Writer Alexei Varlamov: biography and creativity

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

Alexey Varlamov is a famous Russian prose writer. He was born on June 23, 1963 in Moscow in the family of an employee of Glavlit and a teacher of the Russian language. Varlamov Aleksey Nikolayevich was fond of reading, fishing, traveling since childhood. This was reflected in the autobiographical novel "Kupavna" created in 2000. Alexei Nikolaevich traveled a lot around the world and Russia - he visited the middle zone of our country, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Urals, Baikal, the Carpathians, the Far East, the USA, Europe and China.

First literary experiments

A. Varlamov, whose biography interests us, graduated from Moscow State University (Faculty of Philology) in 1985. His first literary experiments date back to his early childhood. The writer recalls that he always liked to invent various stories and write them down. In 1987, the magazine "October" (No. 12) published his first work (the story "Cockroaches"). Already in the early work of this writer, his orientation towards the classicalRussian literature. The works of Varlamov were greatly influenced by the prose of Chekhov, Pushkin, Bunin, as well as Yu. P. Kazakov and A. P. Platonov.

The path from short stories to novels and short stories

Alexey Varlamov is a writer whose path in literary work lies from stories to more voluminous genres - novels and short stories. In 1991, the stories "The Sacrament" and "The Veil" were published in "Znamya", in 1992 in the "New World" - "Galasha" and "Christmas Eve". Then followed the story "Hello, prince!", "Mountain". In 1995, Varlamov's first novel, Loch, appeared. At the same time, essays, literary and journalistic articles, and critical essays were written. The writing of two plays belongs to the same time. One of them was highly appreciated by M. Roshchin and was staged at the Young Drama Festival.

The story "Birth"

Varlamov became famous in literature after the story "Birth" was published (in 1995 in the "New World"). In it, the life of one married couple is compared with the ups and downs of Russian history. The author will use the method of juxtaposition more than once. A difficult pregnancy, the difficult birth that followed, and then the illness of the newborn are presented against the backdrop of the shooting in October 1993 of the White House in Moscow. The ending of the story is prosperous: a new life begins in the family. This makes it possible to optimistically interpret the author's forecasts about our new life.countries.

Roman "Loch"

In the novel "Loch", written in 1995, the theme of Russia is continued. The work is built according to the canons of the famous folk tale, the main character of which is Ivanushka the Fool. In the novel, this is Alexander Tezkin, the third son who was born into a prosperous family from Moscow. Almost 30 years covers the time of action (from 1963 to 1993). The geographical space of the work (Moscow, Munich) is complemented by spiritual space - earthly and heavenly. This novel uses the motif of wandering, traditional for Russian literature. The hero likened the earthly world to a well-guarded zone, and the heavenly one to freedom, to which the human soul yearns. The story of life and love of Alexander Tezkin is given against the backdrop of the history of our country, which, according to Tezkin, is going through the last days before the end of the world. G. Mikhailova noted that Varlamov told the story of the collapse of the once great empire and the death of all mankind in the space of the national mainland.

Sunken Ark

These themes are developed in further works. In 1997, The Sunken Ark was published. At the center of the story is the life and death of a sect of eunuchs living in a remote corner of the North. Ilya Petrovich is in love with Masha, his student. He prophesies about what awaits Russia, and turns out to be "the fortress of the Lord" in the work (this is how the name of this hero is translated). Luppo portrays the messiah. He turns out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, some kind of werewolf."Luppo" is Latin for "wolf". Maria is a heroine bearing a Christian name, a righteous woman, without whom no city, as you know, stands.

Dome

The novel "The Dome" completes the trilogy. It was published in 1999 in the magazine "October". 35 years span events - from 1965 to 2000. "Dome" is the confession of a color blind person who yearns to see the world in color. His illness explains the events that are fantastic in the work. This is a novel about Russia during perestroika and subsequent years, when a unique natural phenomenon appears over the country - a dome of fog. The dome is a symbol of Russia's isolation.

Warm islands in a cold sea

In 2000, a story called "Warm Islands in a Cold Sea" appeared. Its theme is the journey of two friends to the Russian North. The islands, located in the cold White Sea, glow with the prayers of the monks for Russia.

"The Mental Wolf" by Alexei Varlamov

This is the writer's latest novel to date, and was published in 2014. The action of the work "The Mental Wolf" by Alexei Varlamov begins 100 years ago and lasts 4 years. The writer is interested in the Silver Age - "rich", "saturated", "muddy", "fascinating time". Alexei Varlamov analyzes the First World War and the revolution that followed.

The main characters of the work - Vasily Komissarov(minor engineer) and Pavel Legkobytov (writer). They strive to survive and hunt the wolf. The gentle and sensitive daughter of Vasily Ulya and his wife are seized with anxiety, trying to escape from a predator. However, it is impossible to hide from him or defeat him: according to Varlamov, the "mental wolf" is a diagnosis of the Silver Age. This is his mental epidemic. The mental wolf is the title metaphor of the work. This is the personification of the thought that gives rise to every sin. This image was taken from ancient Orthodox prayers, which express the desire to be hunted by the "mental wolf". And Varlamov's heroes, real and fictional, are fighting the mental wolf that dominates the whole country, furiously, but in vain.

Alexey Varlamov. Our days

Since 1993, Varlamov has been a member of the Writers' Union of Russia. He lives in Moscow. Today Aleksey Varlamov is a doctor of philology, professor, regular author of the ZhZL series, winner of the Solzhenitsyn, Big Book, Antibooker and other awards. Representing the Writers' Union of Russia as a secretary, he speaks at various events and festivals.

His work is well known not only in our country, but also abroad. The works of Aleksey Nikolaevich Varlamov have been translated into several foreign languages. As part of official delegations, he represents our country at international book fairs and fairs. In 1997, Alexey Nikolaevich participated in the American International Writing Program. He has lectured at Stanford, New York,Yale, Boston and other leading US universities. Varlamov also taught at universities in Germany, Belgium, Slovakia, France and others.