Kolesnikoff N. Russian postmodernist metafiction

Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, 2011. — 180 p. — ISBN: 978-3-0351-0216-1.One of the most outstanding properties of Russian postmodernist fiction is its reliance on metafictional devices which foreground aspects of the writing, reading or structure, and draw attention to the constructed nature of fiction writing. Some common metafictional strategies include overt commentary on the process of writing, the presence of an obtrusive narrator, dehumanization of character, total breakdown of temporal and spatial organization and the undermining of specific literary conventions.
This book examines the most representative postmodernist texts and addresses the following questions: How widespread is the use of metafiction in contemporary Russian literature? What are its most pronounced forms? What is the function of metafictional devices? How innovative are Russian postmodernist writers in their use of metafictional techniques?
This study reveals the unique contribution of postmodernist writers to the development of Russian literature through their systematic use of metafiction and their bold experimentation with new metafictional devices on all the principal levels of the text, including narration, plot, characterization, setting and language.Introduction
Postmodernism and Metafiction: Theoretical Considerations
Postmodernism
Metafiction
Narrative Strategies
Metafictional Plot Structures
Characters as Verbal Constructs
The Heterotopian Setting
Structure: From Catalogues to Endless Boxes
Stylistic Experimentation
Eccentric Typography
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources: General Studies
Secondary Sources: Russian Literature