Russia's Alternative Prose (Hardcover)

This volume is an up-to-date, scholarly and lucid examination of major works of some of the Russian writers who have come to prominence since 1985, when Gorbachev rose to power and effectively abolished all literary controls. The title of the book is taken from articles in the Soviet/Russian literary press that sought to address this new and often outrageous type of literature. The author contends that alternative prose in Russia deserves serious attention, and that in discarding the civic mindedness of a former era, it is aligning itself more with Western literature and is re-discovering trends apparent in Russia before Stalin's rule.