Русский эмигрант на Rendez-Vous: Сергей Шаршун и его роман

The article examines Sergei Sharshun's prose, with a particular focus on Put' pravyi (1934). Emigré critics interpreted this text in light of a testimonial, confessional genre reminiscent of the “human document”, which was prevalent during that time. The present analysis challenges this traditional reception by engaging with the novel's diverse, if implicit, intertexts, ranging from Dada and Surrealism to Soviet avant-garde writing, Art Deco, medieval myths, Shakespeare, Russian Modernism, and the physiological and necrophilic tendencies of Russian émigré prose of the First Wave, as well as the Russian classical tradition. As a result, Sharshun's novel emerges as a highly original, playful, and subversive narrative created at the crossroads of a variety of discourses and literary models.