РОМАН АЛЕКСЕЯ ИВАНОВА «ТЕНИ ТЕВТОНОВ» НА ФОНЕ ЕГО ПРЕЖНИХ ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЙ

Abstract

Alexey Ivanov's new novel «Shadows of the Teutons» is considered in the context of the writer’s main works written since the early 1990s. The authors put forward the thesis about the experimental nature of the book which is a printed text of an audio novel. Compared with the other works by Ivanov, especially such masterpieces as his metaphysical novels «The Heart of Parma» and «The Gold of Rebellion» and the realistic ones like «The Geographer Drank his Globe Away» and «The Rough Weather», «Shadows of the Teutons» differ in a simplified character treatment, lack of deep psychology and development of an adventure story to the detriment of its philosophical depth. In the novel, there is also a tendency to simplify complex historical issues, and the characters correspond to the familiar historical «masks»: a sneaky and mercenary fascist governor, a committed old pilot associated with ancient mysticism, a pure girl, suffering civilian population consisting of people that fell victim to propaganda and are ready to die rather than to face the Soviet army. Recognizable are the images of Soviet soldiers, the liberators that seem to have just stepped out of books or come from movie screens. Ivanov’s new novel is related to his other works by the lack of a ‘happy ending’ and ‘geographical inspiration’ which allows the author to create memorable scenery of East Prussia, its ancient castles and cities that existed both in the 16th century and in the first days after the Victory of 1945. The article concludes that the new novel by Alexey Ivanov, unlike his early works, is a conscious appeal to the style and plot of ‘mass’ literature, necessary for the book’s rapid commercial success to the detriment of its artistic level.