B. P. Aprelev’s Odyssey: “On Varyag”

Abstract

B. P. Aprelev’s book “On Varyag” is a little-studied work of the Russian writer written in exile in China. The methodological basis of the article is determined by the unity of the historical and literary, comparative and structural approaches. The intertextual analysis of B. P. Aprelev’s “On “Varyag” is represented. The space of Aprelev’s work is a multidimensional structure where the protagonist travels, filling his own inner world with vivid impressions. The combination of surreal topos and dynamic paintings, animating the narrative of the text, recalls the work of the famous marine writer of the 20th century Alexander Grin. A typological comparison of Aprelev’s work and Grin’s work have turned out to be possible due to the involvement of the analysis of the ekphrasis structure of the text. Both writers are united by a special relationship to art. Being marinists, in their works they paint sea paintings painterly. The travels of Aprelev’s character are only metaphorically fantastic, but they form an amazing, somewhat exotic space of text. For the characters of the works by Aprelev and Grin, a view of the world as a different space (art or legend) is characteristic. The results of the study are able to expand knowledge about the work of Russian writers of Eastern emigration, as well as to reveal the features of B. Aprelev’s poetics. Aprelev’s chronicle “On Varyag”, which continues the tradition of diary entries and travels of the 18th century (J. Swift, Karamzin, etc.), stands apart from his other books of memoirs written in China. The space of the book contains the framework constructions of surreal worlds: either legends, fairy tales, or mystical worlds, which testifies to the multidimensional construction of literary space.

Keywords

• b. р. aprelev
• marine painting
• space
• a. s. grin
• narrative framework
• dynamics