Evgeny Vodolazkin, "Aviator": reviews

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

The Aviator book went on sale in the spring of 2016. In the few months that have passed since then, she has gained a crowd of fans. What is the reason for such success? Let's try to figure it out.

A couple of words about the author

Evgeny Vodolazkin needs no introduction. Not so long ago, he was known only in scientific circles: Doctor of Philology, employee of the IRLI RAS, specialist in ancient Russian literature. Today he is known not only in Russia, but also abroad. He is called "Russian U. Eco" and "Russian G. G. Marquez", and his books immediately become bestsellers. Evgeny Vodolazkin's book "The Aviator" went on sale a few months ago. It will be discussed in this review, but first, a little more history.

Early works

Vodolazkin began his writing career when he was already over 30. But the start was swift. In 2010, the novel "Soloviev and Larionov" was nominated for the "Big Book" award. The next novel "Laurus", according to the entire reading community, became the main event in Russian literature in 2012. The following year, he won the ClearGlade”, established by the Leo Tolstoy Museum.

After such a success, readers were looking forward to what else Evgeny Vodolazkin would write. "The Aviator" was heard long before the release. It is not surprising that he instantly became a bestseller, and, in addition, entered the list of nominees for several prestigious literary awards: Russian Booker, Big Book, Book of the Year.

The storyline of the novel "The Aviator" (by Evgeny Vodolazkin)

The novel begins with a simple plot. The main character, Innokenty Platonov, wakes up in a hospital room. He does not remember who he is, nor how and why he got to the hospital. Gradually, memory begins to return to him. And although these memories are rather fragmentary and do not concern events, but rather sensations (smells, touches, tastes), soon he already knows that he was born in 1900, lived in St. Petersburg … But how is this possible and what kind of illness happened to him, if it's 1999 now?

Genre

Formally, the novel can be called fantastic. Although it applies no less to the historical genre. Of course, one should not look for descriptions and assessments of socially significant historical events in The Aviator. But with what care and attention the author writes out the smallest signs of the times: cinema, the first electric trams, family orders, views of St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century … And the very word “aviator” is saturated with the romance of the past.

However, the author warns his readers against literallyunderstanding. Aviator is not a profession, it is a symbol. This is the image of a person who looks at what is happening from a bird's eye view, sees everything differently and draws completely unexpected conclusions: “I thought about the nature of historical disasters - revolutions there, wars and other things. Their main horror is not shooting. And not even hungry. It lies in the fact that the basest human passions are released” (Vodolazkin, “The Aviator”). Reviews of the novel show that this way of voicing your ideas can be effective.

Tricks

The novel is written in the form of the protagonist's diary entries. This is a very winning move. The reader is simultaneously given the opportunity to learn about the events of the past from the lips of an eyewitness and hear an assessment of the present from the lips of an outside observer. Although the task is quite difficult. After all, the author had to not only study in detail the life of two different times, but also seriously work on the language of the novel in order to reflect the different style, intonation and pace of speech at the beginning and at the end of the 20th century.

Separately, it should be said about the sense of humor that distinguishes Evgeny Vodolazkin. "Aviator", the reviews confirm this, is thoroughly saturated with humor. Isn't Zaretsky ridiculous when he figured out how to steal sausage from a factory? Doesn't the idea of offering Platonov to star in a commercial for frozen vegetables make you smile?

Ideas

The Aviator's central problem is its attitude to history. What is the relationship between the general history and the private history of an individual? What gives an idea of his life more - knowledge of the political system and socialquestions or stories about how his mother cooked and how the sun shimmered in the hair of his beloved woman? Vodolazkin teaches us to take care of sounds, smells, phrases. They may never get into the history books, but they are the essence of man.

Another, no less important question: can time serve as an excuse for a person? Do the inhumanity and chaos of the environment allow them to overstep their moral principles? Of course not. About this book "Aviator". Author Evgeny Vodolazkin recalls that at the Last Judgment everyone will be held accountable for their lives, for their personal history.

Literary roll calls

It's no secret that modern novels, especially those that claim to be philosophical depth, contain many hidden and explicit references to the literary works of the past. Uses this technique and Vodolazkin ("Aviator"). Reviews and references to the novels of Defoe and Dostoyevsky are often found on the pages of his book.

However, there are more hidden, but no less important, roll calls. They drew the attention of critics and bloggers who wrote their reviews of the novel. Aleksey Kolobrodov, for example, finds in Vodolazkin many of the ideas of Lazar Lagin, the author of The Old Man Hottabych and The Blue Man. The author of the YouTube channel "Biblionarium" saw similarities with "Luzhin's Defense" by V. Nabokov, prose by A. Solzhenitsyn and, oddly enough, with "Flowers for Algernon" by D. Keyes.

Reviews from readers

There is not a single thing that everyone likes the same. For every book, movie, play, you can find reviews, directlyopposite to each other. The book "Vodolazkin - Aviator" was no exception, reviews of which are very diverse. Although in fairness, we note that positive ones prevail among them.

Some people are attracted by the unhurried rhythm of the story. Others remember St. Petersburg, described with love and good knowledge of the city. Still others find ideas and thoughts in the book that are consonant with their own. The previously mentioned "Biblionarium" gives the novel the following characterization: "Romantic, but without pink snot; tragic, but without wailing; philosophically, but without pathos.”

Very many say that they liked the book very much, readers are especially impressed by the fact that it is written in the genre of historical fiction. Although the idea of a fantastic element, as well as the theme of Soviet repressions, is not new, it is written in a completely new way. No unnecessary fantasies, a lot of inner peace and ethical dilemmas. The end, however, is not entirely clear to many. Readers ask: will there be a sequel or is this a feature?

The author has to answer the question about the ending of the novel quite often. Although the open ending is not a new phenomenon, which, in addition, gives a huge scope for the reader's thoughts and interpretations, not everyone likes it.

"The Aviator" (Vodolazkin's book): critical reviews

Critics in assessing this novel turned out to be much more restrained than ordinary readers.

Dmitry Bykov highly appreciated the fact that the author did not follow the beaten path, did not speculate on the success of the previous novel, but triedfind something fundamentally new: a new form, new heroes and a new language. However, he admitted that the book "The Aviator" is not close to him either in concept or in the method of execution.

Galina Yuzefovich, noting the similarity of The Aviator with Shalamov's and Prilepin's works, nevertheless put it above the others. In her opinion, Vodolazkin's Solovki are depicted more truthfully and more terrifyingly than those of their predecessors.

But Andrei Rudalev could not find anything new and interesting in the novel. In his opinion, the author simply does not know how to create living characters that the reader will empathize with. All the characters come out of him one-sided, simplified, "plywood". And the aviator itself is nothing but a piece of ice. As the story progresses, the ice melts, leaving only an empty space by the end.

Alexey Kolobrodov also could not explain the hype around the book of such an author as E. G. Vodolazkin "The Aviator". The reviews of the enthusiastic public are unconvincing for him. The abundance of allusions and intertexts in the novel, the author's inappropriate claims to philosophical depth, according to the critic, do not yet make the novel a literary masterpiece. All these are external attributes, but inside, if you look, emptiness.

Author's attitude to reviews

According to disinterested sources, Aviator is the leader in book sales ratings. The book, Vodolazkin cannot fail to see this, is surrounded by hype. Moreover, the increase in popularity is influenced not only by positive, but also by negative reviews. The author himself jokes about this: “All advertising, with the exception ofobituary.”

However, following this joke, he admits that he has already passed the age when fame was an end in itself. Yes, reviews, both good and bad, are important to a writer because he writes to be heard. And if he was not heard, if he could not convey his ideas to someone, then you need to figure out why. So, you need to look for new words, techniques, plots. In general, any criticism, if taken constructively, is good for the writer.

Proposals for film adaptations

In interviews with journalists and at meetings with readers, the author admitted that he had already received a number of proposals for the film adaptation of his novel. This story is really easy to remake in a movie format. Vivid images, changing times and places of action - all this should make the tape exciting and spectacular. However, there are also difficulties here.

Firstly, it is hardly possible to fit the entire content of the novel into a one-part feature-length film, and Vodolazkin has a biased attitude towards serials. Secondly, the question of the degree of participation of the author of the novel in the process of creating the film must be resolved. There are two options here. In the first case, the author sells his idea to the producers, and he himself is excluded from participating in the creation of the film. True, as a result, the plot may change beyond recognition, so that the author no longer wants to be mentioned in the credits. In the second case, the author must control the process of creating a film at all stages. And this requires from him both additional knowledge and additional time costs. It turns out something like the second birth of the work, but already within the framework of a differentkind of art. No one knows yet which option Evgeny Vodolazkin will choose and whether the film will be made.

One thing is clear already now: the book "Aviator" (author Evgeny Vodolazkin), reviews of which we have covered today, has taken its place among the best works of modern Russian literature.