The Energy of Honesty, or Brussels Lace, Mandel'štam, “Stolen Air”, and Inner Freedom. A Visit to the Creative Workshop of Andrej Bitov's Puškinskij Dom

The article focuses on the importance of Mandelstam as “a key” to Andrei Bitov's novel, Pushkin House. It discusses Bitov's emphasis, in Pushkin House, upon honesty about reality and upon an honest representation of reality. It discusses, in this respect, the ways in which Mandelstam is significant, in terms of Bitov's response to reading Mandelstam, and in terms of the ways in which Bitov's knowledge of Mandelstam functions in Pushkin House. The article also takes into account certain relevant features of Bitov's ‘The Garden’, ‘Life in Windy Weather’, and ‘Notes from around the Corner’.