2010, an ideal commentary on modern life, from its consumerism to its art.

Michel Houellebecq"Map and Territory"

Who is close in spirit

In the genre of dystopia, Houellebecq has wonderful associates among, as they say, living classics - an Englishman Martin Amis(also repeatedly opposed Islam, which requires a total loss of personality from a person) and a Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, interfering with genres for the persuasiveness of its dystopias.

A wonderful rhyme to Houellebecq can be found in the novels Dave Eggers who spearheaded a new wave of American prose. Eggers began with huge size and ambition with a coming-of-age novel and new prose manifesto, The Heartbreaking Work of a Stunning Genius, founded several literary schools and magazines, and in Lately pleases readers with biting dystopias, such as The Sphere, a novel about an Internet corporation that has taken over the world to such an extent that its employees themselves are horrified by what they have done.

Jonathan Coe

British writer, brilliantly continuing the traditions of English satire - no one better than him knows how to smash modernity to shreds with pinpoint blows. His first major success was What a Swindle (1994), about the dirty secrets of an English family from the time of Margaret Thatcher. With an even greater feeling of painful recognition, we read the dilogy “The Rakali Club” and “The Circle is Closed” about three decades british history, from the 70s to the 90s, and how modern society became what it was.

Russian translation of the novel "Number 11", a sequel to the novel "What a swindle", which takes place already in our time, will be released at the beginning next year, but even so far we have something to read: Coe has a lot of novels, almost all of them have been translated into Russian. They are united by a strong plot, impeccable style and everything that is commonly called writing skills, which in the reader's language means: you take the first page and do not let go until the last.

What to read first

Antonia Byatt

The philological grand dame, who received the Order of the British Empire for her novels, it seemed that Antonia Byatt always existed. In fact, Possessing was only published in 1990, and today it is being studied in universities. Byatt's main skill is the ability to talk to everyone about everything. All plots, all themes, all eras are connected, a novel can be simultaneously romantic, love, detective, chivalrous and philological, and according to Byatt one can really study the state of minds in general - her novels somehow reflected every topic that interested humanity in the last couple of hundred centuries.

In 2009, Antonia Byatt's "Children's Book" lost the Booker Prize to "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel, but this is a case in which history will remember the winners. In some ways, The Children's Book is a response to the boom in children's literature in the 19th and 20th centuries. Byatt noticed that all the children for whom these books were written either ended badly or lived an unhappy life, like Christopher Milne, who until the end of his days could not hear about winnie the pooh. She came up with a story about children living on a Victorian estate and surrounded by fairy tales that a writer-mother invents for them, and then bam - and there comes the First World War. But if her books were described so simply, then Byatt would not be herself - there are a thousand characters, a hundred microplots, and fairy tale motifs are intertwined with the main ideas of the century.

Cover: Beowulf Sheehan/Roulette

Aleksey Ivanov

Yes, I had great discoveries that can be called artistic, although the books are non-fiction. One of them is the book of the laureate Pulitzer Prize Daniel Yergin "Production"(M.: Alpina Publisher, 2016), history of the world struggle for oil. It reveals the secret economic mechanisms of world history, and a lot of what, it turns out, in your mind "stood on its head", turns "on its feet."

Another discovery - a book by Dmitry Karasyuk "History of Sverdlovsk rock"(Yekaterinburg: Armchair scientist, 2016). It is written in beautiful language, and inside this book I see a genuine romance with plots, dramas, climaxes and denouements. I haven't decided on reading for the holidays yet. Yes, I don't have holidays.

press service of Alpina Publisher

Leonid Yuzefovich

• Sebastian Hafner "The Story of a German"(St. Petersburg: Ivan Limbakh Publishing House, 2016). Written in the late 1930s, an autobiographical novel with moving reflections on the origins and nature of the Nazi regime in Germany. An excellent translation by the initiator of the publication, critic Nikita Eliseev.
• Varvara Malahieva-Mirovich “The pendulum of my life. Diary. 1930-1954"(M.: AST, edited by Elena Shubina, 2015). A remarkable document of the era and the colossal work of the publisher, literary historian Natalia Gromova.

On New Year's holidays I am going to read a book by Ivan Prosvetov, just published by the author himself. "Ten Lives of Vasily Yan". I know that this writer, beloved by me since childhood, lived an extraordinary life, and I hope to learn a lot about him.

Sukhbat Aflatuni

• Vladimir Martynov "Book of Changes"(M.: Classic XXI, 2016) — one and a half thousand pages of immersion in history, philosophy, music, life.
• New book of poems by Gleb Shulpyakov Samet(M.: Vremya, 2017) is the realm of air and meaning, a multi-layered and minimalist style.
• "Great Ease" Valeria Pustova (M.: RIPOL Klassik, 2015) is literary criticism that is written—and read—like fascinating prose.

From the nearest "must-read" - Mark Z. Danilevsky, "House of Leaves"(Ekaterinburg: Gonzo, 2016), disturbing at the first scrolling. Fragments, cacophony of fonts...

press service of "Classics XXI"

Roman Senchin

I can’t say that I read some fresh books this year. But there were a lot of important ones. I will name three, although I am aware that my choice may seem unoriginal.

Firstly, "Winter road" Leonid Yuzefovich (M.: AST, Editorial Board of Elena Shubina, 2016). This book received several awards, which caused complete approval for some, irritation for others. Nevertheless, it sounded, and not without reason. The book is based on the campaign of Anatoly Pepelyaev’s detachment to Yakutsk in 1922-1923 ... Even in a detailed history civil war in Soviet textbooks, only a few lines were devoted to this event, necessarily mentioning the word "adventure". Yuzefovich reveals to us the reasons for this campaign, and he is no longer seen as a gamble. History is not chronological, it is much, much more complicated. The author is trying to show this complexity - in my opinion, excellently - in the format of the declared "literary and artistic publication" "Winter road". Plus, it brings back to us a number of interesting personalities of that era.

press service of the Editorial Board of Elena Shubina

Secondly, Anna Kozlova's "film novel" "F20" published in the journal "Friendship of Peoples"(N10, 2016). This is a very heavy work - frank, cruel, terrible. In general, it is traditional for Kozlova. No wonder the critic Lev Danilkin called her the author of "ultrashock novels." But Anna Kozlova writes so brightly, fascinatingly and talentedly that it is impossible to break away from this horror.

Thirdly, the book "Shadow of Mazepa" Sergei Belyakov (M.: AST, Editorial Board of Elena Shubina, 2016). I'm not going to rate this piece. It seems that it is very controversial, but to argue, you need deep knowledge in the history of Russia, the history of literature ... The book did not come out yesterday, it has not caused much controversy yet, and this is bad. Such books can help us understand something important. Although - do we want to understand this something? ..

However, equally important were "Crystal in a transparent frame" Vasily Avchenko, "Girl in the Garden" Oleg Ryabov, "In the footsteps of Dersu Uzala" Alexey Korovashko, Trumpeter at the Gates of Dawn Roman Bogoslovsky, "Shukshin" Alexey Varlamov, "Valentin Kataev" Sergei Shargunov, "Blade Flame" Dmitry Novikov, "I want miracles" Elena Tulusheva, "Untranslatable play on words" Alexander Garros...

I want to devote New Year's days to reading books by Alexei Ivanov "Pitchfork" And "Tobol"(M.: AST, edited by Elena Shubina, 2016).

Members of the jury of the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Prize

Marina Moskvina

In Penza at the book festival I bought a volume of Roland Barthes "Fragments of a Love Speech"(translated by V. Lapitsky, M.: GARAGE & AdMarginem, 2015). Essay on the speech of lovers. Rather, this speech itself is intermittent, rough, impulsive. The plot is assembled from fragments. Here are the words of Goethe, mystics, Taoists, Nietzsche, many passing phrases and something accidentally read, friendly conversations and memories. All this splashes in a blurry imperfect stream, narrative voices come, go, fall silent, intertwine, it is generally unknown who speaks - no images, nothing but this confused speech, no bibliography, no systematics, only a rapid heartbeat, and you are with all lovers you feel how reality recedes in the face of this world.

GARAGE & AdMarginem

I enjoyed reading the collection. (M.: AST, edited by Elena Shubina, 2016) — good modern writers talk about places in Moscow that are important to them, where they were born or were just happy. There is also my story about the Nirnsee House in Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky Lane, on the roof of this house I spent my childhood.

And as a person who has been in the clouds since birth, for the New Year holidays she prepared for herself "Entertaining cloud science"(translated by O. Dementievskaya, M. Falikman, M.: Gayatri, 2015). Pure poetry, a unique guide to the clouds by Gavin Praetor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Society.

Alexander Grigorenko

In the past year there were many books, including new and good ones, for example, Evgenia Vodolazkina (M.: AST, Edena Shubina, 2016). But the main discoveries were "Winter road" Leonid Yuzefovich (M.: AST, Editorial Board of Elena Shubina, 2016) and "Stoner" John Williams (Per. L. Motylev, M.: AST, Corpus, 2015), who made the same impression on me as many, many years ago "Death of Ivan Ilyich".

The life of an ordinary person is really worth looking at under a microscope. I also really liked the book "At the origins of the world: Russian etiological tales and legends"(M.: ISl RAN; Forum; Neolit, 2014). And on vacation, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to read something, because work has suddenly piled on - I’ll catch up later.

corpus press office

Marina Stepnova

Of the novelties this year, especially for me strong impression produced "Animator" Andrei Volos (Moscow: EKSMO, 2016) is a tense, subtle novel in which reality magically mixes with fiction. Andrei Volos is generally an extraordinary author, each of his books seems to be written by a different writer, and all these writers have only one thing in common - an amazing talent.

Alexander Garros "Untranslatable play on words"(M.: AST, edited by Elena Shubina, 2016). A clear, intelligent, piercingly honest book, as if by itself gathered from many articles and essays. Garros is one of the few modern critics who honestly tries to understand what is happening in modern Russian literature (and in modern life at the same time). He does not make friends, does not quarrel, does not settle scores. He thinks and observes. And to follow the course of his thought is a great pleasure.

press service of the Editorial Board of Elena Shubina

Hanya Yanagihara "Little Life"(Translated by A. Borisenko, A. Zavozova, V. Sonkin, M.: AST, Corpus, 2016). A sensational novel that drew an equal number of rabid fans and equally rabid detractors. Amazing example how skillfully and according to all the rules a book can make a vivid and vivid impression even on sophisticated readers. Reading is difficult in every sense, sometimes even annoying - but the book is undoubtedly a success.

On New Year holidays I want to finally read Narine Abgaryan(M.: AST, 2016). This book has been on my wishlist for a long time. In general, I really love Narine - she is a wonderful writer and a wonderful person. I just wanted to carve out as much time as possible for this book.

Evgeny Vodolazkin

Of the new publications, I would single out the story of Alexander Grigorenko "Lost the blind pipe"(magazine "October", No. 1, 2016) - bright and tragic. Alexander Grigorenko, whom we know from wonderful novels "Mabeth" And "Ilget", discovered a brand new writer's face. He showed himself to be a musician capable of playing in different registers.

I would also name the story of Narine Abgaryan Three apples fell from the sky(M.: AST, 2016). This is a wonderful text about the Armenian village, alive, real, and at the same time existing in a powerful literary tradition, represented primarily by the great Hrant Matevosyan.

AST press office

To these two stories, I would add another small text - the novel by Julian Barnes (Translated by E. Petrova, St. Petersburg: Azbuka-Atticus, Foreigner, 2016). This is a book about Shostakovich, but not only. With subtlety characteristic of Barnes, it explores the nature of despotism.

I'm going to read a novel by John Williams over the New Year holidays. "Stoner"(Translated by L. Motylev, M .: AST, Corpus, 2015) - everyone somehow did not reach his hands. And also - a novel by Mikhail Gigolashvili « secret year» , which, according to my information, should be released soon.

Vasily Golovanov

This year I read only three books that can be called relatively new. The first is a novel by the Chinese writer Mo Yan "Tired of being born and dying"(Translated by I. Egorov, St. Petersburg: Amphora, 2014). A grandiose epic, all, like Marquez, built on the history of one village - only not Macondo, but Ximengtun. This is truly powerful literature.

The second book is a novel by Sergei Solovyov "Adam's Bridge"(M.: Russian Gulliver, 2013). I don't know how many have read it. Personally, I met Solovyov at the Krasnoyarsk Book Fair, and he shocked me with his stories about India. And the book he wrote is amazing. This is not a travel novel, this is an attempt by the author to regain his beloved through the recollection of their joint journey, everything that they found there was beautiful and important for the further existence of both of them. This is the bridge of love, through which the beloved will unmistakably find the way to the one who is waiting for her. Crazy, but beautiful and very brightly written book!

2016 Boslen

The third book is a study by Andrey Baldin "The New Bukvoskop, or the Transcendent Journey of Nikolai Karamzin"(M.: Boslen, 2016). Andrei is one of the most original thinking people I have ever known. And I'm interested in his argument when he derives the modern Russian language from Karamzin's long foreign voyage. In fact, for the birth of the language in which Pushkin, Zhukovsky and everyone after Karamzin later wrote, almost everything was ready. But abroad, he was the first to catch some kind of wave, some kind of rhythm of modern literary legend and, returning to Russia, wrote the first modern story. « Poor Lisa» . This bringing language out of the wandering was extremely curious to me.

In general, this year my old dream came true - I bought the twenty volumes of Leo Tolstoy. And here I really read ... All the novels, all the novellas and short stories anew - and everything is like the first time ... Bunin read Bunin with the same voraciousness in the spring. I am not at all convinced that it is necessary to read exclusively new items. Therefore, I reread so much what was printed a long time ago. We had the highest, first world-class literature. I don't think it's all that optimistic right now.

During the holidays I will read the autobiography of Vasily Vasilyevich Nalimov "Rope Walker"(M .: Progress, 1994) - an outstanding, although so far only a relatively well-known philosopher. I hope I have a lot of work to do on Nalimov next year: I need to somehow "get used" to the atmosphere and the meanings that this amazing person lived - a mathematician, freethinker, anarchist, mystic, who made a real revolution in philosophy, that the philosophers themselves are just beginning to understand.

Ludmila Saraskina

• Vasily Aksenov. "Catch pigeon mail..." Letters (M.: AST, Editorial Board of Elena Shubina, 2015). The richest correspondence with parents, friends, comrades in the literary profession, extracted from the American archive, provides the most valuable material not only for understanding the fate of the Russian writer, who was forced to become an emigrant, but also for the perception of the Russian emigration of the “third” wave itself.

Vladimir Ermakov In Search of the Lost Metaphysics. The Book of Doubts"(Eagle: spring waters, 2016). A book of deep reflections of a man for whom philosophizing is akin to breathing.

• Butterflies and chrysanthemums. Japanese Classical Poetry of the 9th-19th Centuries". Translated by A. Dolin, V. Markova, A. Gluskina, T. Sokolova-Delyusina. (St. Petersburg: Arka, 2016). An amazingly beautiful book to read and contemplate. “How good, / When you unfold at random / An ancient book - / And in combinations of words / You will find your own soul”. Hokku and tanka side by side with color photographs and woodcuts of birds, flowers, animals, rivers and waterfalls from old albums. Magic lantern.

Press office "Arka"

Guzel Yakhina

The beginning of the outgoing year was successful - it presented two very good books at once. In winter I read the long-awaited Lyudmila Ulitskaya (Moscow: AST, Revision of Elena Shubina, 2015) is a large multi-layered novel-parable, where fiction is imperceptibly intertwined with genuine documents from the family archive of Lyudmila Evgenievna - letters from her grandfather. What was unexpected in the text was that Ulitskaya acted not only as a writer, but also as a production designer - on behalf of the main character Nora, she described the stage keys to solving several plays. Reading - and as if watching performances staged by Ulitskaya.

press service of the Editorial Board of Elena Shubina

In the spring appeared on the bookshelves Evgenia Vodolazkina (M.: AST, Editorial Board of Elena Shubina, 2016). I bought it right away and read it in two days. Reading, I never ceased to be amazed at how masterfully the author speaks Russian, how subtle shades of personal sensory experience can be conveyed in words.

I hope that the coming year will be rich in interesting book novelties. I'm waiting for a novel more than others "Sinologist" Elena Chizhova (M.: AST, Editorial Board of Elena Shubina, 2017). I trust this author - at one time I was shocked by her "Women's Time"(M.: AST, Edited by Elena Shubina, 2009).

Evgeny Chizhov

• Irakli Kvirikadze "Boy Chasing a Wild Duck"(M.: AST, edited by Elena Shubina, 2015). Collection of short stories, scripts and memoirs. Remarkably capacious, concise, outwardly simple and unexpected texts, striking with the ease of transitions from funny to tragic, from farce to parable, from everyday authenticity to absurdity.
• Antoine de Beck "New wave: a portrait of youth"(Translated by Irina Mironenko-Marenkova, Moscow: Rosebud Publishing, 2016). A fascinating study of the revolutionary movement in French cinema that has preserved for us the image of the “greatest decade in the history of mankind”, as in one later film ( "Withnail and Me", 1987) were called the sixties. And in many ways, and formed this image.
• Igor Levshin "Petrusha and the Mosquito"(M.: Russian Lessons, 2015). Tough absurdist stories, among which there are very successful ones. Others simply do not know which side to approach: puzzling, unsettling, irreconcilably opposed to the inertial flow of descriptive literature.

press service "Russian Lessons"

Over the holidays, I'm going to finish reading the amazing autobiography of Oliver Sacks. "On the Move" ("In move") (NY.: Knopf, 2016) — who would have thought that such abysses would open up in the life of a famous doctor and writer?! And if there is time, I will "Thirteenth Apostle" Dmitry Bykov (M.: Young Guard, 2016). Of all the heroes of his biographies, Mayakovsky is the most interesting to me.

Alisa Ganieva

This year, the lion's share of my reading energy has gone to read seventy-odd fresh novels nominated for the award. « . I will highlight the text here is not very wide with us yet famous Sergei Lebedev (M.: Alpina Publisher, 2016). This is part detective, part historical prose and investigation. family secrets. The starting point is August 1991, the anticipation of freedom and reading the grandmother's diary, which suddenly destroys the main character's illusions about his own roots. Can our unpredictable past explain the present, who we are and where we are going? These questions are probably raised in every second novel of 2016, but Lebedev, in my opinion, turned out to be both fascinating, and sincere, and disturbing.

Pleased with the charming collection of essays by Evgeny Lesin “And immediately drank. Viktor Erofeev and others."(M.: RIPOL Classic, 2016). The book is not only about the author "Petushkov", but also about Arcadia Severny, the Marquis de Sade, Edgar Allan Poe, Yuri Olesha, Tatyana Beck, editor Alexander Shchuplov and others. There is also a surprisingly lyrical alco-local study - a guide to wine glasses with prices and related details. And funny, and serious, and, as they say, atmospheric.

But for the upcoming new year holidays I'm going to enjoy reading "Dark Matter and Dinosaurs" physicist Lisa Randall (M.: Alpina non-fiction, 2017) The name is promising.

Thank you literary prize"Yasnaya Polyana" for help in preparing the material.

Russian classics are well known to foreign readers. And what modern authors managed to win the hearts of a foreign audience? Liebs compiled a list of the most famous contemporary Russian writers in the West and their most popular books.

16. Nikolai Lilin Siberian Education: Growing Up in a Criminal Underworld

Opens our rating greedy cranberry . Strictly speaking, Siberian Education is not a novel. Russian author, but Russian-speaking, but this is not the most serious claim to him. In 2013, this book was filmed by the Italian director Gabriele Salvatores, leading role John Malkovich himself played in the film. And thanks to a bad film with a good actor, the book of Nikolai Lilin, a dreamer-tattoo artist from Bendery, who moved to Italy, did not rest in Bose, but entered the annals of history.

Are there Siberians among the readers? Get your hands ready for the facepalms! "Siberian Education" tells about the Urks: an ancient clan of harsh, but noble and pious people, exiled by Stalin from Siberia to Transnistria, but not broken. The lesson has its own laws and strange beliefs. For example, it is impossible to store noble weapons (for hunting) and sinful ones (for business) in the same room, otherwise the noble weapon will be "infected". The infected cannot be used, so as not to bring misfortune to the family. The infected weapon should be wrapped in a sheet on which the newborn baby was lying, and buried, and a tree should be planted on top. Urks always come to the aid of the destitute and weak, they themselves live modestly, they buy icons with the stolen money.

Nikolai Lilin was presented to readers as a "hereditary Siberian Urka", which, as it were, hints at the autobiographical nature of the immortal. Some literary critics and Irvine Welsh himself praised the novel: "It's hard not to admire the people who opposed the tsar, the Soviets, Western materialistic values. If the values ​​of the lesson were common to all, the world would not be faced with an economic crisis generated by greed." Wow!

But it was not possible to deceive all readers. For some time, foreigners who pecked at the exotic bought the novel, but when they discovered that the facts described in it were fabricated, they lost interest in the book. Here is one of the reviews on the book site: "After the first chapter, I was disappointed to realize that this is an unreliable source of information about the Eastern European underworld. In fact, "urka" is a Russian term for "bandit", and not a definition of an ethnic group. And this is just the beginning of a series of inarticulate, meaningless fabrications. I wouldn't mind fiction if the story were good, but I don't even know what irritates me more in the book: the narrator's flatness and mary-ness or his amateurish style."

15. Sergey Kuznetsov ,

Psychological thriller Kuznetsov "" was presented in the West as "Russia's answer to" "". A cocktail of death, journalism, hype and BDSM, some book bloggers hastened to include, no less, in the top ten best novels of all time about serial killers! Readers also noted that through this book they got acquainted with Moscow life, although the conversations of the characters about political parties, about certain events: "Cultural differences immediately make this book stand out and make it somewhat refreshing."

And the novel was criticized for the fact that the scenes of violence were presented through the killer's stories about what had already happened: "You are not with the victim, you do not hope to escape, and this reduces tension. Your heart does not flutter, you do not wonder what will happen next." "A strong start for inventive horror, but clever storytelling gets boring."

14. ,

With all the book publishing activity of Yevgeny Nikolaevich / Zakhar Prilepin in his homeland, he seems to be little concerned about translating his books into other languages. "", "" - that, perhaps, is all that can be found right now in bookstores in the West. "Sankya", by the way, with a foreword by Alexei Navalny. Prilepin's work attracts the attention of foreign audiences, but reviews are mixed: "The book is well written and engaging, but suffers from the writer's general post-Soviet uncertainty about what he is trying to say. Confusion about the future, confused views of the past, and a widespread lack of understanding of what is happening in life today are typical problems. Worth reading, but don't expect to get too much out of the book."

13. , (The Sublime Electricity Book #1)

Recently, a Chelyabinsk writer published good news on his personal website: his books "" and "" were republished in Poland. And on Amazon, the most popular noir cycle is All-Good Electricity. Among the reviews of the novel "": "A great writer and a great book in the style magical steampunk ", "Good, fast developing story With a large number plot twists." "An original combination of steam technology and magic. But the most important advantage of the story is, of course, its narrator Leopold Orso, an introvert with many skeletons in the closet. Sensitive but ruthless, he is able to control other people's fears, but with difficulty his own. His supporters are a succubus, a zombie, and a leprechaun, and the latter is quite funny."

12. , (Masha Karavai Detective Series)

9. , (Erast Fandorin Mysteries #1)

No, don't rush to look on the bookshelves detective Akunina "The Snow Queen". Under this name on English language the first novel from the cycle about Erast Fandorin was published, that is, "". Introducing it to readers, one of the critics said that if Leo Tolstoy had decided to write a detective story, he would have composed Azazel. That is The Winter Queen. Such a statement ensured interest in the novel, but in the end, reader reviews varied. Some were delighted with the novel, they could not tear themselves away until they had finished reading it; others were reserved about the "melodramatic plot and language of the novellas and plays of the 1890s".

8. , (Watch #1)

"Patrols" are well known to Western readers. Someone even called Anton Gorodetsky the Russian version of Harry Potter: "If Harry were an adult and lived in post-Soviet Moscow." When reading "" - the usual fuss around Russian names: "I like this book, but I can't understand why Anton always says the full name of his boss - "Boris Ignatievich"? Has anyone guessed? I've only read half so far, so maybe , will there be an answer later in the book?" IN recent times Lukyanenko did not please foreigners with novelties, so today he is only in 8th place in the rating.

7. ,

Those who have read the novel "" by the medievalist Vodolazkin in Russian, cannot but admire the titanic work of the translator Lisa Hayden. The author admitted that before meeting with Hayden, he was sure that the translation into other languages ​​of his skillful stylization of the Old Russian language is impossible! It is all the more pleasant that all the hard work paid off. Critics and ordinary readers met unhistorical novel very warm: "Quirky, ambitious book", "Uniquely generous, layered work", "One of the most touching and mysterious books you will read."

6. ,

Perhaps it will come as a surprise to Pelevin's fans that the cult novel "" in the writer's homeland has been pressed abroad early writing" ". Western readers put this compact satirical book on a par with "" Huxley: "I strongly recommend reading it!", "This Hubble telescope facing the earth."

"In his 20s, Pelevin witnessed glasnost and the emergence of hope for a national culture based on the principles of openness and justice. At 30, Pelevin saw the collapse of Russia and the unification<…>the worst elements of wild capitalism and gangsterism as a form of government. Science and Buddhism Pelevin became a support for the search for purity and truth. But combined with the outgoing empire of the USSR and the raw materialism of the new Russia, this led to a shift in tectonic plates, a spiritual and creative upheaval, like a magnitude 9 earthquake, which was reflected in Omon Ra.<…>Although Pelevin is fascinated by the absurdity of life, he is still looking for answers. Gertrude Stein once said, "There is no answer. There will be no answer. There has never been an answer. This is the answer." I suspect that if Pelevin agrees with Stein, his tectonic plates will freeze, the shock wave of creativity will go out. We, the readers, would suffer because of this."

"Pelevin never allows the reader to find balance. The first page is intriguing. The last paragraph "Omon Ra" may be the most accurate literary expression existentialism ever written."

5. , (The Dark Herbalist Book #2)

Next, several representatives Russian LitRPG . Judging by the reviews, Mikhail Atamanov, a native of Grozny, the author of the Dark Herbalist series, knows a lot about goblins and gaming literature: "I strongly recommend giving this really unusual hero a chance to impress you!", "The book was excellent, even better." But not yet strong in English: "An excellent example of LitRPG, I liked it. As others have already commented, the ending is hasty, and the translation of slang and colloquial speech from Russian into English is inaccurate. I don't know if the author got tired of the series, or fired the translator and the last 5% of the book relied on Google Translate. Didn't like the Deus ex machina ending too much. But still 5 stars for the big boo. I hope the author continues the series from level 40 to level 250! I'll buy it."

4. , he is G. Akella, Steel Wolves of Craedia(Realm of Arkon #3)

Have you opened the book? Welcome to the online game "World of Arkon"! "I love it when an author grows and improves, and the book, the series, becomes more complex and detailed. After completing this book, I immediately began to reread it - perhaps the best compliment I could give the author."

"I highly recommend reading and complimenting the translator (despite the enigmatic Elven Presley!). The translation is not just a replacement of words, and here the translation of the content from Russian into English is done extremely well."

3. , (The Way of the Shaman Book #1)

"" Vasily Makhanenko gathered a lot positive feedback: "Excellent novel, one of my favorites! Treat yourself and read this series!!", "I'm very impressed with the book. The story and character progression are well written. Can't wait for the next book to come out in English", "I've read everything and I want to continue the series! "," It was a great read. There were grammatical errors, usually a missing word or not quite accurate wording, but they were few and they were insignificant.

2. , (Play to Live #1)

The cycle "Play to Live" is based on a stunning collision that will leave few indifferent: the terminally ill guy Max (in the Russian version of the book "" - Gleb) goes into virtual reality in order to feel the pulse of life again in the Other World, to find friends, enemies and experience incredible adventures.

Sometimes readers grumble: “Max is ridiculously over-gifted. For example, he reaches level 50 in 2 weeks. He is the only one who creates the necessary item in a world with 48 million experienced gamers. But I can forgive all this: who wants to read a book about a gamer stuck on level 3 killing rabbits? This book is popcorn to read, pure junk food, and I enjoy it. From a Female Perspective, I would give the book a 3 out of 5: Everyday Misogyny. Max does some derogatory, supposedly funny , remarks about women, and the only female character then cries, then has sex with Max. But overall, I would recommend this book to gamers. She is pure pleasure."

"I have not read the author's biography, but judging by the book and the references, I am sure that he is Russian.<…>I have worked with many of them and have always enjoyed their company. They never get depressed. That's what I think makes this book amazing. The main character is told that he has an inoperable brain tumor. However, he's not overly depressed, doesn't complain, just evaluates options and lives in VR. Very good story. It is dark, but there is no evil in it."

1. , (Metro 2033 #1)

If you are familiar with modern Russian science fiction writers, it is not difficult to guess who will be at the top of our rating: translation of books into 40 languages, sales of 2 million copies - yes, this is Dmitry Glukhovsky! Odyssey in the scenery of the Moscow subway. " " is not a classic LitRPG, but the novel was created to symbiosis with a computer shooter. And if once the book promoted the game, now the game promotes the book. Translations, professional audiobooks, a website with a virtual tour of the stations - and a logical result: the "population" of the world created by Glukhovsky is growing every year.

"It's a fascinating journey. The characters are real. The ideologies of the various 'states' are believable. Unknown in the dark tunnels, the tension is to the point. By the end of the book, I was deeply impressed by the world the author created and how much I cared about the characters." "Russians know how to write apocalyptic, nightmarish stories. You only need to read The Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic, Hansovsky's Day of Wrath, or see the amazing Letters of a Dead Man by Lopushansky to feel: they understand well what it means to live on the edge of the abyss. Claustrophobia and dangerous, frightening dead ends; Metro 2033 is a world of uncertainty and fear, straddling the line between survival and death."

Modern Russian writers continue to create their excellent works in this century. They work in various genres, each of them has an individual and unique style. Some are familiar to many dedicated readers from their writings. Some surnames are on everyone's lips, as they are extremely popular and promoted. However, there are also such modern Russian writers that you will learn about for the first time. But this does not mean at all that their creations are worse. The fact is that in order to highlight true masterpieces, a certain amount of time must pass.

Modern Russian writers of the 21st century. List

Poets, playwrights, prose writers, science fiction writers, publicists, etc. continue to work fruitfully in this century and add to the works of great Russian literature. This:

• Alexander Bushkov.
• Alexander Zholkovsky.
• Alexandra Marinina.
• Alexander Olshansky.
• Alex Orlov.
• Alexander Rosenbaum.
• Alexander Rudazov.
• Alexey Kalugin.
• Alina Vitukhnovskaya.
• Anna and Sergei Litvinov.
• Anatoly Salutsky.
• Andrey Dashkov.
• Andrey Kivinov.
• Andrey Plekhanov.
• Boris Akunin.
• Boris Karlov.
• Boris Strugatsky.
• Valery Ganichev.
• Vasilina Orlova.
• Vera Vorontsova.
• Vera Ivanova.
• Viktor Pelevin.
• Vladimir Vishnevsky.
• Vladimir Voinovich.
• Vladimir Gandelsman.
• Vladimir Karpov.
• Vladislav Krapivin.
• Vyacheslav Rybakov.
• Vladimir Sorokin.
• Darya Dontsova.
• Dina Rubina.
• Dmitry Emets.
• Dmitry Suslin.
• Igor Volgin.
• Igor Huberman.
• Igor Lapin.
• Leonid Kaganov.
• Leonid Kostomarov.
• Love Zakharchenko.
• Maria Arbatova.
• Maria Semyonova.
• Michael Weller.
• Mikhail Zhvanetsky.
• Mikhail Zadornov.
• Mikhail Kukulevich.
• Mikhail Makovetsky.
• Nick Perumov.
• Nicholas Romanetsky.
• Nikolay Romanov.
• Oksana Robsky.
• Oleg Mityaev.
• Oleg Pavlov.
• Olga Stepnova.
• Sergei Mohammed.
• Tatiana Stepanova.
• Tatiana Ustinova.
• Edward Radzinsky.
• Edward Uspensky.
• Yuri Mineralov.
• Yunna Moritz.
• Yulia Shilova.

Moscow writers

Modern writers (Russian) do not cease to amaze with their interesting works. Separately, it is necessary to single out the writers of Moscow and the Moscow region, who are members of various unions.

Their writing is excellent. Only a certain time must pass in order to highlight real masterpieces. After all, time is the most severe critic, which cannot be bribed by anything.

Let's highlight the most popular.

Poets: Avelina Abareli, Pyotr Akaemov, Evgeny Antoshkin, Vladimir Boyarinov, Evgenia Bragantseva, Anatoly Vetrov, Andrei Voznesensky, Alexander Zhukov, Olga Zhuravleva, Igor Irteniev, Rimma Kazakova, Elena Kanunova, Konstantin Koledin, Evgeny Medvedev, Mikhail Mikhalkov, Grigory Osipov and a lot others.

Playwrights: Maria Arbatova, Elena Isaeva and others.

Prose writers: Eduard Alekseev, Igor Bludilin, Evgeny Buzni, Genrikh Gatsura, Andrey Dubovoy, Yegor Ivanov, Eduard Klygul, Yuri Konoplyannikov, Vladimir Krupin, Irina Lobko-Lobanovskaya and others.

Satirists: Zadornov.

Modern Russian writers from Moscow and the Moscow region have created: wonderful works for children, a large number of poems, prose, fables, detective stories, fantasy, humorous stories and much more.

First among the best

Tatyana Ustinova, Daria Dontsova, Yulia Shilova are modern writers (Russians), whose works are loved and read with great pleasure.

T. Ustinova was born on April 21, 1968. With humor refers to his high growth. She said that in kindergarten she was teased by "Herculesina". There were certain difficulties in connection with this at school and institute. Mom read a lot in childhood, which instilled in Tatyana a love for literature. It was very difficult for her at the institute, since physics was very difficult. But I managed to finish my studies, my future husband helped. I got on television quite by accident. Got a job as a secretary. But after seven months went up career ladder. Tatyana Ustinova was a translator and worked in the administration of the President of the Russian Federation. After the change of power, she returned to television. However, this job was also fired. After that, she wrote her first novel, Personal Angel, which was immediately published. They returned to work. Things went up. She gave birth to two sons.

Prominent satirists

Everyone is very familiar with Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Mikhail Zadornov - modern Russian writers, masters of the humorous genre. Their works are very interesting and funny. The performances of comedians are always expected, tickets for their concerts are sold out immediately. Each of them has its own image. The witty Mikhail Zhvanetsky always takes the stage with a briefcase. The public loves him very much. His jokes are often quoted as being insanely funny. In the theater of Arkady Raikin, Zhvanetsky began big success. Everyone said: "as Raikin said." But their union eventually fell apart. The performer and the author, the artist and the writer had different tracks. Zhvanetsky brought with him to society a new literary genre, which at first was mistaken for an ancient one. Some are surprised why "a man without a voice and an actor's presentation enters the stage"? However, not everyone understands that in this way the writer publishes his works, and not just performs his miniatures. And in this sense, variety art as a genre has nothing to do with it. Zhvanetsky, despite the misunderstanding on the part of some people, remains great writer of his era.

Bestsellers

Below are Russian writers. Three most interesting historical adventure stories are included in Boris Akunin's book "History Russian state. Fiery Finger". This is an amazing book that every reader will enjoy. An exciting plot, bright characters, incredible adventures. All this is perceived in one breath. "Love for Three Zuckerbrins" by Viktor Pelevin makes you think about the world and human life. He puts at the forefront questions that concern many people who are able and eager to think and think.His interpretation of being meets the spirit of modernity.Myth and the tricks of creatives, reality and virtuality are closely intertwined here.The book by Pavel Sanaev "Bury me behind the plinth" was nominated for the Booker Prize.It produced a real sensation in the book market. place of honor in contemporary Russian literature. This is a true masterpiece of modern prose. Easy to read and interesting. Some chapters are filled with humor, while others move to tears.

Best Novels

Modern novels by Russian writers captivate with a new and amazing plot, make you empathize with the main characters. In the historical novel "Abode" by Zakhar Prilepin, an important and at the same time sore subject of the Solovetsky special purpose camps is touched upon. In the writer's book, that complex and heavy atmosphere is deeply felt. Whom she did not kill, she made stronger. The author created his novel on the basis of archival documentation. He skillfully inserts monstrous historical facts into the artistic canvas of the work. Many works of contemporary Russian writers are worthy examples, excellent creations. Such is the novel "Darkness Falls on the Old Steps" by Alexander Chudakov. It was recognized as the best Russian novel by the jury members of the Russian Booker competition. Many readers have decided that this essay is autobiographical. The thoughts and feelings of the characters are so authentic. However, this is an image of true Russia in a difficult period of time. The book combines humor and incredible sadness, lyrical episodes smoothly flow into epic ones.

Conclusion

Modern Russian writers of the 21st century are another page in the history of Russian literature.

Daria Dontsova, Tatyana Ustinova, Yulia Shilova, Boris Akunin, Viktor Pelevin, Pavel Sanaev, Alexander Chudakov and many others won the hearts of readers all over the country with their works. Their novels and stories have already become real bestsellers.