Russophone (Russian: Русскоговорящий, Russkogovoryashchy) is a novel by the Russian writer Denis Gutsko [ru] (Moscow, Vagrius [ru], 2005, ISBN 5-98264-009-3). The novel is an expanded and reworked version of his novel Without Track or Trace, Без пути-следа (Bez puti-sleda also translated as Without a Way) published in Druzhba Narodov [ru] magazine (2004 nn. 11, 12). It was awarded the 2005 Russian Booker Prize (under the latter title), despite a vocal opposition by the chairman of the jury, Vasily Aksyonov. It was also awarded the Boris Sokolov Prize ("Соколов-приз", 2005).
The novel addresses the issue of Russophone people, who after the dissolution of the Soviet Union suddenly found themselves without a homeland, in new post-Soviet states, surrounded by ethnic hatred towards Russians. The plot is about the fate of a Russian born in Tbilisi, Georgia, who speaks Russian with a Georgian accent. The journal version mainly dealt with the tribulations of the main hero, who could not get a passport of the Russian citizenship. The book version was significantly expanded: the first part was added with the pre-history of the hero, involving his participation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict (first Nagorno-Karabakh War). The second part was reworked to address criticism of the journal version.
References
- Один в премиальном поле. "Букера" присудили вопреки мнению председателя жюри Василия Аксенова, "Российская газета" - Федеральный выпуск №3942 от 3 декабря 2005 г.
- Sergey Chuprinin [ru], Русская литература сегодня. Новый путеводитель, p. 129
- Vadim Levental, "ДЕНИС ГУЦКО. РУССКОГОВОРЯЩИЙ" , book review
External links
- "Without Track or Trace", text online (in Russian)
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