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This groundbreaking critical biography of Andrei Siniavskii (1925-1997) as a writer in and of his time shows how this subtle and complex author found his way in a society polarized into heroes and villains, patriots and traitors, how he progressed from identification with the value system and ideology of his time to reaction against it, and his dissidence expressed in literary terms. Based on a close reading of his work, Andrei Siniavskii: A Hero of his Time? explores the way in which Siniavskii's art does not simply reflect the circumstances of his life and times but is actively shaped by an intricate commerce between the two.
About the author
Eugenie Markesinis received her PhD from University College, London, in 2010.
Summary
This groundbreaking critical biography of Andrei Siniavskii (1925-1997) as a writer in and of his time shows how this subtle and complex author found his way in a society polarised into heroes and villains, patriots and traitors, how he progressed from identification with the value system and ideology of his time to reaction against it, and his dissidence expressed in literary terms.
Additional text
Reviewers sometimes come across a very stimulating and
rewarding book only years after its publication. The title finally being
‘noticed’ in this periodical is a good example. … This detailed and perceptive
study, nearly everywhere extremely well written, takes its readers in four
chapters through the four periods of Siniavskii’s life as a writer: pre-arrest;
deprivation of physical freedom; émigré years, spent mainly in France; and
post-Soviet or neo-Soviet experiences and his culminating works. … Markesinis
comments politely on all the important earlier publications about Siniavskii
and has something important to say about each of his works.
