Mikhail Shishkin: biography, reviews, criticism

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

Writer Mikhail Shishkin: a brief biography, main works, critics' attitude to the writer's work and lifestyle. Prizes and awards received by the writer. Reviews of his work.

Mikhail Shishkin: biography

To say that Mikhail Shishkin appeared in the family would be wrong, because he had no family even before birth. The mother of the future writer is a school teacher of Ukrainian origin. Supporting rebellious moods at school, she got into a story, the only way out of which was to go on maternity leave and have a child. So on January 18, 1961, Mikhail was born, but this fact did not return his father, who served in the Navy as a submariner, to the family.

Difficulties at a young age

The mother raised the boy alone, and Mikhail had to go to work quite early. Young Shishkin had to work as a janitor and asph alt paver. At the same time, the young man did not leave the dream of entering the institute. In 1982, Mikhail graduated from the Romano-Germanic Faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical University.

Rise and fall

Working in the then popular magazine "Rovesnik" wasassociated with the need to agree with the policy of the government in everything. But Mikhail developed a negative attitude towards the power of the Soviets back in his school days. In the 80s, personal opinion was not yet welcomed. As a result, a good journalist Shishkin ended up in a school where he worked as a teacher of English and German. It was impossible to call such a change a career take-off, rather the opposite.

Wives and children

The writer's first wife is Irina, Russian. She has a son with Michael. The second, Francesca Stöcklin, is a native of Switzerland. At the time of her acquaintance with Shishkin, she studied Slavic studies. In 1995, Mikhail and Francesca had a son, Konstantin. Since that time, the writer began to permanently reside in Switzerland. There he not only wrote novels, but also gave lessons, made translations.

In 2011, the writer marries for the third time. His wife was Evgenia Frolkova, with whom Mikhail also has children.

Best Works

Shishkin wrote four novels: "Notes of Larionov", "The Capture of Ishmael", "Venus Hair", "Letter Book". All of them became famous and found their readers. In addition to novels, Shishkin wrote the novels "The Blind Musician" and "St. Mark's Campanile", as well as several short stories, including "Calligraphy Lesson" and "Saved Language".

Mikhail Shishkin writes an average of one novel every five years. After writing the novel "Venus Hair" for four years, Mikhail did not write. The Letterbook was written in a year and was released five years after Venus's Hair.

Shishkin's works: what are they about?

It seems that the novel "The Capture of Ishmael" should tell about how the famous fortress was taken. But the writer, having intrigued the people with the title, describes the events of the past completely unexpectedly, not in the way it is done in military historical works.

“Venus Hair” tells about events that took place in different countries at different times. The main component of all destinies described in the novel is love. She is happy and tragic, beyond eras and distances.

It would seem that everything has long been told about the fate of the landowners in the century before last, but no, Shishkin in his novel Larionov's Notes reveals the old topic in a new way. The fate of the landowner Larionov is described in such a way that it is impossible not to be interested in this story from the first lines.

First love, letters, mystery, connection of times. About all this - Shishkin's new novel "The Letter Book".

Criticism

All criticism at the moment is focused not on the assessment of Shishkin's work, but on his refusal to go to the US for a book fair. The writer explained his act, as always, by disagreeing with government policy. But is it any wonder if he “sins” with this from childhood? Who knows what Mikhail Shishkin was guided by this time, whether it was really political considerations or the opportunity to draw more attention to his person in this way? I must say, the second one turned out perfectly.

If we talk in general about the work of the writer Shishkin, then the attitude of critics towards him is ambiguous. Alonethey call him talented, others believe that too much is required from the reader to unravel all the secrets, which are abundant in the writer's works. Despite everything, books that have received so many various awards and nominations cannot be mediocre, each of them has found its reader.

Mikhail Shishkin: reviews

Like the revelations of critics, readers' reviews of Shishkin's work are like two sides of the same coin. Some say it's the best thing they've ever read, others say the opposite.

Some readers write that the book "The Letterbook" is terrible: you want to relax your soul while reading, but you have to go through all the difficulties of life, ups and downs, together with the characters. The monologues of the heroes are called penetrating to the point of unbearability by other readers who understand that this story is about love and the meaning of life. Such diverse opinions have developed among different people about the Letter Book.

The book "Notes Larionov" does not cause such a storm of passions in readers. If you do not know who the author of this work is, you can assume that the book was written by a contemporary of the protagonist, so the language of the narrative in it is in tune with that era.

The readers have the same diverse opinions about the novel "The Capture of Ishmael". Some feel sorry for the author for what he had to endure far from his homeland, others call this work a settling of scores. There are those who believe that they have not read anything better in their lives.

Awards, prizes and nominations

Shishkin Mikhail is a writer whose work does not go unnoticed by the reading public. All of his novels have received some kind of award. In 2011, the writer received the Big Book Award for his novel The Letterbook. In the same year, Mikhail Pavlovich Shishkin became a laureate of the International Literary Prize of the Berlin House of Culture of the Peoples of the World for the novel "Venus Hair". 2010 - the Imhonet portal gives Shishkin the first prize in the Favorite Writer category. The same year - the order of the magazine "Banner". In 2006, the writer became the winner of the "Big Book" award, and in 2005 - "National Bestseller" for the novel "Venus Hair". For "The Capture of Ishmael" in 2000 - the award "Russian Booker". For the same work in 1999, Shishkin received the Globe Award.

Conclusion

Despite the ambiguity of opinions regarding the work and lifestyle of this man, it cannot be said that Mikhail Shishkin is a significant figure in Russian literature. Of course, life abroad left its mark on the mind of the writer and his manner of presentation, as evidenced, in particular, by readers' reviews of the novel The Capture of Ishmael. But after all, as mentioned earlier, the tandem "Mikhail Shishkin - criticism of government policy" is inseparable, which, nevertheless, does not in the least prevent the writer from creating good books, and the reader from plunging into the world of his illusions and passions with pleasure.