South African John Maxwell Coetzee is the first writer to be awarded the Booker Prize twice (in 1983 and 1999). In 2003 he became a laureate Nobel Prize in literature “for creating countless guises of amazing situations involving outsiders.” Coetzee's novels are characterized by well-crafted composition, rich dialogue, and analytical skill. He mercilessly criticizes the cruel rationalism and artificial morality of Western civilization. At the same time, Coetzee is one of those writers who rarely talks about his work, and even less often about himself. However, Scenes from Provincial Life, an amazing autobiographical novel, is an exception. Here Coetzee is extremely frank with the reader. He talks about his mother's painful, suffocating love, about the hobbies and mistakes that followed him for years, and about the path he had to go through to finally start writing.
"The Humble Hero" by Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa is a prominent Peruvian novelist and playwright who received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his cartography of power structures and vivid images resistance, rebellion and defeat of the individual." Continuing the line of great Latin American writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Garcia Marquez, Julio Cortazar, he creates amazing novels, balancing on the edge of reality and fiction. In the new book by Vargas Llosa, “The Humble Hero,” the Marinera masterfully twists two parallel storylines. The hard worker Felicito Yanaque, decent and trusting, becomes a victim of strange blackmailers. At the same time, successful businessman Ismael Carrera, in the twilight of his life, seeks revenge on his two slacker sons who want his death. And Ismael and Felicito, of course, are not heroes at all. However, where others cowardly agree, these two stage a quiet rebellion. Old acquaintances also appear on the pages of the new novel - characters from the world created by Vargas Llosa.
"The Moons of Jupiter" by Alice Munro
Canadian writer Alice Munro is a master of the modern short story, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature. Critics constantly compare Munro to Chekhov, and this comparison is not without reason: like the Russian writer, she knows how to tell a story in such a way that readers, even those belonging to a completely different culture, recognize themselves in the characters. These twelve stories, presented in seemingly simple language, reveal amazing plot abysses. In just twenty pages Munro manages to create the whole world- alive, tangible and incredibly attractive.
"Beloved" Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature as a writer "who brought to life an important aspect of American reality in her dreamy and poetic novels." Her most famous novel, Beloved, was published in 1987 and received a Pulitzer Prize. At the heart of the book - real events that took place in Ohio in the 80s of the nineteenth century: this amazing story the black slave Sethe, who decided on a terrible act - to give freedom, but take her life. Sethe kills her daughter to save her from slavery. A novel about how difficult it can sometimes be to tear out the memory of the past from the heart, about difficult choice who change fate, and people who remain loved forever.
"The Woman of Nowhere" by Jean-Marie Gustave Leclezio
Jean-Marie Gustave Leclezio, one of the largest living French writers, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2008. He is the author of thirty books, including novels, stories, essays and articles. In the presented book, for the first time in Russian, two stories by Leclezio are published at once: “The Storm” and “The Woman from Nowhere.” The action of the first takes place on an island lost in the Sea of Japan, the second - in Cote d'Ivoire and the Parisian suburbs. However, despite such a vast geography, the heroines of both stories are very similar in some ways - these are teenage girls who are desperately striving to find their place in an inhospitable, hostile world. The Frenchman Leclezio, who lived for a long time in the countries of South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan, Thailand and on his native island of Mauritius, writes about how a person who grew up in the lap of pristine nature feels in the oppressive space of modern civilization.
"My Strange Thoughts" Orhan Pamuk
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006 “for his search for the melancholy soul hometown found new symbols for the clash and interweaving of cultures.” "My strange thoughts" - last novel author, which he worked on for six years. Main character, Mevlut, works on the streets of Istanbul, watching as the streets fill with new people, and the city gains and loses new and old buildings. Before his eyes, coups take place, authorities change each other, and Mevlut still wanders the streets winter evenings, wondering what distinguishes him from other people, why he has strange thoughts about everything in the world, and who really is his beloved, to whom he has been writing letters for the last three years.
“Legends of our time. Occupation essays" Czeslaw Milosz
Czeslaw Milosz is a Polish poet and essayist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980 “for showing with fearless clairvoyance the insecurity of man in a world torn by conflict.” “Legends of Modernity” is the first translated into Russian “confession of the son of the century”, written by Milosz on the ruins of Europe in 1942–1943. It includes essays on outstanding literary (Defoe, Balzac, Stendhal, Tolstoy, Gide, Witkiewicz) and philosophical (James, Nietzsche, Bergson) texts, and polemical correspondence between C. Milosz and E. Andrzejewski. Exploring modern myths and prejudices, appealing to the tradition of rationalism, Milos tries to find a foothold for European culture humiliated by two world wars.
Photo: Getty Images, press service archive
Nobel Prize– one of the world's most prestigious prizes, awarded annually for outstanding scientific research, revolutionary inventions or major contributions to culture or society.
On November 27, 1895, A. Nobel drew up a will, which provided for the allocation of certain funds for the award awards in five areas: physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and contributions to world peace. And in 1900, the Nobel Foundation was created - a private, independent, non-governmental organization with an initial capital of 31 million Swedish crowns. Since 1969, on the initiative of the Swedish Bank, awards have also been made prizes in economics.
Since the establishment of the awards, strict rules for selecting laureates have been in place. Intellectuals from all over the world participate in the process. Thousands of minds work to ensure that the most worthy candidate receives the Nobel Prize.
In total, to date, five Russian-speaking writers have received this award.
Ivan Alekseevich Bunin(1870-1953), Russian writer, poet, honorary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1933 “for the strict skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose" In his speech when presenting the prize, Bunin noted the courage of the Swedish Academy, which honored the emigrant writer (he emigrated to France in 1920). Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is the greatest master of Russian realistic prose.
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak(1890-1960), Russian poet, laureate of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Literature “for outstanding services to modern lyric poetry and to the field of great Russian prose.” He was forced to refuse the award under threat of expulsion from the country. The Swedish Academy recognized Pasternak's refusal of the prize as forced and in 1989 awarded a diploma and medal to his son.
Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov(1905-1984), Russian writer, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature “for the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia." In his speech during the awards ceremony, Sholokhov said his goal was to “extol the nation of workers, builders and heroes.” Having started out as a realistic writer who was not afraid to show deep life contradictions, Sholokhov in some of his works found himself captive of socialist realism.
Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn(1918-2008), Russian writer, winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the moral strength derived from the tradition of great Russian literature." The Soviet government considered the decision of the Nobel Committee “politically hostile,” and Solzhenitsyn, fearing that after his trip, returning to his homeland would be impossible, accepted the award, but did not attend the award ceremony. In his artistic literary works, he, as a rule, touched upon acute socio-political issues, actively opposing communist ideas, the political system of the USSR and the policies of its authorities.
Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky(1940-1996), poet, laureate of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his multifaceted creativity, marked by acuteness of thought and deep poetry.” In 1972 he was forced to emigrate from the USSR and lived in the USA ( world encyclopedia calls it American). I.A. Brodsky is the youngest writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. The peculiarities of the poet's lyrics are the understanding of the world as a single metaphysical and cultural whole, the identification of the limitations of man as a subject of consciousness.
If you want to get more specific information about the life and work of Russian poets and writers, to get to know their works better, online tutors We are always happy to help you. Online teachers will help you analyze a poem or write a review about the work of the selected author. Training is based on specially developed software. Qualified teachers provide assistance in completing homework and explaining incomprehensible material; help prepare for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam. The student chooses for himself whether to conduct classes with the chosen tutor for a long time, or to use the teacher’s help only in specific situations when difficulties arise with a certain task.
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Only five Russian writers have received the prestigious international Nobel Prize. For three of them, this brought not only worldwide fame, but also widespread persecution, repression and expulsion. Only one of them was approved by the Soviet government, and its last owner was “forgiven” and invited to return to his homeland.
Nobel Prize- one of the most prestigious awards, which is awarded annually for outstanding scientific research, significant inventions and significant contributions to culture and the development of society. There is one comical, but not accidental story connected with its establishment. It is known that the founder of the prize, Alfred Nobel, is also famous for the fact that it was he who invented dynamite (pursuing, however, pacifist goals, since he believed that opponents armed to the teeth would understand the stupidity and senselessness of the war and stop the conflict). When his brother Ludwig Nobel died in 1888, and newspapers erroneously “buried” Alfred Nobel, calling him a “merchant of death,” the latter seriously wondered how society would remember him. As a result of these thoughts, Alfred Nobel changed his will in 1895. And it said the following:
“All my movable and immovable property must be converted by my executors into liquid assets, and the capital thus collected must be placed in a reliable bank. The income from the investments should belong to a fund, which will distribute them annually in the form of bonuses to those who, during the previous year, have brought the greatest benefit to humanity ... The specified interest must be divided into five equal parts, which are intended: one part - to the one who makes the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; the other - to the one who makes the most important discovery or improvement in the field of chemistry; the third - to the one who makes the most important discovery in the field of physiology or medicine; fourth - to the one who creates the most outstanding literary work idealistic direction; fifth - to the one who will make the most significant contribution to the unity of nations, the abolition of slavery or the reduction of the strength of existing armies and the promotion of peaceful congresses ... It is my special desire that in the awarding of prizes the nationality of the candidates will not be taken into account ... ".
Medal awarded to a Nobel laureate
After conflicts with Nobel’s “deprived” relatives, the executors of his will - his secretary and lawyer - established the Nobel Foundation, whose responsibilities included organizing the presentation of bequeathed prizes. A separate institution was created to award each of the five prizes. So, Nobel Prize in literature came under the purview of the Swedish Academy. Since then, the Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded annually since 1901, except for 1914, 1918, 1935 and 1940-1943. It is interesting that upon delivery Nobel Prize Only the names of the laureates are announced; all other nominations are kept secret for 50 years.
Swedish Academy building
Despite the apparent disinterest Nobel Prize, dictated by the philanthropic instructions of Nobel himself, many “left” political forces still see obvious politicization and some Western cultural chauvinism in the awarding of the prize. It is difficult not to notice that the vast majority of Nobel laureates come from the USA and European countries(more than 700 laureates), while the number of laureates from the USSR and Russia is much smaller. Moreover, there is a point of view that the majority of Soviet laureates were awarded the prize only for criticism of the USSR.
Nevertheless, these five Russian writers are laureates Nobel Prize according to literature:
Ivan Alekseevich Bunin- laureate of 1933. The prize was awarded “for the strict mastery with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose.” Bunin received the prize while in exile.
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak- laureate of 1958. The prize was awarded “for significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel.” This prize is associated with the anti-Soviet novel “Doctor Zhivago”, therefore, in conditions of severe persecution, Pasternak is forced to refuse it. The medal and diploma were awarded to the writer’s son Evgeniy only in 1988 (the writer died in 1960). Interestingly, in 1958, this was the seventh attempt to present Pasternak with the prestigious prize.
Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov- laureate of 1965. The prize was awarded “For the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia.” This award has a long history. Back in 1958, a delegation of the USSR Writers' Union that visited Sweden contrasted the European popularity of Pasternak with the international popularity of Sholokhov, and in a telegram to the Soviet ambassador in Sweden dated April 7, 1958 it was said:
“It would be desirable to make it clear to the Swedish public through cultural figures close to us that the Soviet Union would highly appreciate the award Nobel Prize Sholokhov... It is also important to make it clear that Pasternak as a writer is not recognized by Soviet writers and progressive writers of other countries.”
Contrary to this recommendation, Nobel Prize in 1958, it was nevertheless awarded to Pasternak, which resulted in severe disapproval of the Soviet government. But in 1964 from Nobel Prize Jean-Paul Sartre refused, explaining, among other things, his personal regret that Sholokhov was not awarded the prize. It was this gesture of Sartre that predetermined the choice of the laureate in 1965. Thus, Mikhail Sholokhov became the only Soviet writer who received Nobel Prize with the consent of the top leadership of the USSR.
Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn- laureate of 1970. The prize was awarded “for the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature.” From the beginning creative path Solzhenitsyn only 7 years passed before the prize was awarded - this is the only similar case in the history of the Nobel Committee. Solzhenitsyn himself spoke about the political aspect of awarding him the prize, but the Nobel Committee denied this. However, after Solzhenitsyn received the prize, a propaganda campaign was organized against him in the USSR, and in 1971, an attempt at physical destruction was made when he was injected with a toxic substance, after which the writer survived, but was ill for a long time.
Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky- laureate of 1987. The prize was awarded “for comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and passion of poetry.” Awarding the prize to Brodsky no longer caused such controversy as many other decisions of the Nobel Committee, since Brodsky by that time was known in many countries. In his first interview after he was awarded the prize, he himself said: “It was received by Russian literature, and it was received by an American citizen.” And even the weakened Soviet government, shaken by perestroika, began to establish contacts with the famous exile.
On December 10, 1901, the world's first Nobel Prize was awarded. Since then, five Russian writers have received this prize in the field of literature.
1933, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin
Bunin was the first Russian writer to receive such a high award - the Nobel Prize in Literature. This happened in 1933, when Bunin had already been living in exile in Paris for several years. The prize was awarded to Ivan Bunin "for the rigorous skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose." It was about the major work writer - the novel “The Life of Arsenyev”.
Accepting the award, Ivan Alekseevich said that he was the first exile to be awarded the Nobel Prize. Along with his diploma, Bunin received a check for 715 thousand French francs. With the Nobel money he could live comfortably until the end of his days. But they quickly ran out. Bunin spent it very easily and generously distributed it to his fellow emigrants in need. He invested part of it in a business that, as his “well-wishers” promised him, would be a win-win, and went broke.
It was after receiving the Nobel Prize that Bunin’s all-Russian fame grew into worldwide fame. Every Russian in Paris, even those who had not yet read a single line of this writer, took this as a personal holiday.
1958, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak
For Pasternak, this high award and recognition turned into real persecution in his homeland.
Boris Pasternak was nominated for the Nobel Prize more than once - from 1946 to 1950. And in October 1958 he was awarded this award. This happened just after the publication of his novel Doctor Zhivago. The prize was awarded to Pasternak "for significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel."
Immediately after receiving the telegram from the Swedish Academy, Pasternak responded “extremely grateful, touched and proud, amazed and embarrassed.” But after it became known that he had been awarded the prize, the newspapers “Pravda” and “Literary Gazette” attacked the poet with indignant articles, awarding him with the epithets “traitor”, “slanderer”, “Judas”. Pasternak was expelled from the Writers' Union and forced to refuse the prize. And in a second letter to Stockholm, he wrote: “Due to the significance that the award awarded to me received in the society to which I belong, I must refuse it. Do not consider my voluntary refusal an insult.”
Boris Pasternak's Nobel Prize was awarded to his son 31 years later. In 1989, the permanent secretary of the academy, Professor Store Allen, read both telegrams sent by Pasternak on October 23 and 29, 1958, and said that the Swedish Academy recognized Pasternak’s refusal of the prize as forced and, after thirty-one years, was presenting his medal to his son, regretting that The laureate is no longer alive.
1965, Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov
Mikhail Sholokhov was the only Soviet writer to receive the Nobel Prize with the consent of the USSR leadership. Back in 1958, when a delegation of the USSR Writers Union visited Sweden and learned that Pasternak and Shokholov were among those nominated for the prize, a telegram sent to the Soviet ambassador in Sweden said: “it would be desirable to give through cultural figures close to us to understand to the Swedish public that the Soviet Union would highly appreciate awarding the Nobel Prize to Sholokhov.” But then the prize was given to Boris Pasternak. Sholokhov received it in 1965 - “for the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia.” By this time his famous “ Quiet Don».
1970, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn
Alexander Solzhenitsyn became the fourth Russian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature - in 1970 "for the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature." By this time, such outstanding works of Solzhenitsyn as “Cancer Ward” and “In the First Circle” had already been written. Having learned about the award, the writer stated that he intended to receive the award “personally, on the appointed day.” But after the announcement of the award, the persecution of the writer in his homeland gained full force. The Soviet government considered the decision of the Nobel Committee "politically hostile." Therefore, the writer was afraid to go to Sweden to receive the award. He accepted it with gratitude, but did not participate in the award ceremony. Solzhenitsyn received his diploma only four years later - in 1974, when he was expelled from the USSR to Germany.
The writer’s wife, Natalya Solzhenitsyna, is still confident that the Nobel Prize saved her husband’s life and gave her the opportunity to write. She noted that if he had published “The Gulag Archipelago” without being a Nobel Prize laureate, he would have been killed. By the way, Solzhenitsyn was the only Nobel Prize laureate in literature for whom only eight years passed from the first publication to the award.
1987, Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky became the fifth Russian writer to receive the Nobel Prize. This happened in 1987, at the same time it was published big book poems - "Urania". But Brodsky received the award not as a Soviet, but as an American citizen who had lived in the USA for a long time. The Nobel Prize was awarded to him "for his comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity." Receiving the award in his speech, Joseph Brodsky said: “For a private person who has preferred this whole life to some public role, for a person who has gone quite far in this preference - and in particular from his homeland, for it is better to be the last loser in democracy than a martyr or a ruler of thoughts in a despotism, to suddenly appear on this podium is a great awkwardness and test.”
Let us note that after Brodsky was awarded the Nobel Prize, and this event just happened during the beginning of perestroika in the USSR, his poems and essays began to be actively published in his homeland.
Since the delivery of the first Nobel Prize 112 years have passed. Among Russians worthy of this most prestigious award in the field literature, physics, chemistry, medicine, physiology, peace and economics there were only 20 people. As for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Russians have their own personal history in this area, not always with a positive ending.
First awarded in 1901, it bypassed the most important writer in history. Russian and world literature - Leo Tolstoy. In their 1901 address, members of the Royal Swedish Academy formally paid their respects to Tolstoy, calling him "the deeply revered patriarch modern literature" and "one of those powerful soulful poets about whom in in this case should remember first of all,” however, they referred to the fact that, in view of their convictions, great writer he himself “never aspired to this kind of reward.” In his response letter, Tolstoy wrote that he was glad that he was spared the difficulties associated with the disposal of so much money and that he was pleased to receive notes of sympathy from so many respected persons. Things were different in 1906, when Tolstoy, preempting his nomination for the Nobel Prize, asked Arvid Järnefeld to use all kinds of connections so as not to be put in an unpleasant position and refuse this prestigious award.
Likewise Nobel Prize in Literature surpassed several other outstanding Russian writers, among whom was also the genius of Russian literature - Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The first writer admitted to the “Nobel Club” was someone disliked by the Soviet government who emigrated to France Ivan Alekseevich Bunin.
In 1933, the Swedish Academy nominated Bunin for an award “for the rigorous skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose.” Among the nominees this year were also Merezhkovsky and Gorky. Bunin received Nobel Prize in Literature largely thanks to the 4 books about Arsenyev’s life that had been published by that time. During the ceremony, Per Hallström, a representative of the Academy who presented the prize, expressed admiration for Bunin’s ability to “extraordinarily expressively and accurately describe real life" In his response speech, the laureate thanked the Swedish Academy for the courage and honor it showed to the emigrant writer.
A difficult story full of disappointment and bitterness accompanies the receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature Boris Pasternak. Nominated annually from 1946 to 1958 and awarded this high award in 1958, Pasternak was forced to refuse it. Almost becoming the second Russian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, the writer was persecuted in his homeland, receiving stomach cancer as a result of nervous shock, from which he died. Justice triumphed only in 1989, when his son Evgeniy Pasternak received an honorary award for him “for significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel.”
Sholokhov Mikhail Alexandrovich received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his novel Quiet Don" in 1965. It is worth noting that the authorship of this deep epic work, despite the fact that the manuscript of the work was found and a computer match was established with printed edition, there are opponents who claim the impossibility of creating a novel that demonstrates deep knowledge of the events of the First World War and Civil War at such a young age. The writer himself, summing up his work, said: “I would like my books to help people become better, become purer in soul... If I succeeded in this to some extent, I am happy.”
Solzhenitsyn Alexander Isaevich, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1918 "for the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature." Having stayed most of of his life in exile and exile, the writer created deep and frightening in its authenticity historical works. Upon learning of the Nobel Prize award, Solzhenitsyn expressed his desire to personally attend the ceremony. The Soviet government prevented the writer from receiving this prestigious award, calling it “politically hostile.” Thus, Solzhenitsyn never got to the desired ceremony, fearing that he would not be able to return from Sweden back to Russia.
In 1987 Brodsky Joseph Alexandrovich awarded Nobel Prize for Literature"for comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and passion of poetry." In Russia, the poet never received lifelong recognition. He created while in exile in the USA, most of his works were written in impeccable English. In his speech as a Nobel laureate, Brodsky spoke about what was most dear to him - language, books and poetry...
