Книжка-2

Table of Contents: Issue 2, 2021 - Bulgarian, English

The paper focuses on Julian Barnes recent book “The Man in the Red Coat” (2019) with the concern of exploring the interrelatedness of Belle Époque with the idea of joie de vivre. The analytical observations are contextualized against the backdrop of the occurrence and historical development of the notion joie de vivre and of certain corresponding literary thematizations.

The article analyzes the presentation of the pleasant aspects of life in the works of the Russian writer Arkady Averchenko (1880-1925). Averchenko himself enjoyed life and his life position determined the author's. Previously in Russian literature indulging in pleasures of life comic heroes most often were negative types. Averchenko created another type, who can have fun from life and can become a positive example for the reader. These, for example, are the heroes of his stories, „Podhodcev and two others.“ The writer's attitude to the Joie de vivre was one of the main characteristic features of his humorous works which attracted readers. At the same time, Averchenko categorically does not accept those who prevent others from enjoying life. Averchenko shows that the rejection of the normal joys of life is a direct road to death. This was manifested in his satirical works written after the revolution.

The study focuses on some emblematic variations on the theme of joie de vivre discernible with French Belle Époque writers and among representatives of the Russian Silver Age. The discussion also touches upon the manifestations of the overarching theme in the advertising industry, which constructs the consumers’ “paradise”. The delineated dialogues, which appear along the lines of the gallant feasts (fête galante), the isle of Cythère, the Golden Age, idyll and Harlequinade, develop in contexts that are marked simultaneously by resonating similarities and by divergent cultural, historical, and national particularities that account for their specific nuances.

In the European cultural tradition, the image of the islands brings together the geographical strangeness with a social utopia. The paper traces its historical alterations, as attested in documentary and literary travel stories, in comparison with Leibniz's thesis of the “best world”.

This paper presents the satirical works of Vasil Popovich (1833-1897), most of them unpublished in his lifetime, and analyses them in the context of their time – the debates about the standard language, about literature and the Bulgarian Literary Society from the end of 19th century. In the focus are also the conflicted relations of V. Popovich with Ivan Vazov, Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan, Vasil D. Stoyanov, and Konstantin Jireček. The tension between them is interpreted as a manifestation of their competition for symbolic capital and for gaining an important position in society and literature. As a supplement, at the end is added an unpublished text by V. Popovich from 1887, written in an imitation of Oldbulgarian/ Church-Slavonic language as a personal letter.

In her letter to the editors, Professor Milena Tsaneva shares her doubts of the trustworthiness of some remarks in the “Notebooks-diaries” of Academician Petar Dinekov, published in Biblioteka Journal. Particularly, those regarding her father – Acad. Georgi Tsanev and the poet Nikola Vaptsarov. She quotes parts from the published memoirs of Hristo Radevski about Vaptsarov, as well as her own, and compares them to those written by Petar Dinekov.

Translation into Bulgarian of a very early essay by Friedrich Nietzsche after the reprint of the continuous treatise from 1873 (Historical-critical Complete Edition of the Works, prepared by Hans Joachim Mette, LXXII f.).

The current text is a review of Anna Angelova's book „Bulgarian Oldprinted Editions 1806–1878: A study of the collection of the Sofia University Library „St. Kliment Ohridski“, 416 p., hardcover. The book includes two author's studies, a catalog of printed editions, stored in the library, and 734 handwritten notes from books and newspapers, left as written traces by owners, readers, and donors. The publication of the notes and a part of the author's analyzes are assessed as contributions to the history of the book. A number of criticisms have been formulated regarding the language normalization of manuscripts and titles and regarding the numerous typographical errors, which are noticeable in the book. My recommendation is for a more in-depth and extensive analysis of the studied corpus. Anna Angelova's book gives me a reason to keep insisting on a full digital corpus of the Revival editions and full-text publications of all old printed books on the Internet, including handwritten notes on them.