The Intext of “Superfluous Man” in Contemporary American Fiction

This paper discusses the Russian literary intext of “superfluous man” incorporated in the fiction of two contemporary American authorsThomas McGuane and David Bezmozgis, whose main characters are arguably modelled on Pechorin, the protagonist of Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. Theintext of “superfluous man” is just one example of the reoccurring dialogue between American and classical Russian literatures echoing the trend of the early twentieth century. Russian texts once again become mediators to transcend boundaries and contribute to translating individual narratives into transcultural stories.