Britikov Anatoly Fyodorovich

Introductory article (to the collection of A. Belyaev "Fiction")

The name of Alexander Romanovich Belyaev is a whole era in our science fiction literature. His early works appeared in the mid-1920s, almost simultaneously with Aleksey Tolstoy's "Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin", the last novel was published already during the Great Patriotic War. Belyaev was the first Soviet writer for whom a new literary genre in Russia became a matter of life. Sometimes he is called the Soviet Jules Verne. Belyaev is related to the great French science fiction writer by intelligent humanism and the encyclopedic versatility of creativity, the materiality of fiction and the scientific discipline of artistic imagination. Like Jules Verne, he was able to catch on the fly an idea that was born at the forefront of knowledge, long before it received recognition. Even his purely adventure fiction was often saturated with far-sighted scientific and technical foresights. For example, in the novel Fight on the Air (1928), which was reminiscent of Marietta Shaginyan's adventurous fairy tale Mess-Mend (1924), the reader got an idea of ​​the radio compass and radio direction finding, power transmission without wires and 3D television, radiation sickness and sound weapons, about the artificial cleansing of the body of fatigue toxins and the artificial improvement of memory, about the scientific and experimental development of aesthetic standards, etc. Some of these discoveries and inventions were still being carried out in the time of Belyaev, others still remain a scientific problem, and still others have not lost their freshness as science fiction hypotheses.

In the 1960s, the famous American physicist L. Szilard published the story "The Mark Gable Foundation", surprisingly reminiscent of the old Belyaev story "Neither life nor death." Szilard took the same scientific topic - suspended animation (prolonged inhibition of vital functions) and came to the same paradoxical collision as Belyaev: the capitalist state also freezes the reserve army of the unemployed "until better times". Belyaev physiologically correctly defined the phenomenon: neither life nor death - and correctly guessed the main factor of suspended animation - the cooling of the body. Academician V. Parin, who already in our time studied the problem of suspended animation, had reason to say that initially it was most thoroughly covered not in scientific literature, but in science fiction. It is important, however, that from the very beginning Belyaev approved scientifically substantiated foresight in our science fiction.

He was an enthusiast and a real ascetic: he wrote a whole library of novels, novellas, essays, short stories, screenplays, articles and reviews (some were recently found in old newspaper files) in some fifteen years, often bedridden for months. Some of his ideas developed into a novel only after being tested with an abridged version, in the form of a story, such as, for example, "Professor Dowell's Head." He was amazingly industrious. The few surviving manuscripts testify to how painstakingly Belyaev achieved the ease with which his works are read.

Belyaev was not as gifted as a writer as Alexei Tolstoy. " Images are not always successful, the language is not always rich", he lamented. And yet his skill stands out against the backdrop of science fiction of the time. " The plot - that's what he felt his power over”, - recalled the Leningrad poet Vs. Azarov. This is true. Belyaev skillfully weaves the plot, skillfully interrupts the action "on the most interesting". But his talent is richer than adventure entertainment. Belyaev's strength lies in a meaningful, rich, beautiful fantasy. The mainspring of his novels is the romance of the unknown, the interest of exploration and discovery, the intellectual situation and acute social clash.

Already Jules Verne tried to communicate scientific information in such episodes, where they would easily be linked with the adventures of the heroes. Belyaev took a further step - he included scientific material in a psychological context. For this reason, the sci-fi theme often receives an individual coloring associated with the personality of this or that hero. When in the novel "The Man Who Found His Face" Dr. Sorokin, talking with Tonio Presto, likens the commonwealth of the hormonal and nervous systems to workers' self-management, when he contrasts this view of the body with the opinion of other scientists who speak of the "autocracy" of the brain, and at the same time ironically remarks: Monarchs were generally unlucky in the twentieth century”, - all this wittily translates medical concepts into the language of social images and corresponds to the patient’s ironic intonation:

“What are you complaining about, Mr. Presto?

To fate."

The doctor perfectly understands what fate the famous artist can grieve about: the hilarious dwarf Tonio Presto is weighed down by his ugliness. The action takes place in America. In the depths of the likeness of the body to the "Council of Workers' Deputies" lies Dr. Sorokin's belonging to another world, and this figurative political association anticipates Tonio's rebellion against American democracy. The sci-fi theme (Dr. Sorokin turns a dwarf into an attractive young man) develops on several semantic planes at once.

Belyaev always sought to poetically express the rational content of his fantasy. His artistic detail is always very purposefully colored with a fantastic idea, because the essence of the poetry of his novels is in the fantastic ideas themselves. The secret of his literary skill lies in the art with which he mastered science fiction material. Belyaev subtly felt his inner aesthetics, he knew how to extract not only rational, but also all the artistic and emotional potential of a fantastic idea. Belyaev's scientific premise is not just the starting point of an entertaining story, but the grain of the entire artistic structure of the work. His successful novels unfold from this grain in such a way that the fantastic idea "programs", it would seem, artistically the most neutral details. That is why his best novels are solid and complete, that is why they retain their poetic appeal even after their scientific basis has become obsolete.

With a metaphor, sometimes symbolic, often already expressed in the title (“Amphibian Man”, “Jump into Nothing”), Belyaev, as it were, crowned the fantastic transformation of the original scientific premise. One of his stories, buried in old magazines, is entitled "Dead Head" - after the name of a butterfly chased (and lost in the jungle) by an entomologist. But the "dead head" is also a symbol of a person's loss of his mind in the silence of uninhabited forests. The “White Savage” (the title of another story) is not only a white-skinned person, it is also a bright human nature against the gloomy background of capitalist civilization. By the way, in this story Belyaev used the motives of the American writer E. Burroughs, whose novels about the man-ape Tarzan were a resounding success in the 1920s. The Soviet science fiction writer managed to give a banal adventure collision an unexpectedly deep and instructive - scientifically and socially - turn. In 1926, The World Pathfinder magazine began publishing his fantastic film story "The Island of Lost Ships" - a "free translation" of the American action movie, as the preface said. In an ordinary melodrama with chases and shooting, Belyaev invested a lot of information about shipbuilding, about the life of the sea, and translated adventure romance into an educational plan.

Belyaev's indestructible curiosity for the unknown always looked for support in the fact, in the logic of scientific knowledge, while the plot was used mainly as an entertaining form of serious content. However, his fictitious plot was often based on fact. The impetus for the adventure plot of one of the early works The Last Man from Atlantis (1926) could have been a clipping from the French newspaper Le Figaro: A society for the study and exploitation of Atlantis is organized in Paris". Belyaev forces the expedition to find in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean a description of the life and death of the proposed continent. The writer got the material from the book of the French scientist R. Devigne "Atlantis, the disappeared mainland", published in 1926 in Russian translation. The plot developed on its basis served as a frame for the main idea, also taken from Devin (Belyaev cites it at the beginning of the novel): “ It is necessary ... to find the sacred land in which the common ancestors of the most ancient nations of Europe, Africa and America sleep". The novel unfolds as a fantastic realization of this truly great and noble scientific task.

Technology of the editorial and publishing process Ryabinina Nina Zakharovna

7.4. Foreword, afterword, introductory article

A preface is a preface to readers that they need to take into account when reading, or studying, or reviewing a book. The preface most often contains materials about the meaning of the topic of the book, the features of the content and form of the work or publication, the sources of the work, information about the principles for selecting material and the principles for constructing the work, unresolved and uncovered problems (so that the reader does not count on what is in the book no) and differences from books on the same or related topics.

The preface should not be confused with the introduction - the introductory part of the author's work, where its theme begins to be revealed, i.e. unofficial part.

The preface is often given the title "From the Author", "Editor", "From the Compiler", etc. If it is impossible to determine by the title to whom the preface belongs, it is advisable to indicate after its text: the author, editor, translator, or put the name of the person who wrote the preface. In some books, most often in reprints, there are several prefaces. If they are written by one person, they are placed in reverse chronological order (to the latest edition, then to the previous one, etc.). In translated books, the preface of the translator or translation editor precedes the author's preface.

The preface, if it is not written by the editor, is edited last, when the structure of the book and the logic of the presentation of the main text become clear. At the same time, special attention is paid to the connection of the preface with other elements of the publication - the abstract, the content of which may coincide with the preface, as well as with the introduction. In addition, care must be taken to ensure that the preface is reflected in the table of contents (contents) and auxiliary indexes, if any. Although the preface is not the most important part of the publication, it significantly affects its overall appearance, so the editor should consider his work on it a crucial stage in the preparation of the publication.

An introductory article is a relatively independent essay that broadly interprets the work of the author or the published work in order to help the reader better, deeper, and more subtlely perceive the content of the book, understand its complexities, get acquainted with its history, the reader's fate and changes in evaluation. So an introductory article is especially necessary in complex books, the contents of which are not easy to understand without additional information. It is placed most often in editions of individual works or collected works of writers, scientists, public figures.

The introductory article should open the book. Its place is after the title page, before the author's preface, if it is included in the publication. An introductory article can only be preceded by a preface by the publisher, editor or editor, or a table of contents (contents), if it is decided to place it at the beginning of the publication.

Most often, the introductory article, like the preface, is typed in a font smaller in size than the font of the main text.

The afterword is close in purpose to the introductory article, but differs from it in that it is placed behind the text of the book - either because the publisher does not want to influence the perception of the work by the reader before he gets to know him, or because the interpretation itself Creativity of the author and his work is impossible without a good knowledge of his reader.

From the book Sports Driving Technique the author Jenach Nick

FOREWORD The path to the right skills - practice, practice, practice... The guy who wrote this book saw firsthand how hard the best riders work to get to the top and stay there. Nick mastered the dirt track on my California ranch with such

From the book Voice across the ocean author Clark Arthur Charles

Afterword by D.L. Charlet Across Any Ocean Arthur C. Clarke wrote A Voice Across the Ocean in 1957 and made several additions to the last chapter when the book was reprinted in 1959. He ended the story at a time when the possibility and benefits of telephone communication had been successfully proven

From the book How motorists are deceived. Purchase, lending, insurance, traffic police, TRP author Geiko Yuri Vasilievich

Afterword You have read a rather sad book. Maybe someone will even lose the desire to drive. And someone will despair from the impossibility of correcting something, or even living in such a country. In vain! Everything that we have today is objective, because Russia

From the book Destroyers of the Novik type in the Soviet Navy author Likhachev Pavel Vladimirovich

AFTERWORD The Noviki became the first truly serial ships in the history of Russian shipbuilding. At the same time, the principle of seriality has not been brought to its logical conclusion here either. Within the series, six "sub-series" of the construction of different factories stood out, very

From the book Rockets and Space Flight by Leigh Willy

Afterword More than two years have passed since the release of Ley's book "Rockets and Space Flight" in the United States. Over the years, the development of rocket technology has gone far ahead. Already before the publication of the book, in the fall of 1957, Ley supplemented his description of the history of the development of rockets and interplanetary

From the book Auto-INVASION on the USSR. Trophy and lend-lease cars author Sokolov Mikhail Vladimirovich

Afterword The three-ton Opel Blitz is considered the best truck of the Wehrmacht, at the same time it is the only truck that was produced from the pre-war years until the very defeat of Germany. "Opel Blitz" has established itself as an excellent, trouble-free

From the book Russian Electrical Engineering author Shatelen Mikhail Andreevich

Afterword After the appearance of the inventions of our pioneer electrical engineers of the second half of the 19th century. decades passed, and these inventions either did not receive application in Russia at all, or received them on a very modest scale. Before the Great October Revolution, Russian

From the book Battleship author Perlya Zigmund Naumovich

AFTERWORD Our country is a great maritime power. The waters of two oceans and thirteen seas wash its shores. The length of the sea borders of the USSR is more than 46,000 kilometers. To protect this great frontier, to protect it from attack from the sea, the country needs a strong navy.Even before

From the book New Space Technologies author

Afterword We have considered various ways of moving in space, which differ from the usual reactive principles, in which the accelerated movement of the body, as a group of particles of matter, in the ethereal medium, requires overcoming the inertia of the body. This effect is due to

From the book New Energy Sources author Frolov Alexander Vladimirovich

Afterword After reading this book, my parents said: "We all understood, this is the" ABC "for inventors." In general, this is exactly what happened. "Az Buki Vedi Verb Good." I did not have the task of collecting all the technologies known in this field into one "encyclopedia". how

From the book History of space rivalry between the USSR and the USA by Hardesty Vaughn

Translator's Epilogue So fate decreed that from 1972 to 1997 I was in the ranks of that huge army of Soviet (and later Russian) scientists and engineers who created the rocket and space potential of our country. My area of ​​work was related to the development and

From the book Engineering Heuristics author Gavrilov Dmitry Anatolievich

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From the book Garage. We build with our own hands author Nikitko Ivan

Epilogue Reading this book, I became sad with every page. For there was less and less left for me. The authors covered all the topics that could interest me so much that I could say something more about them in the afterword. For more than two decades I have been an engineer myself. True, in

From the book Alexander Ivanovich Shokin. Portrait against the backdrop of the era author Shokin Alexander Alexandrovich

From the book Voice across the ocean author Clark Arthur Charles

Afterword This book is not about inventors and scientists. It was customary for us, and even now, to evaluate the achievements of individuals by the number of patents, articles, to calculate by how many days one scientist was ahead of another in his conclusions and publications. But ordinary people are more

From the author's book

Afterword by D. L. Charlet Across Any Ocean Arthur Clarke wrote A Voice Across the Ocean in 1957 and made several additions to the last chapter when the book was reprinted in 1959. He ended the story at a time when the possibility and advantages of telephone communication had been successfully demonstrated.

It is no secret that literature has a huge influence on the formation of a Child who reads a lot and different things, eventually acquires his own view of the world, sees a variety of destinies and opportunities. It is no coincidence that teenage literature has a special place among writers and teachers, since it is at this age that exciting questions are first asked, first love is known, and other events occur that make it possible to understand this diverse world. This is exactly what we will talk about in the article.

Features of literature for teenagers

Teenage literature occupies a special layer in the book market. This is because these books can become the most important in the life of the younger generation, especially in this difficult period, when global questions about life, about human injustice and pain, and, of course, about first love take shape in the mind. Reading such creations, a person can get answers to disturbing questions, deal with his inner world.

Teenage literature includes many aspects. For example, some can talk about true friendship, love, about the inner world of different people. Many modern authors write about teenagers themselves, about their problems on the way of growing up and about their still fragile spirit. Such books are designed to show all the diversity of our world in human relations. Other authors tell about the adventures, exploits and other worthy deeds of the main characters. All this allows you to look at the surrounding reality more broadly, strive for excellence and develop your qualities.

What can be offered to boys and what to girls

Teenage literature for girls and boys in the modern world has no clear boundaries. Of course, boys do not like to read tearful stories about love and deep relationships, but otherwise, teenagers of both sexes read almost the same books. But we still note those works that can be recommended for girls to read. This is:

• "Pollyanna" Eleanor Porter. A very bright book about faith in the best.
• A series of works "Chasodei" by Natalia Shcherba. There are adventures in this book, but a lot of thoughts about love, self-sacrifice.
• A series of books "Tanya Grotter" by Dmitry Yemets. To some, this series may seem like a parody of the famous Potter (although at first it is). But further events develop quite differently. The book contains a lot of experiences on the theme of love, a lot of reflections on relationships and how to save them. Teenagers sometimes show wisdom not familiar to adults.

And below will be listed books that can be recommended to boys:

• Adventure series about a girl Alice, who talks about space travel, flights into the past, and so on.
• Harry Potter books. This is by far the most famous series among teenagers, which even adults read.
• For those who are interested in historical books, suggest reading A. Dumas. His works are historical information filled with living experiences of people, their hopes and aspirations.

The most sought-after genre in teen literature today

What can be said about the demand for genres among modern children? Our teenagers read almost everything, as there are much more ways to get the desired book now than our grandparents had. But works in the genre of fantasy or ordinary fiction are especially popular. With their help, you can immerse yourself in a fictional and unreal world, feel the taste of adventure, especially if life is more than monotonous.

Recently, books with a vampire storyline have been no less popular. So, the works of Stephenie Meyer (“Twilight”), Richelle Mead (“Vampire Academy”), Sergey Lukyanenko (“Patrols”), etc. are in great demand. As you can see, such literature for teenagers is very diverse. Perhaps some parents would not want their child to read this, but, as they say, the more you forbid, the more you want. Otherwise, you can read a book about vampires in parallel, and then discuss its plot.

about the life of teenagers

Now the segment of teenage fiction directly about teenagers is gradually being filled. Such books are characterized by deep feelings, global issues and dreams. Some talk about love, some about ordinary life, but they all touch on issues that were not previously considered important. Below is literature about teenagers:

• Julian Barn (Metroland)
• D. D. Salinger (“The Catcher in the Rye”).
• Galina Shcherbakova (“You never dreamed”).
• Stephen Chbosky ("It's good to be quiet").

Of course, this is not the whole list of books, but they most clearly show how complex the world of a teenager with an undecided worldview is. If you are a parent and want to add other books to the list, then read them yourself before that, as today so many recommended books talk about scary things - drugs, uncontrolled sex, and so on. Of course, at this age it is difficult to keep track of what the child is reading, but try to at least discuss what you read together (of course, for this you need to study the work together).

Poems for teenagers

Of particular note are poetic works, which occupy not the last place in teenage literature. After all, it is sometimes possible to convey feelings with poems, it is at this age that they most often begin to write. Therefore, teenage literature should also include such works. Here is a list of authors who might be of interest to them:

• E. Asadov.
• N. Zabolotsky.
• Frida Polak.
• A. Akhmatova.
• M. Tsvetaeva.
• S. Yesenin and many others.

All the proposed authors penetrate very deeply into the world of the younger generation, talking about various experiences on the path of growing up. Of course, this is not a definitive list, you can supplement it yourself with your favorite authors and their works.

for teenagers

It is very important to interest teenagers in classical literature. This can include both authors of historical novels and short stories, as well as more modern ones. This is a very good and serious literature that will teach the younger generation to think and delve deeper into human relationships. So, consider interesting books for teenagers from the classics:

• "Gone with the Wind" M. Mitchell. A good book about love and war, about different characters and tolerance. Perhaps it is more suitable for girls, since there are still more relationships in the book than military actions.
• The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. In principle, any of Twain's books can be recommended for reading at this age, as many are aimed at a teenage audience.
• The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. It should immediately be noted that if the child is too impressionable, then it is better to read it at a more mature age, since there are moments in the book that describe the horrors of poverty and villains.
• Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. The book tells about one summer in the life of a teenager, which is filled with all sorts of experiences and reflections.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. A book published in the last century is still readable. In childish words, it tells about the events of the thirties in America, about interracial conflicts and violence.

Modern books for teenagers

Modern teenage literature is no less interesting than classical. There are now quite a number of good books that are written as teaching human values ​​or simply fantastic for the development of the imagination. In any case, today you can find completely different books for your teenager. Here is a list of some:

• "The Fault in the Stars" (John Green). describes the romantic love of two teenagers with cancer. Yes, the work is rather sentimental, but very catchy, especially when you realize that in this situation, in principle, there is nothing to lose.
• "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (John Boyne). This book tells about the events that happened during the Second World War, namely about the concentration camps. There are no cruel and bloody murders in it, but there is friendship and mutual understanding, which does not care about racial prejudices. The end, of course, is sad.
• "Metro 2033" (Dmitry Glukhovsky). This novel is suitable for teenagers who prefer science fiction in any of its manifestations. The author created a rather interesting world in the Moscow metro subway. Each station has its own laws and regulations that you should be aware of. The protagonist embarks on a journey to save the world, but it turns out he just needed to talk.

However, teen fiction is not limited to this list. Try to look for books yourself or suggest it to your child.

Conclusion

So, now you know what interesting books for teenagers are that you can recommend them to read as a parent or relative. Each book listed in the article can bring something new and interesting to the world of your growing child, whether it be emotions or knowledge. Invite your child to read and read with pleasure!