If you are looking for contemporary, Christian, literary fiction, look no further. This book was written by an academic scholar of the Medieval, and takes place in Medieval Russia (among other times). The author is right up there with McCarthy, Gass and Krasznahorkai.
It was written in 2013, but only translated in 2015. The book uses Church Slavonic for quotes of the Bible and Liturgy, and to convey that, the English translation uses Middle English (which standardized middle English spelling, as you see with contemporary editions of Chaucer in Middle English) for Church Slavonic passages.
This is truly a beautiful book, here is from a review by the American Conservative
>What kind of novel makes you want to enter into contemplative prayer after reading from its pages? I’ve never heard of one. But Laurus is that kind of novel. It induces an awareness of the radical enchantment of the world, and of the grandeur of the soul’s journey through this life toward God. It is so strange and mystical and … well, to call a novel “holy” is too much, but Laurus conjures on every page an awareness of holiness that is without precedence in my experience as a reader. Holiness illuminates this novel like an icon lamp.
>By saying that, I fear that I will make the novel sound pious and devotional. It very much is not. This is an earthy novel, filled with the sounds, smells, violence, superstition, and fanaticism of the Middle Ages. The achievement of Vodolazkin, who is a medieval historian by vocation, is to make this faraway world come vividly to life, and to saturate it with mystical Orthodox Christianity, such that even the leaves of the trees are enchanted. Most Americans who read Laurus will take it as a work with a strong current of magical realism; the handful of us American readers who worship in the Eastern Christian tradition will recognize it as simply Orthodoxy, where the border between wonder-working and everyday life is porous.
I don't want to spoil the book for those who haven't read it, I'll only say it is the journey of a man from a grave sinner to becoming holy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0J2eDPIjU
Prose sample
>>8283524
>up there with YeCarthy
Go suck on a pirozhok, tovarish.
>>8283538
I'm not Russian
>>8283534
>6,948th year since the Creation of the world
lel
I'll probably read it because the themes and subject matter interest me, but you are shilling way hard, man.
>>8283554
If you want a contemporary literary work that explores the mindset of the Middle Ages, this is the one. It doesn't romanticize them, neither does it demonize them. Rather it humanizes them. If you're religious, the book will be very spiritual to you, and if you're not, you can enjoy it like you would Borges.
What's the relationship between the Vodolazkin, McCarthy, Gass, and Krasznahorkai? I've only read Blood Meridian.
>>8283588
A new school of literature that is superceding the style of writers like Joseph McElroy and William S. Burroughs. Instead of focusing on the psychology of the individual human being, it is more focused on the relationship of human beings.. Instead of the "individual against society", it's more the individual's relationship with his fellow, or, barring that, the individual's incompleteness in being apart from his fellows.
>>8283607
Is there somewhere I can read more about this? Sounds like metamodernism.
>>8283629
It's more a throwback to older ways of thought (though without dropping certain postmodern ideas). McCarthy, for instance, is very influenced by the King James Bible. In fact, the lack of quotation marks in the KJB is why they are seen as obtrusive more and more (none of the named authors use them).
>>8283652
I enjoyed that style in BM. Could you recommend me something from Gass and Krasznahorkai?
>>8283659
The Tunnel
Seiobo There Below
Laurus is right up there with the great Russian novels, imo.
>>8284845
Agreed, it's right up there will Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, even Gogol. The translator deserves massive props too, but then she also could work personally with the author.
>>8283524
>The author is right up there with McCarthy, Gass and Krasznahorkai.
No, nein, nem. I usually read the first page of books when I'm in the store. If this is the first page, I would put it right back. This is not memorable prose.
Constantine es-tu là ?
>>8283524
slimey croat
>If you are looking for contemporary, Christian, literary fiction
I'm not
>>8286696
hm?
>>8286749
Croatians are Catholics
>>8283534
Agreed. I'm slightly interested in the subject but the sample page is quite mundane
>>8287299
Reading this, I thought I'd accidentally clicked on one of the genre fiction or self-publishing threads.
It's a translation, I guess.
>>8287230
If you liked Andrei Rublev or even the idea of Andrei Rublev you'll love it.
There's definitely some Chaucer in there as well, although I'm less familiar with him.
>>8288295
that doesn't look like genre fiction at all anon
>>8287299
the prose seems a bit odd, no doubt that that's a loss of translation, but the narrative is enough to interest me, let alone subject matter
>>8283524
Just placed a hold at my local library, thanks for the tip OP.
>>8283524
saved, thanks anon
great book
Is there an epub yet?
>>8293280
Yes.
http://www65.zippyshare.com/v/J4i1VOAp/file.html
>>8293308
Thanks!
