The paradise is too far [Book review: Rybakov V. On a Hairy Back. St. Petersburg, Limbus Press, Izd. K. Tublina, 2016, 367 p.]

D.E. Martynov

Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia

E-mail: dmitrymartynov80@mail.ru

Received October 28, 2016

Full text PDF

Abstract

V.M. Rybakov's new novel “On a Hairy Back” published in 2016 is discussed in the review. V.M. Rybakov is an author who successfully combines writing and in-depth studying of the Chinese law of the Tang period. He made his first appearance in science fiction in the early 1980s, having taken its own place within the niche of social-psychological science fiction. The new novel can be considered from two points of view: as the completion of all major problems covered in the author's works and as the transfer to a fundamentally new level. The novel “On a Hairy Back” has been compared to other works created by the author at different stages of his creative activity: the alternative historical fiction “Gravilyot “Tsesarevitch”” (1992) and the fairytale burlesque “Eurasian Symphony” (2000–2005) published together with I.A. Alimov under the name of Holm van Zaichik. The author's method has served as the basis for comparison: the key fictional problems are solved through demonstration of the life and feelings of living people, and love collision is put in the first place. The major narrative frame, problem introduction and resolution is love drama, which is laid over a whole complex of ethical and moral and cultural reflections. The choice of main characters and their actions are determined by external forces, which are compared to the natural forces. The plot of the novel is built following the outline of the real story and even accompanied by the historical documents and investigations, as well as the commentaries by modern historians and politicians. The plot is linear and comprises the period from October 1938 to September 1939. All characters are, in one way or other, related to the elaboration and signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The main character narrates from the eternity, because he was killed by his own wife in the final part of the novel. This method (“distancing”) allows the author to tell the story from all times at once with considerable anachronisms.

Keywords: Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Rybakov, modern prose, science fiction, utopia, USSR in fiction

References

1. Shmal'ko A.V. (Andrei Valentinov). Who Lives in Ghetto (Science Fiction Writers in Jungles of Modern Literature) [Presented at the Kharkiv International Festival of Science Fiction “Star Bridge-2000”]. Available at: http://www.rusf.ru/star/doklad/2000/shm-dokl.htm. (In Russian)
2. Karpov V.A. Russian Writers of the 20th Century: Biographical Dictionary. Nikolaev P.A. (Ed.). Moscow, BRE, Randevu, 2000, pp. 267–268. (In Russian)
3. Rybakov V. Holm van Zaichik as the Mirror of Russian Conservatism. Available at: http://politconservatism.ru/articles/kholm-van-zaychik-kak-zerkalo-russkogo-konservatizma. (In Russian)
4. Unknown Strugatsky Brothers. From “The Doomed City” to “The Powerless that Be”: Drafts, Manus­cripts, Variants. Donetsk, Stalker, 2008. 510 p. (In Russian)

For citation: Martynov D.E. The paradise is too far [Book review: Rybakov V. On a Hairy Back. St. Petersburg, Limbus Press, Izd. K. Tublina, 2016, 367 p.]. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2017, vol. 159, no. 1, pp. 282–291. (In Russian)

The content is available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.