The Soviet Novel
History as Ritual
3rd Edition
Published on 22. August 2000
Book
Hardback
344 pages
978-0-253-33703-0 (ISBN)
Description
This title deploys analytical tools drawn from anthropology, history and literary theory. Katerina Clark's path-breaking study explores the evolution of the socialist realist novel as a myth-like genre. Blending intellectual and literary history, Clark traces the development of the novel's master plot from its origins in the mid-19th century to its end at the close of the 20th.
Reviews / Votes
"In its sure grasp of a huge subject and in its speculative boldness, Professor Clark's study represents a major breakthrough. It sends one back to the original texts with a whole host of new questions... And it also helps us to understand the place of the official' writer in that peculiar mixture of ideology, collective pressure, and inspiration which is the Soviet literary process." --Times Literary Supplement "The Soviet Novel has had an enormous impact on the way Stalinist culture is studied in a range of disciplines (literature scholarship, history, cultural studies, even anthropology and political science)." --Slavic Review "Those readers who have come to realise that history is a branch of mythology will find Clark's book a stimulating and rewarding account of Soviet mythopoesis." --American Historical Review "It is fresh, original, cogently argued, challenging, provocative: don't miss it! ... All along the way there are countless nuggets of insight and wit ... a truly seminal book." --Russian Review" "Clark's academic study, ... is wide ranging and balanced."--Morning Star, 26 March 2001More details
Edition
3rd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bloomington, IN
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 137 mm
Weight
549 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-253-33703-0 (9780253337030)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2026
3rd Edition
Indiana University Press
€23.49
Available for download
Person
Content
Introduction: the Distinctive role of Socialist Realism in Soviet Culture I. Socialist Realism before 1932 1. What Socialist Realism Is and What Led to Its Adoption as the Official Method of Soviet Literature 2. The Positive Hero in Prevolutionary Fiction 3. Socialist Realist Classics of the Twenties II. High Stalinist Culture 4. The Machine and the Garden: Literature and the Metaphors for the New Society 5. The Stalinist Myth of the "Great Family" 6. The Sense of Reality in the Heroic Age III. An Analysis of the Conventional Soviet Novel 7. The Prototypical Plot 8. Three Auxiliary Patterns of Ritual Sacrifice IV. Soviet Fiction since World War II 9. The Post-war Stalin Period (1944-53) 10. The Khrushchev Years 11. Paradise Lost or Paradise Regained? Conclusion Appendix A: The Master Plot as Exemplified in the Production Novel and Other Basic Types of Novel of the Stalin Period Appendix B: The Official Short List of Model Novels as Inferred from Speeches to Writers' Union Congresses Afterword Notes Select Bibliography Index