The Discourse Structure of Narration in Victor Pelevin’s Novels “Chapaev and Pustota” and “Generation P”
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2025-24-9-127-137
Abstract
Purpose. To analyze the discursive structure of narration in the novels by Viktor Pelevin “Chapaev and Pustota” and “Generation P”.
Results. The discursive structure of narration in the novel “Chapaev and Pustota” includes the following levels: the narrative speech of the hero (a concrete narrator) with elements of speech of a potential abstract narrator; the image of the Soviet (Soviet-era) discourse, revealed in the diegesis of the primary narrative; post-Soviet discourse, which is associated with the narrative strategy of deconstructing the Soviet in the novel; and the revealing meta-position of the author. The central position in the narrative structure revealed in the novel “Generation P” is occupied by the speech of the abstract narrator. The Soviet discourse here is not self-sufficient, but is presented as an image of discourse. This is explained by an epochal shift: this discourse is in the stage of irreversible disintegration, and the author, when constructing the text of the novel, works with its residual fragments. The post-Soviet discourse itself is expressed both in the speech of the characters and in the speech of the abstract narrator, in the structure of which direct authorial inclusions of moral assessment are visible. At the same time, the post-Soviet discourse in the novel “Generation P” is bidirectional – focusing firstly, on fragments of the Soviet, discours (both diegetically and linguistically), and secondly, on the diegetic and linguistic world of the post-Soviet period.
Conclusion. The post-Soviet discourse in Victor Pelevin’s novels not only deconstructs the diegetic world and discourse of the Soviet, but also critically evaluates itself, and behind this lies both the moral and analytical position of the author.
About the Author
A. I. Silantev
Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Aleksey I. Silantev
Novosibirsk
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Review
For citations:
Silantev A.I. The Discourse Structure of Narration in Victor Pelevin’s Novels “Chapaev and Pustota” and “Generation P”. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2025;24(9):127-137. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2025-24-9-127-137
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