Tendenz und Verfremdung. Studien zum Funktionswandel des russischen satirischen Romans im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert by Jochen-Ulrich s> Peters (review)

Abstract

304 SEER, 8i, 2, 2003 the degree of thoughtwhich theyhave given to the usefulnessoftheirexercises, and also shows their awarenessof modern trends in pedagogy. Secondly, the authors make it clear that Rus'is intended not only to develop proficiency in Russian, but to develop awareness of linguistic and grammatical concepts in general. Hence in the third part of the book, one of the Reference Tools is a section entitled 'Language Awareness', in which there are subdivisions corresponding to the units of course materials,where each grammartopic is studiedin depth, contrastedwith other Europeanlanguagesand given a wider linguisticcontext. One of the generaleducational aims of Rus'is 'to contribute to students' awareness of language as a system of communication: to give students a critical awareness of how meaning is organised and mediated through the formsand structuresof Russian and to develop a basic awareness of the nature of language and language learning' (p. 535). In these days when a real understanding of English grammar, let alone that of a target foreign language, is at a premium among students, it is heartening to see a textbook tackling this issue head on and making grammar, semantics and other linguisticconcepts accessible, relevant, and fully integrated into the language learning process. These two aspects of the course to my mind make it a fresh, modern piece of considerableintellectualsubstance. It would appear that Smyth and Crosbie have thought of everything:there is even a checklistfor learnersto tick off when they have mastered individual structuresand tasksand learned certain quantitiesof topic-basedvocabulary. Indeed one cannot help but feel that they have tried to be all things to all people and to cut off every area of criticism that is regularly levelled at language learning textbooks. In many respects, I would say that they have succeeded. But there are a couple of significantflaws:with all its impressive content, Rus'appears dauntingly large, and it is too expensive. C34.95for a paperbackis quite an outlay for today's students, and I cannot imagine who will buy the hardback at just shy of one hundred pounds. It perhaps would have been wiserto publish a students'edition minus the Teachers'Guidelines so as to shortenthe book and lower its price. I hope that these weaknesseswill not standin the way of its success. Department ofRussian andSlavonic Studies S. F. HUDSPITH University ofLeeds Peters,Jochen-Ulrich. Tendenz undVerfremdung. Studien zumFunktionswandel des russischen satirischen Romans im I9. und20. jaahrhundert. Slavica Helvetica, 66. PeterLang, Bern, 2000. 329 pp. Notes. Bibliography.?45.00. THIS is an impressivestudy of the Russian nineteenth- and twentieth-century satiricalnovel byJochen-Ulrich Peters(b. I943), professorof Slavonic studies at the University of Zurich. Although it can be read as a coherent whole, as Peterspoints out, the volume is not intended to offera 'complete historyof the genre of the Russian satire' (p. 9), but rather attempts to trace the process in which the carefully selected individual texts attain a universal, timeless significance. Peters has produced an excellently constructed and highly REVIEWS 305 readable study consisting of eleven discrete essays which can be considered either in isolation or together as a whole, with equal success. Petersopens with a review of the picaresque novel, followed by an analysis of ten prototypicaltextswhich are submittedto a functionalreadingas satires. Incorporatingthe relevantAnglo-American, German and Russianspecialized literature, Peters examines his corpus of Russian texts which extends from Gogol' to Zinov'ev, in a well-balanced, systematic,and detailed analysis.The genesis of these texts is considered, along with informationon theirbiography and historicalbackground.The commentary also integratestransparentand lucid consideration of the long-term impact of the texts and their aesthetic reception. Peters's evident scholarship is combined with a compelling fascination with his subject, which makes his commentary all the more involving. In the volume's introduction, Petersdiscussesthe 'characteristicfeaturesof satirical writing' and the 'specifics of the satirical novel' (p. I3) without resortingto emphatic definitions. Five central questions are addressed:i) the relationshipbetween the satiricalworld of the novel and the world outside it; ii) the problem of the satiricalnorm;iii) the complex relationshipbetween the real author and the satirical 'persona';iv) the connections between humour, carnivalization and satire, and finally, v) the specifics of the satirical novel. Peters argues that the satirical novel, like the...