"Veselye pochorony”: A Russian Microcosm in New York
Abstract
This essay analyses the novel Veselye pochorony (1997) by the Russian writer Ljudmila Ulickaja, investigating the relationship between the life experiences of the characters and the area of New York where they live. The main character is Alek, a talented painter who knows he is going to die very soon. Alek is surrounded and supported by several Russian women seeking a new identity after their immigration. The plot of the novel is developed in the big American city which sometimes has claustrophobic features and sometimes appears as a surrealistic space. The author of this essay stresses how the Big Apple of the novel represents a symbolic space, a limbo, a transit area, a threshold of different cultures and contrasting lifestyles. The city also becomes the memory space of people who feel attracted by the American culture, despite their experiences of being uprooted rom their own culture and their historical background.Downloads
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