Recently, I have heard many questions about who should be considered the best contemporary writer among the new generation of Russian writers. Making predictions about the future is always risky. What do the writers themselves think?
From the interview of the winner of SuperNatsBest ( bestseller of the decade) Zakhar Prilepin for the afisha.ru published on January 14th, 2011: “afisha.ru: “Who, in your opinion, is the best writer of your generation and why? (You don’t need to mention a specific name.)”
Z.P.: “In my generation (the thirty-year-olds) the ones with the best chance of becoming classics are Sergei Samsonov and Mikhail Elizarov. In the next generation up (the forty-year-olds) – Dmitry Bykov and Alexander Terekhov. I can’t say who the best writer is. For example, I like the work of Mikhail Tarkovsky and of Dmitry Danilov. But could I call one of them the best? And why would I? One possible answer to this question is to say that the best is the one who can do more than anyone else. Then the best is Bykov. Another possible answer is that the best is the one who can do something that no one else can. Then it’s Terekhov. The third answer is that the best is the one who does something in a way only he can. Then it is Danilov and Elizarov and Senchin and Shargunov and Ildar Abuzyarov and Andei Rubanov. OK, let’s make this simpler. In reply to your question I’ll name a person who recently wrote a great novel. His name is Alexander Kuznetsov-Tulyanin and the book is called The Pagan. Not many people have read it, which is a real shame”.
Zakhar Prilepin’s interview gave an outline of the modern literary process in Russia. We should not forget however the appearance of the literary tendencies connected to the New Realism in Russian Literature. We will continue the conversation about the best contemporary Russian writers.
http://booksfromrussia.org/news/short-interview-zakhar-prilepin
By Elena Dimov
