Genre features of S. Gardner’s novel Maggot Moon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-1262-2023-5-2-99-106Keywords:
genre, novel, genre contamination, dystopia, GardnerAbstract
Currently, the genre of the dystopian novel is one of the most popular and is undergoing significant changes. The article analyzes S. Gardner’s novel Maggot Moon, which has not been studied in Russian literary criticism before. The article reveals that the novel is characterized by genre contamination — it has elements of a dystopian novel, a teenage dystopia, a conspiracy novel, a bildungsroman, and satire. Genre modifications determine the nature of the novel: genre contamination is present at the content level of the text. The description of violence is characterized by naturalism and a large number of details, which is not typical of teenage literature and is another indication of genre contamination. In addition, the article focuses on the principles of spatial and temporal narrative organization and the novel’s composition, images and motives.
The author pays special attention to the system of characters, which is transformed through the integration of the traditions of teenage and totalitarian dystopia. The main character continues the tradition of the young adult literature protagonist, which means that the text explores the problem of growing up and moral education. As a result of this integration, Maggot Moon is an example of a traditional totalitarian dystopia which features a typical protagonist of young adult literature. The article also considers the inaccurate Russian translation of the novel’s title, which leads to the loss of some meaning components.
The author notes the interweaving problems exposed by the novel: social, psychological and political ones. The article pays particular attention to the historical aspect and rethinking of historical facts: man’s flight to the moon and the subsequent conspiracy theory. The author’s analysis of the novel from the perspective of genre contamination makes it possible to expand our understanding of the development trends of the dystopian genre in the 21st century.
References
ИСТОЧНИКИ
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SOURCES
Gardner, S. (2015) Chervivaya Luna [Maggot moon]. Moscow: Gayatri Publ. [Online]. Available at: https://rb.rbook.club/book/18024678/ (accessed 25.03.2023). (In Russian)
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