Viktor Pelevin

Rajendra Chitnis (University of Bristol)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Viktor Pelevin is undoubtedly the best known fiction writer to have emerged in Russian literature since the fall of the Communism. In a series of novels and short stories published in the 1990s he captured the

zeitgeist

with his exuberant satire of Soviet and post-Soviet society. His works are couched in the trendy language of Western postmodernism, science fiction, as well as pop-Buddhism, Eastern mysticism, Japanese Manga comics and ironic-nostalgic Socialist Realist parody, but consciously in the tradition of Nikolai Gogol and the 1920s avant-garde. At the same time, the publication history and reception of his work to date (August 2005) epitomises the shift in Russian literary culture from a journal- and critic-led process to a consumer-led market.

Pelevin is one of the few writers

1548 words

Citation: Chitnis, Rajendra. "Viktor Pelevin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 September 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5589, accessed 13 December 2024.]

5589 Viktor Pelevin 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.