In the book "Valkyrie" Semenova showed herself

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

"Valkyrie, or the one I'm always waiting for" is a legendary novel written in 1988 by the famous writer Maria Semyonova and received worldwide recognition. For many years, the story of an outcast girl who went to seek her happiness has inspired millions of women and is the subject of admiration for many men.

For the book "Valkyrie" Semenova received more than one award, becoming famous not only as a writer of short stories, but also receiving the unofficial title of "the youngest female novelist of the USSR".

Design

The book "Valkyrie, or the One I Always Wait for" was originally conceived as a women's novel that tells about the difficult fate of a warrior girl who had to achieve everything in this life herself, to fight for her happiness not just with life's difficulties, but also with enemies of the kind.

This can be partly explained by the fact that in 1986, when Maria Semenova had just started writing the novel, a series of tragic events took place in her life.events: the institute where she was engaged in research activities was closed, and she and her father lost their jobs. By that time, Maria Vasilievna had already published two books, and she decides to seriously engage in writing, simultaneously working as a translator at the North-West publishing house, which at that moment was publishing the saga of Conan the Barbarian.

According to the writer, Semenova came up with the idea of the novel "Valkyrie" just at the time of her forced departure from the institute, and this idea became a way out of the impending crisis.

Writing a book

The creation of the novel "Valkyrie, or the One I Always Wait for" took the young writer 11 months, which she spent at her father's dacha. The writing of the novel took place in a tense atmosphere, in an atmosphere of severe discipline. Maria Semenova got up at 6 in the morning, did her exercises, sat at her desk at 7 o'clock, and only at 5 o'clock in the evening allowed herself to rest and have dinner.

Semyonova did not have the opportunity to visit the library during this period, so the writer reproduced all the historical details and mythological features from memory, using only her city notebooks and test sketches.

In the middle of 1987, the novel was ready, and Maria Vasilievna reprinted it by hand in her apartment in Leningrad. Before taking the book to the publisher, the writer carefully edited the novel, adding many details and several storylines.

Popularity

Hard workSemenova was rewarded: in 1988, the novel "Valkyrie, or the One I Always Wait for" was published by the largest publishing house in the USSR - "Children's Literature". It received the honorary title of History Book of the Year almost immediately.

A huge circulation of 30 million copies at that time was sold out in a few weeks, and in 1989 the novel was again reprinted in an even larger circulation.

Semenova admits that she received a huge number of letters asking for a continuation of the novel, as well as with warm reviews about the new book.

In the book "Valkyrie" Semenova showed herself as a mature and experienced writer-historian. Critics noted the severity, conciseness, and at the same time, the incredible lyricism of the work, the writer's careful attitude to historical facts and the rich literary language of the young talent.

“The Valkyrie, or the One I Always Wait for” very quickly became the visiting card of the writer, and until the publication of the legendary “Wolfhound” in 1995, it was considered her most famous novel.

The book "Valkyrie", which the writer still receives reviews from all over the world, definitely found its reader.

Since its first publication in 1988, the novel has been repeatedly reprinted by leading publishing houses in Russia and the CIS, bringing the writer ever greater fame.

Historical background

The book "Valkyrie" by Semenova is almost entirely based on ancient Slavic and Scandinavian sagas and legends. motivealienation of a girl from her home, the motif of expulsion from the family was a key one in Scandinavian literature, however, in the sagas and legends, as a rule, men were expelled from the family, who, leaving, returned with blood and then obtained glory. The exiled girl, the main character of the novel, first of all seeks her female happiness and returns home only after finding it.

The image of a female warrior has been one of the most sought after in the folklore and artistic tradition for more than one century, showing not only the desire of a woman for independence, but also the strength of the female spirit, the ability to defend her interests, her honor and her love, the ability seek and get what you want at any cost.

Maria Semenova actively borrows the cultural features of the Scandinavian sagas, organically inserting them into her story. This made the historical novel truly authentic, partly documentary.

Semenova's book "Valkyrie" can clearly demonstrate the life of our distant ancestors, and not just create a static picture in the mind, but plunge the reader headlong into a lively and fascinating story.