c7e1249ffc03eb9ded908c236bd1996d
The story takes place in 1833.
Sixteen-year-old Volodya lives with his parents in a dacha near Moscow and is preparing for university exams. Princess Zasekina settles next to them with her daughter, a girl Volodya paid attention to and now dreams of seeing her all the time. Volodya's mother, showing courtesy and good neighborly feelings, sends Volodya to her with an invitation to come to dinner. So Volodya meets for the first time with 21-year-old Zinaida Alexandrovna, the daughter of the princess.
During dinner, the princess does not make a very good impression on everyone, but her daughter behaves impeccably, but she communicates, basically, only with the head of the family. True, before the guests leave, Volodya, quite unexpectedly for himself, receives an invitation to visit from Zinaida.
Coming to the princess, Volodya sees that she has many admirers. But it seems to him that she distinguishes him from all the young people who surround her. At home, the father asks Volodya for a long time about where he was, and then he himself pays a visit to the Zasekins. After that, Zinaida did not communicate with Volodya for some time. He suffers without her, and in those moments when she is around - in a word, he is in love. When she asks him to prove his love by jumping off the greenhouse wall, he does so without hesitation. From hitting the ground for some time, he loses consciousness, Zinaida gets scared, tries to bring him to his senses, kisses him. But then, seeing that he is already conscious, he leaves, forbidding her to follow her.
One day Volodya meets Zinaida in the garden. He does not want to approach her, but she approaches him herself and says that he could very well become her good friend and a page. And Count Malevsky, one of the admirers of the princess, explains to him that the pages must always be near their “queen”. At night, Volodya, taking an English knife, goes to the Zasekins' garden to guard Zinaida. But it is here that he almost runs into his father at night, loses his knife in fear and runs away. Coming to Zinaida for a conversation the next day, Volodya sees that her younger brother has come to her, and she instructs Volodya to entertain her brother. But in the evening the conversation nevertheless took place, and Zinaida was able to calm Volodya.
A week later, Volodya's mother receives an anonymous letter saying that Zinaida and Volodya's father are lovers. There is a stormy showdown between the parents, and almost immediately after this, Volodin's mother talks about moving to Moscow. Saying goodbye to Zinaida, Volodya assures her of his eternal love and devotion.
In Moscow, after a short time, Volodya, together with his father, goes for a ride on horseback, near an unfamiliar lane, his father unexpectedly asks him to wait a bit, holding the horse, and leaves for the lane. Volodya, trying to be inconspicuous, follows him and sees how his father is discussing something with Zinaida, who is sitting at the window of the house. The father, at first speaking convincingly and calmly, then loses patience and strikes with a whip on her hand, which she holds out to him. Instead of jumping up and screaming, Zinaida, without saying a word, kisses the place of the blow.
Volodya, together with his mother and father, moves to live in St. Petersburg and becomes a student. Soon the father receives a letter from Moscow, which makes him very nervous. As a result, a stroke occurs to him, and he dies. After the funeral of his father, mother sends a lot of money to Moscow. 4 years pass, and in the theater Volodya meets one of Zinaida's longtime admirers, the poet Maidanov. He tells Volodya that Zinaida, despite "that story that had consequences," got married, is very happy in marriage. Maidanov gives Volodya the St. Petersburg address of Zinaida, but he does not immediately go to her, but after some time. Arriving at the address given by the Maidanovs, Volodya learns that Zinaida died a few days ago during childbirth.
Teenager Volodya and his family live in a dacha, next to them Princess Zasekina rents a dacha with her daughter Zinaida. After the first meeting, the young man selflessly falls in love with the girl, despite the fact that she is five years older than him. He tries to court, and the girl plays with him, flirts and flirts, as with her other numerous admirers. Volodya is sometimes seriously jealous of his beloved. And soon he learns that she has a serious affair with his father.After an ugly scene between the parents, Volodya's family returns to Moscow, and then they change their place of residence to St. Petersburg. However, six months later, Vladimir's father suddenly died of a stroke after receiving some news.
And after some more time, Volodya finds out that Zinochka got married and died in childbirth a few months later.
Conclusion (my opinion)
)The young man was disappointed in his first feeling, so he stopped trusting women, and it was difficult for him to fall in love again. It is rightly said that the first love is never forgotten.
Forty-two-year-old Leonid Soshnin, a former operative of the criminal investigation department, returns home from a local publishing house, to an empty apartment, in the worst mood. The manuscript of his first book “Life is the most precious thing” after five years of waiting is finally accepted for production, but this news does not please Soshnin. A conversation with the editor, Oktyabrina Perfilyevna Syrokvasova, who tried to humiliate the author-policeman who dared to call herself a writer with arrogant remarks, unraveled Soshnin's already gloomy thoughts and feelings. “How in the world to live? Lonely? - he thinks on the way home, and his thoughts are heavy.
He served his time in the police: after two wounds, Soshnin was sent to a disability pension. After another quarrel his wife Lerka leaves him, taking their little daughter Svetka with her.
Soshnin remembers all his life. He cannot answer his own question: why is there so much place in life for grief and suffering, but always close to love and happiness? Soshnin understands that, among other incomprehensible things and phenomena, he will have to comprehend the so-called Russian soul, and he needs to start with the closest people, with the episodes that he witnessed, with the fate of the people that his life collided with ... Why are Russian people are ready to pity the bone-breaker and the blood-letter and not notice how a helpless veteran of the war is dying nearby, in a neighboring apartment?
In order to distract himself from gloomy thoughts at least for a minute, Leonid imagines how he will come home, cook a bachelor's dinner for himself, read, sleep a little so that he has enough strength for the whole night - to sit at the table, over a blank sheet of paper. Soshnin especially loves this night time, when he lives in some kind of isolated world created by his imagination.
Leonid Soshnin's apartment is located on the outskirts of Veysk, in the old two-story house where he grew up. From this house, my father went to the war, from which he did not return, here, by the end of the war, his mother also died from a severe cold. Leonid stayed with his mother's sister, aunt Lipa, whom he used to call Lina from childhood. Aunt Lina, after the death of her sister, went to work in the commercial department of Veyskaya railway. This department was "argued and jailed at once." My aunt tried to poison herself, but she was saved and after the trial was sent to a colony. By this time, Lenya was already studying at the regional special school of the Internal Affairs Directorate, from where he was almost expelled because of his convicted aunt. But the neighbors, and mainly Father Lavr's brother-soldier, a Cossack, interceded for Leonid with the regional police authorities, and everything worked out.
Aunt Lina was released under an amnesty. Soshnin had already worked as a district police officer in the remote Khailovsky district, from where he also brought his wife. Aunt Lina managed to babysit Leonid's daughter, Sveta, whom she considered her granddaughter before her death. After the death of Lina, the Soshnins came under the patronage of another, no less reliable aunt named Granya, a switchman on a shunting hill. Aunt Granya spent her whole life taking care of other people's children, and even little Lenya Soshnin comprehended in a peculiar way kindergarten the first habits of brotherhood and diligence.
Once, after returning from Khailovsk, Soshnin was on duty with a police squad on mass celebration on the occasion of the Railwayman's Day. Four guys drunk to the point of loss of memory raped Aunt Granya, and if it weren’t for a patrol partner, Soshnin would have shot these drunken fellows sleeping on the lawn. They were convicted, and after this incident, Aunt Granya began to avoid people. Once she expressed the terrible thought to Soshnin that, having condemned the criminals, they thereby ruined young lives. Soshnin yelled at the old woman for pitying non-humans, and they began to avoid each other ...
In the dirty and spitting entrance of the house, three drunkards pester Soshnin, demanding to say hello, and then apologize for their disrespectful behavior. He agrees, trying to cool their ardor with peaceful remarks, but the main one, the young bull, does not calm down. Flushed with alcohol, the guys pounce on Soshnin. He, having gathered his strength - the wounds, the hospital "rest" affected - defeats the hooligans. One of them, when falling, hits his head on the heating battery. Soshnin picks up a knife on the floor, staggers, goes to the apartment. And he immediately calls the police, reports a fight: “He split the head of one hero on the battery. If so, they didn’t look for it. The villain is me."
Coming to his senses after what happened, Soshnin again recalls his life.
He and his partner were chasing a drunk who stole a truck on a motorcycle. With a deadly ram, the truck raced through the streets of the town, having already cut off more than one life. Soshnin, the patrol leader, decided to shoot the criminal. His partner fired, but before his death, the truck driver managed to push the motorcycle of the pursuing policemen. On the operating table, Soshnin was miraculously saved from amputation of her leg. But he remained lame, and learned to walk for a long time. During his recovery, the investigator tormented him for a long time and stubbornly with the investigation: was it lawful to use weapons?
Leonid also recalls how he met his future wife, saving her from hooligans who tried to remove jeans from the girl right behind the Soyuzpechat kiosk. At first, their life with Lerka went on in peace and harmony, but gradually mutual reproaches began. His wife especially did not like his studies in literature. “What a Leo Tolstoy with a seven-shot pistol, with rusty handcuffs in his belt ...” she said.
Soshnin recalls how one "took" a stray guest performer, a recidivist Demon, in a hotel in the town.
And finally, he recalls how Venka Fomin, who had drunk and returned from prison, put an end to his career as an operative ... Soshnin brought his daughter to his wife's parents in a distant village and was about to return to the city when his father-in-law told him that he was drunk in a neighboring village The peasant has locked the old women in the shed and threatens to set them on fire if they do not give him ten rubles for a hangover. During the detention, when Soshnin slipped on the manure and fell, Venka Fomin, frightened, put a pitchfork into him ... Soshnin was barely taken to the hospital - and he barely escaped certain death. But the second group of disability and retirement could not be avoided.
At night, Leonid is awakened from his sleep by the terrible scream of the neighbor girl Yulka. He hurries to the apartment on the first floor, where Yulia lives with her grandmother Tutyshikha. After drinking a bottle of Riga balsam from the gifts brought by Yulia's father and stepmother from the Baltic sanatorium, grandmother Tutyshikha is already in a dead sleep.
At the funeral of grandma Tutyshikha, Soshnin meets his wife and daughter. At the wake, they sit side by side.
Lerka and Sveta stay with Soshnin, at night he hears his daughter sniffing behind the partition, and feels his wife sleeping next to him, timidly clinging to him. He rises, approaches his daughter, straightens her pillow, presses his cheek against her head and is forgotten in some kind of sweet grief, in resurrecting, life-giving sadness. Leonid goes to the kitchen, reads "Proverbs of the Russian people" collected by Dahl - the section "Husband and Wife" - and is surprised at the wisdom contained in simple words.
"The dawn is raw, snowball was already rolling in through the kitchen window, when, having enjoyed peace among a quietly sleeping family, with a feeling of confidence he had not known for a long time in his abilities and strengths, without irritation and anguish in his heart, Soshnin clung to the table, placed him in a spot of light Blank sheet paper and froze over it for a long time.
This story (the author called it a novel) is one of the most socially rich works Astafiev. She convexly draws us a moral state whole era in the life of the Russian province, as it was by the end of the Soviet era (there was also a place for the tortured collective farm) - and at the transition to "perestroika", with its renewed signs of distortion. The epithet “sad” in the title is weak for the main character Soshnin and too weak for the whole depressing environment- in the dense mass of a disordered, disentangled, twisted life, in many examples of that, picturesque cases and characters.
Already at that time, the "thieves" camp spirit - victoriously invaded the existence of the Soviet "will". Successfully for observations on this hero was chosen - a policeman on a criminal investigation. The chain of crimes, criminal massacre stretches, stretches. City front, internal staircases are defenseless from the presence of thieves, drunkenness and robbery. Entire fights on these stairs, types of hooligans and swine. The young jerk stabbed three innocents - and right there, next to him, he eats ice cream with appetite. Accordingly, the whole city (not a small one, with institutions) is kept in squalor and filth, and all city life in dissoluteness. Having fun "detachments" of youth rape women, even very old ones, who turn up drunk. Drunken hijackers of cars, and even dump trucks knock down and crush people by the dozens. And the youth, "advanced" in manners and fashions, flaunts in an intercepted style along the garbage streets. - But with particular pain, often, and with most attention Astafiev writes about the destruction of small children, their ugly upbringing, and especially in upset families.
Sometimes (as in his other texts) Astafiev addresses the reader with a direct moral appeal, with a question about the nature of human evil, then with a three-page monologue about the meaning of the family, which ends this story.
Unfortunately, in this story, too, the author allows himself careless liberties in the order of the choice of episodes depicted: in general structure you don’t perceive the wholeness of the story, even in the temporal order of its sequence, there appear, as it were, arbitrary jumps and distortions of episodes and characters, fleeting, indistinct ones flash by, the plots are fragmentally torn apart. This shortcoming is exacerbated by frequent side digressions, anecdotal (here and fishing jokes, of course) distractions (and just unfunny anecdotes) or ironic phrases, out of tune with the text. This also crushes the feeling of cruel gloom of the whole situation and violates the integrity of the language flow. (Along with vigorous thieves jargon, folk sayings- suddenly abundant quotations from literature - and useless, clogged expressions from written speech - like: “does not react to anything”, “remove from the work collective”, “lead to conflicts”, “ big drama survived”, “subtleties of a pedagogical nature”, “waiting for mercy from nature.”) The author’s style is not created, whatever language is picked up.
Soshnin himself is a combat operative who almost lost his leg in one fight, almost died from the rusty pitchfork of a bandit in another and, one against two, unarmedly defeated two large bandits - this is with a mild character and good feelings, - it is very well visible and new in our literature. But Astafiev added to him in a completely inapplicable way - initiatory writing and reading Nietzsche in German. Not that it was impossible, but it was not born organically: in the pen, they say, Soshnin dispersed because of numerous explanatory notes, and there, you see, he entered the correspondence department of the philological faculty of the pedagogical institute. Yes, his soul longs for the light, but is too overburdened with the abominations of the current life.
But, already truly anecdotal, this involvement of Soshnin in the philology department cost the author dearly. In a passing phrase, Soshnin is mentioned that at the philological faculty he “toiled along with a dozen local Jews, comparing Lermontov’s translations with primary sources” - the most good-natured thing is said! - but a prosperous metropolitan explorer Pushkin era Nathan Eidelman - inventively twisted out of this line and announced it to the whole Soviet Union(and then it thundered in the West too) that Astafiev spoke here as a vile nationalist and anti-Semite! But the professor led skillfully: first, of course, out of pain for the offended Georgians, and with the next step - to this terrifying line.
An excerpt from an essay about Viktor Astafiev from the Literary Collection, written by
In all my life Soviet writer Victor Astafiev created a lot bright works. Recognized as an outstanding author, he deservedly has several state awards. “Sad detective” - a short story that left strong impression at readers. In our article, we will analyze it summary. Astafiev's "Sad Detective" is one of those works in which the writer worries about the fate of his country and its individual citizens.
Live life - write a book
Viktor Petrovich Astafiev wrote the work in 1987. At that time, he had already received wide recognition from the public, having published his most best books- “Until next spring” and “The snow is melting”. As critics noted, "Detective ..." could have turned out differently if it had been written at a different time. Here the experience of the past years affected, and the author invested all his personal experiences in the work.
A brief summary will help us get acquainted with the story. "The Sad Detective" Astafieva talks about difficult life former policeman Leonid Soshnin, who was left alone at the age of 42. Everything that makes him happy empty apartment to which he is accustomed, and the opportunity to do what he loves. In the evenings, when the lights go out, in the silence of the night, he sits down in front of a piece of paper and begins to write. Probably, the presentation of thoughts on behalf of the “expressing” (Soshnin, as it were, conveys the author’s thoughts) creates for the reader an additional atmosphere of perception filled with a large number everyday worries.
Essence of the book: about the main
Many admitted that they were not a detective genre affiliation distinguishes the story "The Sad Detective" (Astafiev). can directly say that it is based on deep drama. Sadness became a faithful companion of the protagonist when he divorced his wife and now hardly sees his little daughter. A provincial policeman really wants to, but cannot completely eradicate crime. He ponders why surrounding reality full of grief and suffering, and love and happiness crowd somewhere nearby. Through memories of own life Soshnin learns things that were previously incomprehensible in the hope that this, perhaps, will give, if not answers, then at least peace of mind.
Fragments of memories
Astafiev loves to explore human soul, giving this right to the main character in this case. The novel "The Sad Detective" is fragmentary. Lenya Soshnin looks at people close to him in a new way, analyzes individual episodes of the past, recalls the events he witnessed. Fate pushed him different people, and now, as if summing up, he wonders about their role in his life. Injustice and partial lawlessness do not give him rest as a servant of the law. Why does a helpless person who went through a war die alone, while those who committed a crime, but received the forgiveness of society, feel free? Apparently, such an imbalance will always burden Soshnin ...
Crime components of the book
From the description of criminal incidents, some of which are really terrible, the story "The Sad Detective" consists. Astafiev (we will consider the analysis of the work below) does not in vain describe the scenes of violence, proving the simple thing that is so difficult to fit in the head.
Looking at any work in which murders appear, the possible motives for the crime seem clear to us. What could serve as a better prerequisite than power, money, revenge? Refuting this, Viktor Petrovich opens the eyes of readers to the fact that even murder "for the account" or "just because" is also considered a crime. The author fully shows the life disorder of the killer, his negative attitude towards society, as well as family and domestic showdowns, which often end very badly.
In a similar way, the realist V.P. Astafiev boldly reveals the nature of the Russian soul. "The Sad Detective" clearly shows how well our people like to take a walk. “To break away to the fullest” - this is the main motto of any feast, and the boundaries of what is permitted are often violated.
Failures in the service, joy in creativity
And although the work is notable for a small number of pages that can be mastered in a short period of time if desired, for those who are not familiar with the book, its summary is interesting. Astafiev's "sad detective" is also detailed description services of the protagonist. And if in this area he left an unpleasant aftertaste, often reminiscent of himself, then in creative plan Soshnin is more or less doing well. Leonid dreams of writing his own manuscript. The only salvation for him is to splash out experiences on paper. The cynical editor makes it clear that the inexperienced amateur still has a lot to learn, but it seems that Soshnin is still of little concern ...
Good "Sad Detective" (Astafiev)
Without revealing the details of the ending, it should be said that fate will return the family to the hero as a reward. Having met his wife and daughter, he will not be able to let them go, just as they, filled with “resurrecting, life-giving sadness”, will return to his house.
Modern tricks of an old story
A distinctive technique when creating the story was used by Viktor Astafiev. “The Sad Detective” includes plot inserts that today would be called flashbacks. In other words, periodically the narrative is transferred to the past, to the individual and most bright episodes Soshnin's life, which influenced him. For example, echoes of the sad, difficult childhood when his aunts were involved in his upbringing. One of them was attacked by hooligans, and Soshnin managed to pull himself together so as not to shoot them down. Another time, teenagers stuck to him in a dirty entrance, provoking retaliatory actions. The hero tries to cool their ardor, and when the young bully is badly injured, Leonid first of all calls the police station, confessing to his deed. But, as if wanting to evoke it from them, he evokes it from himself ...
Such motifs clearly indicate the key message of the story "The Sad Detective" - moral issues modern world. How does it manifest itself? Observing the lawlessness that is happening, Soshnin himself unwittingly becomes a participant in it. At the same time, he retains the feeling to the last dignity. But will it be possible to change the world? Or is it easier to force others to change their attitude to the world?
Strengths of the piece
Based on the summary, Astafiev’s “Sad Detective” quickly develops storyline the main character, not allowing her to stagnate in place. According to readers, the story is impressive, despite the peculiarities of the language with which Soshnin, as a narrator, presents the material. This is seen as a special charm, as if Astafiev gave way to the author's chair to someone who wanted to become a writer. On the pages of the work, we every time see how difficult it was for Soshnin to serve and with what dignity he came out of different situations who put his life in real danger. At the same time, he loves his profession and does not want to change it, remaining an honest, fair policeman, fighting for truth and peace.
role model
By creating Soshnin, Astafiev showed a worthy example of what not only law enforcement officers, but also ordinary citizens should be like. For such simplicity and authenticity, the author and his story have earned the recognition of readers and critics.
Victor Petrovich Astafiev left a bright legacy modern generation. The main works, in addition to the "Sad Detective", include: the novel "Cursed and Killed", the novels "Somewhere War Thunders", "Starfall", "Pass", "Overtone" and others. Feature films were made based on some of the author's works.
