Intertextual links between B. Akunin's novel Vremena Goda (Seasons) and M. Prishvin's story Ginseng

Abstract

The article is devoted to studying intertextual links between the novel Vremena Goda (Seasons) by B. Akunin and M. Prishvin's story Ginseng. In the early 1930s, M. Prishvin participated in an expedition to the Far East. As a professional ethnographer and a highly skilled agronomist, the writer looked closely into the geocultural space of Manchuria. Personal contact with Manchurian nature and culture became a source of inspiration for M. Prishvin. Botanical, and seasonal climatic observations of Manchuria, naturalist notes about local animals, descriptions of how the taiga inhabitants live, resulted in a remarkable story Ginseng. Following his predecessor, B. Akunin also turned to the Manchurian theme in his novel Vremena Goda. The novel Vremena Goda features a similar story to Ginseng about the search for a relic root in the Manchurian wilds. The heroes of both works ended up in the land of Manchuria thanks to a kind Chinese elder, and having gone through many hardships, found the treasure of the forest - ginseng. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that the novel Vremena Goda has not yet become the subject of a detailed literary study, much less so its intertextual character. This article is the first to examine the dialogue between the two works Vremena Goda and Ginseng. The method of comparative analysis reveals similarities and B. Akunin's borrowings from the pretext of Ginseng, as well as his postmodern modification of original images. Based on M. Prishvin's work, B. Akunin created his own new plot about the search for ginseng. The found data help to expand the study of intertextual aspects of B. Akunin's works.