Penitential days: Bunin returns to childhood, Malevich saves the Kremlin

Ivan Bunin repeats the story of Benjamin Button, Kazimir Malevich guards the monuments of the Kremlin, and the sweet bear Samantha from the American comic turns out to be a serial killer. The May holidays are the perfect time to read. Of all the new products, Izvestia chose four, representing completely different genres and themes, but all remarkable and original in their own way.

Ivan Bunin. Life on the contrary

Dmitry Vodennikov

The editorial office of Elena Shubina (RESH) this spring launched a new series "J.I.L." — "The life of famous people." It was decided to start with three books at once — Pavel Basinsky about Leonid Andreev (Izvestia published a fragment of it), Roman Senchin about Alexander Tinyakov and Dmitry Vodennikov about Ivan Bunin.

It is clear that the aim here is to compete with the famous ZhZL. The name is witty: instead of the abbreviation familiar from childhood, it is almost a slogan: lived! But the approach itself is different. Firstly, the authors contain only the first names of modern Russian literature. Secondly, the characters are also writers, and (is it a coincidence?) one epoch: the beginning of the XX century. And thirdly, the approach to storytelling is as free and subjective as possible.

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Previously, the book was not translated in Russia and is practically unknown in our country.

The latter was most clearly manifested in Vodennikov's work. He suggests reading Bunin's life backwards, from death to birth. The idea is not new (at least Fitzgerald's "The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button" and Khlebnikov and Kruchenykh's "Mirskonets" are in the "anamnesis"), but it gives Vodennikov an unexpected result. Bunin's dying, illness, and gloomy later years (even receiving the Nobel Prize looks like only a brief flash of light) are much more interesting to our contemporary than anything else. In other words, the above comes first not only in terms of consistency, but also in terms of importance and weight.

And the book as a whole is perceived as a series of memories of the past years. Memories that are shaky, spontaneous, very personal, and stubbornly unwilling to build up into a chronological "skeleton," even if inverted. Here is another parallel: the film "The Stone" by Alexander Sokurov about Chekhov, who suddenly got out of the world of the dead to his house in Yalta. Like Anton Pavlovich Sokurovsky, who is gradually acquiring his usual "classic" appearance, Vodennikova Bunin "returns" from emigration to Russia, steps over his "Cursed Days" and finds himself in a log house somewhere on a farm. A very small boy, Vanya, freezes in front of the mirror, amazed by what he sees. So Vodennikov, the poet and novelist, turned out to have a book about reflection: Bunin in his fate, himself in Bunin, the present in the past.

Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich. Concerto for voice and cello. Informal conversation

Vadim Vernik

A year ago, Vadim Vernik published a book following his conversations with Maya Plisetskaya. Working as a TV presenter, he filmed an interview with the great dancer for several days, and then, finding old tapes, decided to give life to dialogues that were not included in the film. Probably, the experience was recognized as successful, and soon a "sequel" appeared according to the same recipe — now about another prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater, Galina Vishnevskaya. Wernick also recorded a program with her and Mstislav Rostropovich in the 1990s. However, we had to limit ourselves to one day, and the text feels that the source material — the direct speech of great musicians — is much less.

However, the value of the publication lies elsewhere. By talking about everything behind the scenes of the process, starting from the moment the idea arose and the initial negotiations with Rostropovich, Wernick creates an expressive image of a married couple. The husband here appears paradoxical, unpredictable, and sometimes even tyrannical. His wife was regal, domineering, but at the same time generous and unexpectedly caring: for example, she offered to give a lift to the TV crew when they arrived in Paris. Or here's another characteristic touch. Having already prepared for filming, Vishnevskaya unquestioningly gives way to Rostropovich, who suddenly decided to speak first.

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From such observations, the "paired portrait in the interior" is formed. Yes, the musicians let the TV crew into their French apartment, and Wernick pays a lot of attention to describing the rooms, things, and works of art he saw. Well, the main storyline is layered with flashbacks — stories about how the couple met, how they performed together, how they emigrated, and finally, how Vishnevskaya made her debut on the dramatic stage (at the Moscow Art Theater).

Perhaps you should not expect sensational exclusives from this book, in journalistic terms, but one must admit that reading is fascinating, even if you have a good idea of the life and work of Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya. And a lot of photographs, both from the Soviet era and taken during the recording of the program, turn out to be a valuable and sometimes no less eloquent addition to the narrative.

The avant-garde and "Anarchy". Four rebellious months of self-managed enlightenment

Anna Brazhkina

In the title of this book, there are two extremely attractive words for the public at once. The Russian avant-garde is, of course, "our everything," especially recently, when exhibitions and research on this topic appear non-stop. But even more curiosity is aroused by "anarchy," especially in connection with the explanation: "four rebellious months of self-managed enlightenment." But what exactly does that mean?

The daily newspaper Anarchy was published for only a few months: from the end of 1917 to the spring of 1918. And it was there, in the section devoted to culture, that he published a number of important texts by Russian artists, poets, and artists of the very young Soviet Russia at that time. Only a few of them have been re-released these days. Anna Brazhkina fills in the gaps and returns historical materials to scientific circulation, supplementing them with comments and context.

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For the general public, the circumstances of the appearance of these publications are almost more interesting than they are themselves. For example, did you know that Kazimir Malevich was responsible for culture in Anarchy, and his editorial office was located right in the Kremlin Armory? But that's not enough. During the First World War, the author of the Black Square was drafted into the army, in 1917 his regiment was stationed in the Kremlin, and immediately after the October Revolution he was captured by the cadets who held the fortress defenses. But after the final victory of the Reds, it was Malevich who began repairing and preparing the Kremlin buildings for winter, after which he was appointed responsible for the preservation of monuments. Well, in parallel, he wrote to Anarchy.

There are many such plots in the book. And in general, this study is, of course, not only about the avant-garde and even not only about culture, but about early Soviet history in general. Using the example of a very local topic, the author shows how a new world was born.

In the wilderness, where there is not a soul

Patrick Horvath, Hassan Ostman-Elhau

When you first look at the cover of the graphic novel "In the Wilderness, where there is not a soul", you can decide that this is a children's book. But then you notice the 18+ icon in the lower right corner, and most importantly, you realize that the cute bear in the drawing is dragging a bag with a bloody corpse behind it. Therefore, I immediately advise you: if you have children at home, hide a beautiful glossy comic book away from them, so as not to harm the fragile psyche. For adults, the charm of the publication (if the word "charm" is appropriate here) lies precisely in this contrast between the cartoon mimic aesthetics and the harsh detective content.

The main character, Samantha the bear, lives in the small, quiet town of Woodbrook. Every morning she greets other townspeople — a sheep, a fox, a turtle, works in her shop, and then goes to the neighboring metropolis. After all, it's much easier to go unnoticed and commit a crime there. Samantha is a serial killer. But one day, a mysterious death occurs in Woodbrook itself. And Sam has to start an investigation to avoid being caught herself.

"Tough wet has never been so cute," is a quote from a foreign review on the back cover. It's hard to disagree with this. The visual style is really charming — right up until the moment when we are shown another dismemberment.
The author of both the plot and the drawings is an American screenwriter, artist, and director Patrick Horvath. His cinematic track record includes the thrash horror films "Pact 2" and "Monsters of the South", whose ratings on IMDb are 4.4 and 5.9, respectively. Not very impressive. But if we talk about the book, horror fans and graphic novel lovers will probably appreciate a fresh look at the genre. Fortunately, for Russian-speaking readers, the publication has been adapted to the full program: absolutely all the inscriptions inside the drawings have been translated, even imitations of Woodbrook newspapers.