MODERN MILITARY PROSE: GENRE AND STYLE TYPOLOGY

Abstract

The paper deals with the typology of modern Ukrainian military prose based on the analysis of relevant novels. According to the structural and functional features of the works, it is reasonable to classify them using division into high/mass/intermediate literature. The first type includes complex and multidimensional texts (with allusions, literary reminiscences, irony, parody, etc.), and their action takes place mainly in a mental sphere. Heroes are characterized by understanding of social processes and war realities (significant is the presence of two identities, “properly Ukrainian” and “Soviet”); they rethink their mistakes and transform in response to new challenges. These texts are mostly focused on the acquisition of individual subjectivity. They require a trained erudite reader who can discern the writer’s narratives behind their multi-layered nature. Mass literature includes works where action dominates, and such elements as shooting, chase, superman hero, excessive emotions, love triangle, etc. are widely used. The adventure genre, military detective, melodrama, and action novel are currently most fully represented. Intermediate prose may combine, on the one hand, topical social issues, character evolution, logical and consistent presentation of events (as a feature of “high literature”) with a simplified plot and images, the lack of attention to the psychology of the characters, and various means of mass literature. Contemporary Ukrainian writers have managed to create a large-scale cultural discourse, offering works that cover the problem of war, its causes and consequences, and the topic of a person at war from different perspectives and contexts.