Book

Reading Russian literature, 1980-2024. Literary Consumption, Memory and Identity

This month, the volume Reading Russian Literature, 1980-2024, edited by Otto Boele and Dorine Schellens, was published at Palgrave Macmillan.

Author

Otto Boele and Dorine Schellens

Date

25 October 2024

This edited collection focuses on the nexus between literary consumption, memory and collective identity formation in Russia from the 1980s until today. It challenges perceived notions about the reduced social significance and identity-building potential of contemporary Russian literature. Drawing on a diverse set of primary source materials, ranging from memoirs, diaries and essays to fan art and BookToks, the collection seeks to do justice to the diversity of an enormous reading public that is often routinely referred to as the ‘Russian reader’. The contributors to this volume are affiliated with research institutions from the UK, the Russian Federation and the Netherlands. LUCAS is represented by the editors and, notably, by MA graduate Manon Junggeburt whose chapter on the reception of Russian LGBTQ+ YA literature on BookTok is based on her highly original thesis on the subject.