The Phenomenon of Guzel Yakhina: on the Reception of the Novel „Zuleikha Opens her Eyes” Cover Image

Феномен Гузели Яхиной (к восприятию романа „Зулейха открывает глаза”)
The Phenomenon of Guzel Yakhina: on the Reception of the Novel „Zuleikha Opens her Eyes”

Author(s): Vera Sitnikova
Subject(s): Russian Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: the eternal themes;transformation of the plot;national context;the natural man;literary genealogy

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes salient aspects of Guzel Yakhina’s novel "Zuleikha (Zuleikha opens her eyes)" and its critical reception. First of all, the author discusses the connections of the artistic world of the novel with the Russian literary tradition with respect to the image of “the natural man”. Particular attention is paid to the treatment of the “eternal themes” of love, motherhood, faith, the formation of personality as well as to the originality with which the author approaches the topic of the mass repression of the 1930s. The predominating opinions of critics and reviewers are interpreted, and an attempt is made to indicate the reasons for the novel’s popularity with the readers.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 12
  • Page Range: 227-240
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Russian