The Role of the Motive of Reading in K. Paustovsky’s Novel Shining Clouds (1928)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the artistic functioning of the reading motive in K. G. Paustovsky’s little-known novel Shining Clouds (1928). The motivational analysis undertaken in the work revealed the significance of the readers’ horizons of the characters of the work, not only for characterizing their inner world. In the case when it comes to the reading circle of the main characters, we can talk about the functions of plot prediction and create the pathos of romance. In this regard, mentioning the works by J. London, V. Hugo, E. T. A. Hoffmann, O. Henry, etc., is noteworthy. Since the plot of Shining Clouds is subordinated to the genre assignment of a detective-adventurous novel, the reading experience of such heroes as captain Kravchenko, Baturin and Berg allows you to actualize this form, performing the role of the genre framework in a work with a high level of lyrical digressions. Of particular note is the insertion text ‒ Nelidov’s diary, which simultaneously functions as the sought-after treasure and the actual text, in which engineering and art are organically combined. By virtue of this position in the structure of the novel, Nelidov’s diary enters into complex dialogical relations with other works read by heroes, which prompts a closer analysis of its fragments in comparison with the works of real writers. This comparison comes to the fore in the poem Galatea by L. Mei and the travelogue Journey to Arzrum by A. S. Pushkin, which allows you to see the place of the reading motive in the motif-thematic complex of creativity, as well as go to the author’s concept of a new person embodied in the image of Nelidov and a genuine value that encourages the heroes of the novel to go on a “treasure hunt”.

Keywords

• k. paustovsky
• motive
• reading
• novel