The focus of my
PhD is to examine the translated novels of two different groups of Russian writers - liberal and nationalist - and to ask whether the politics of these authors, and how they present their politics in the text, affects the commissioning, translation, marketing and reception of their work in the UK and US.
One of my key research aims is to identify the fixed ideas many of us have about what form Russian literature should take, and what topics and political ideas it should represent. To this end, I intend to investigate reader responses to six novels, written by authors with strong domestic, and for some, international reputations.
The novels might either confirm or challenge any pre-conceived ideas that you have.
They are:
The Librarian by Mikhail Elizarov
Sankya by Zakhar Prilepin
Minus by Roman Senchin
Maidenhair by Mikhail Shishkin
The Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin
The Big Green Tent by Ludmila Ulitskaya
And this is where you, the reader, come in. In order to gather data for my reception study, this survey asks for your responses about any one (or more!) of the novels above.
The questions are divided into two groups – one group you can answer even if you haven’t read any of these novels (which in itself is a useful piece of information); the second set of questions concerns your opinions and impressions once you have read one of the novels (even if you only read a section).
You do not need to answer all of the questions in either question before submitting the form.
If you read more than one novel - feel free to submit your responses again! If you would like to send me any more feedback, or would be happy to be contacted for any follow-up questions, please email me at sg667@exeter.ac.uk.