Notes on the close circle

Abstract

N. Pereyaslov reminisces about contemporary authors who passed away in the early 21st c.: Sergey Esin, Valentin Rasputin, and Vyacheslav Dyogtev. The article is effectively a collection of delayed obituaries considering the works of the three writers in retrospect and recognising their respective contributions to modern Russian prose. Each of the three was personally known to Pereyaslov, so he shares his memories of them as writers and friends simultaneously, as well as his impressions of their books, like S. Esin’s sensational Diaries [Dnevniki], V. Rasputin’s late short stories, and V. Dyogtev’s prose that depicts numerous unpalatable and deplorable aspects of contemporary Russian history. Especially interesting is the recollection of the first reading of such provocative and controversial works as Dyogtev’s short stories and Rasputin’s Ivan’s Daughter, Ivan’s Mother [Doch Ivana, mat Ivana]: this memory reacquaints us with the living and breathing, and uninterrupted literary process where the writers portrayed in Pereyaslov’s article play an important role.