Abstract
The article considers the novels "Vuryso Bum" ("Scarface", 1933) and "Gayan" ("Gayan", 1936) by Udmurt writer Mikhail Konovalov in terms of principles used by the author to create artistic reality. From the point of view of social realism, Mikhail Konovalov is free to experiment; he introduces constructivism, romanticism, naïvism using an arsenal of realistic devices; folklore and mythological origins are realised through a subconscious appeal to the Perm animal style ("Vuryso Bum") and a fairy tale model ("Gayan"). The prose writer reveals a regional spirit (animus loci); in his texts Ural is presented both as a spatial continuum and a living organism that determines characters’ personalities. For example, the novel "Gayan" depicts Izhevsk mining metallurgical settlement in the 1770s, the novel "Vuryso Bum" shows the working routine of Izhstal Plant rolling shop: one of the characters is dreaming about a factory of the future - a glass building immersed in trees, and people flying freely to colonised Mars. In the novel "Vuryso Bum", the main character is the collective "we" which combines many different personalities. The character of Gondyr, a trickster, existing between two worlds and trying to get used to an industrial city, can be considered the writer's artistic success. The "creator vs. destroyer" conflict, traditional for the 1930s, is embodied in the characters of a rational Dubov and a hidden enemy Nushin. An invariant of Beauty and the Beast's plot can be found in the relationship between Nushin and young Lina. The main principle of the novel "Gayan" is the combination of historical-ethnographic elements and elements of adventure. Varieties of fortunes of Gayan, a beautiful Luisa, and an ugly Balyan develop around a historical background of Pugachev's Rebellion; Emelyan Pugachev, Salavat Yulaev, Alymov, the head of Izhevsk Factory, and others play a certain role in their relationship. M. Konovalov creates a vivid and unique picture of ethnic reality in both novels.
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