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Book review: Balakin A.Yu. Searches in the field of biography and creativity of I.A. Goncharov

G.V. Zykova

Balakin A.Iu. Razyskaniia v oblasti biografii i tvorchestva I.A. Goncharova / Rossiiskaia akademiia nauk, Institut mirovoi literatury im. A.M. Gor’kogo, Institut russkoi literatury (Pushkinskii Dom). Moskva: Litfakt, 2018. 335 s. (Biblioteka “Literaturnogo nasledstva”. Novaia seriia; vyp. 4).

ISBN 978-5-9500994-7-2

 

https://doi.org/10.20339/PhS.5-19.105   

 

Zykova Galina V.

Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor, Professor of the Newest

Russian Literature History and Modern Literary Process Department

Lomonosov Moscow State University

e-mail: gzykova@mail.ru

 

The review names main topics and methodological traits of the monograph in question: attribution of Goncharov's early works (and the athetesis of some that have been attributed to him); the sources of his texts, including novels; the quality of latest lifetime publications, as well as their genesis; the facts of Goncharov's life, especially of the last — studied not sufficiently enough — years; the replenishment of biographical sources; Goncharov’ literary and human ties (eg. with A.N. Maykov, A.F. Koni, M.M. Stasyulevich, S.A. Nikitenko, etc.). Studies accomplished by A.Ju. Balakin were caused mainly by the needs of an important collective project: the first academic edition of I.A. Goncharov’ complete works (The Institute of Russian Literature (The Pushkin House), 1997); sometimes these studies do complement or correct the content of the already published volumes of the edition, thus revealing the complexity of an ongoing project and its impact on the modern Russian textual criticism. While using the materials of some previously published articles, the book, however, can be perceived as a conceptual whole, in particular, because it shows the natural connection of such seemingly different types of conversation about the writer, as “dry”, specialized textual criticism – and biography.

Keywords: I.A. Goncharov, A.Ju. Balakin, textual criticism, biography studies, linguistic methods of textual attribution.