A. Zinoviev's novel “Homo Sovieticus”: on the issue of the model of narration

Abstract

The paper analyzes the narrative structure of A. Zinoviev’s novel “Homo Sovieticus” in the aspect of the formation of the rhythm of the narrative and the “world of history” presented by the I-hero. The identification of methods and techniques for presenting events, building event chains that form the main storylines, allows us to assess the originality and effectiveness of the narrative strategy and tactics used by the author. The question of the formation of the “texture” and the rhythm of the narrative is considered in the context of the actual problem of the “narrative model”, characteristic of emigrant authors who reflect their own difficult existential experience in their works, in particular, in comparison with the novel “The Return of the Buddha” by G. Gazdanov. The results obtained during the analysis of the text allow us to talk about the “crisis” narrative model that shapes the world of the story of the hero of the novel “Homo Sovieticus”.