Читающее тело в современной русской прозе
The reading body in contemporary Russian prose

Summary/Abstract: The present paper describes the problem of reception of literature by the characterspresented in contemporary Russian prose. The major interest is given to various aspects of psychophysical contact of the character with the book, especially to the somatic reactionscaused by the reading. The analysis is supported by the references to the essays dedicated tothe problem of reading by Osip Mandelstam, Roland Barthes, and Susan Sontag.Process of reading has been presented in contemporary prose autonomously, both asa delight and pleasure, and as work and co-creation. The present work scrutinizes the circumstances of reading and points to the dominant situations that include the choice of location (bed, sofa, table) and time of reading (evening, night), as well as meals that enhance pleasure of reading. The problem of addiction to reading is analyzed as a form of escape from reality. Among the most frequent somatic reactions that accompany reading are: tears, trembling, palpitations, fear, weakness at the knees, and breathlessness. On the other hand, the author pays attention to phenomena like isolation, stillness, and numbness of the body during the process of assimilation of the literary text. Mandelstam and Nabokov proposed the term „execution” (performance) that implicates that the reader identifi es himself/herself rather with the author of the literary work than with its character. The readers’ reactions could range from compassion to simulation. This way the reader turns to be the co-author of the literary work that he/she reads, and at the same time he/she becomes the reader of himself/herself.

• Details
• Contents