Literature in Post-Communist Russia and Eastern Europe

The Russian, Czech and Slovak Fiction of the Changes 1988-98

Rajendra Anand Chitnis author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:29th Apr '09

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Literature in Post-Communist Russia and Eastern Europe cover

This book considers Russian, Czech and Slovak fiction in the late communist and early post-communist periods. It focuses on the most innovative trend to emerge in this period, on those writers who, during and after the collapse of communism, characterised themselves as 'liberators' of literature. It shows how these writers in their fiction and critical work reacted against the politicisation of literature by Marxist-Leninist and dissident ideologues, rejecting the conventional perception of literature as moral teacher, and redefining the nature and purpose of writing. The book demonstrates how this quest, enacted in the works of these writers, served for many critics and readers as a metaphor for the wider disorientation and crisis precipitated by the collapse of communism.

'We have a book here which offers valuable insights into an analysis of three literatures as they have evolved over the first decade following the collapse of Communism.' - MLR

One of the strengths of this work lies in its comparative nature. It does not treat Czech and Slovak writers as mere material for comparison: It presents them as full-fledged players… The study has two more great strengths. The first, though merely technical, is not to be taken lightly: the corpus of works under discussion represents a judiciously chosen reading list of the most significant fiction in the three literatures during the decade following the fall of Communism… The other strength lies in the clear, concise, but never reductionist analyses of the main contribution to the corpus. - Michael Heim, University of California, Los Angeles. Review in Slavic and East European Journal


'We have a book here which offers valuable insights into an analysis of three literatures as they have evolved over the first decade following the collapse of Communism.' - MLR

ISBN: 9780415546140

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 380g

206 pages