Художник

Vlaykov belongs to those creators of our native literature who did not dazzle contemporaries with the relevance of the ideas or the monumentality of the images in their works. And readers did not discover new worlds in Vlaykov's works, they could not feel in them the "heroism" of the era. Slowly and silently, the writer presented to his contemporaries - and with somewhat outdated even for the time fiction techniques - joyful and more often sad pictures of everyday life, of relations in the patriarchal family. The ideological-emotional, aesthetic impact came not from the exceptional events and characters, but from the truthfulness, warmth and immediacy of the image. For literary historians and critics today it is not difficult to prove that the creative experience of the fiction writer Vlaykov is a lived and overcome stage. Indeed, the author's ideas and hopes, which found embodiment in his artistic works, have long lost their meaning. The softness and naivety of the writer's narrative tone is far from the dynamism and drama of both our time and the complex psyche of the contemporary, etc. Despite the convincingness of scientific-critical arguments, one cannot help but admit that we, today's readers, continue to be respected in Vlaykov's novels and stories, to be moved by the fate of the uncles and aunts dear to the author's heart, by the tragedy of the peasants and small owners crushed by the chorbadjis and by the new economic relations. And when he speaks of the past, the writer also extends his hand to us along the bright and tender threads of memories, in order to direct us to the charm of childhood years and experiences... It is true that in Vlaykov we will not find the expressiveness and dynamism of today's authors. But his works have not completely lost their charm on us, because in them the fullness of the former patriarchal way of life flows. And most importantly - the unadulterated truth of the life phenomena in his works is deeply morally meaningful and emotionally saturated. In his works, we, the contemporaries, also find such moral traits and national virtues, which are the basis of our national psychology. Therefore, Vlaiko's creative work still has many living elements. The writer is not one of the "companions", but one of the leaders of our Artistic Prose.

There are writers who have spoken a new word, the meaning of which is nevertheless narrowly historical. They are the pioneers of a new direction in literature, without, however, leaving behind any more significant works of art. There are writers who, by perceiving the new and transforming it in their own way, in their own poetic style, create significant works of art. Karaslavov is of this second type. He works in the general direction of realistic proletarian, socialist literature. He completes the creation of Bulgarian proletarian fiction after Kirkov and Smirnensky, by entering new, previously unknown genres. A subtle observer, a precise artist with a constant striving for transparent clarity of form, he creates a domestic-poetic short story and gradually grows as a master of the novella and the story, of the novel. And his entire work is permeated by the justice of the people's struggles. For four decades now, his inspired pen has served the working class, the people faithfully.

By the place that nature occupies in the work of a writer, we can reveal not only essential features of his appearance, but also some directions in the spiritual life of the era. There are authors who are insensitive to natural beauties. They are able to pass by a dazzlingly beautiful Alpine peak without interrupting their intellectual conversation, like the old Erasmus, or, standing in front of Niagara Falls, admire its energy more than its beauty, like the modern Steinbeck. We must not forget that writers from different schools and trends, as well as artists with different personalities, describe nature in different ways. The Romantics, for example, devoted a large place in their work to the delights of natural beauties. But how different are the hazy paintings of Chateaubriand - a dreamer and a contemplator - compared to the harsh, precise and strong descriptions of the officer Alfred de Vigny. Prishvin and Bianchi are almost contemporaries. But the lyrical excitement and confessions of the one are replaced by the bright, clear, full of philosophical generalizations of the other.