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Neurosis time ! (i.e. The seven genres of Russia's literary giants)

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       At Russia Beyond the Headlines they print Konstantin Milchin's look at how contemporary Russian novelists 'interpret contemporary society while paying tribute to the world's finest literary traditions', in The seven genres of Russia's literary giants.
       Yes, he finds:
During the past 20 years, Russian writers have been trying to find their place in a new reality. The task is herculean, at best: A modern writer is expected, on the one hand, to follow a great literary tradition and, on the other hand, to interpret contemporary society. This struggle reveals itself through several (exactly seven) categories that unite today's fiction writers.
       Yes, it's an interesting idea, and amusingly done -- but, as so often, something is lost in translation, as is also hinted here in the note that: "This article has been abridged from the original Russian version".
       Fortunately and admirably they do link to the Russian original -- and, as the title of the piece in the original ('Невроз времени' -- 'Neurosis time') might suggest, there's a little more to it here. So, for example, there's a mention of Mikhail Shishkin's Maidenhair (forthcoming in English from Open Letter), which has been cut from the English translation .....
       But worth a look, in either version.

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