Arkady Strugatsky is a classic of modern science fiction. But few people think, reading exciting adventures, that this is social literature.
Strugatsky Arkady Natanovich. Writer Biography
The capital of Adjara is justly proud of its talented son. In Batumi in 1925, a boy was born to Natan Strugatsky and Natalia Litvincheva, who was named Arkady. My father worked as the editor of a large newspaper, and my mother was an honored teacher of the Russian language.
Almost until 1932 the family lived in Batumi, then Natan Zalmanovich was sent to Leningrad for distribution. In 1933, the second son Boris was born. The birthday of Arkady Strugatsky was not celebrated on August 25, 1942. At this time, the city was already in blockade. Since his father had useful contacts because of his profession, the Strugatsky family was one of the first to bring “dear life” to the Urals.
But little Boris was very ill, and his mother and youngest son remained in the besieged city. Arkady Strugatsky’s 17th birthday was found in the village of Tashla, where he worked as a grocery purchasing manager. By that time, he had buried his father and dreamed of taking his mother and brother out of Leningrad, which he managed only a year later. In 1943, when the young man turned 18, he was drafted into the Red Army.
Service and personal life
His service consisted of training at the Berdichev School, then at the Institute of Foreign Languages. By profession, a great writer - translator from Japanese and English. Until his retirement, he worked by profession and lived in cities such as Kansk, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Moscow. In Kansk married Inna Shershova, the second marriage with Elena Oshanina gave her daughter Maria, who married Yegor Gaidar.
Writer career
Arkady Strugatsky began writing in Leningrad. But all the first works were lost during the evacuation. The first published story is The Bikini Ashes in 1956, co-authored with Lev Petrov. In 1964, the author was admitted to the Writers Union. Almost all books were written with his brother Boris in the genre of fiction and utopia.
There are novels without co-authors. Under the pseudonym S. Yaroslavtsev published “Expedition to the Underworld” (3 parts, 1974-1984), a story about Nikita Vorontsov (1984), “The Devil Among People” (1993) and an unfinished story of only 10 parts “ Days of the Kraken ”(1963).
In 1975, he wrote the script for Tajikfilm. In the working version, the name sounds like “Gayurov family”. Since the writer was fluent in English and Japanese, in his spare time he was engaged in translations of classics and modern foreign authors. His translations are highly regarded for artistic realism.
Underworld guy
The story "The Guy from the Underworld" Arkady Strugatsky considered his favorite child. It is part of the Midday World cycle and co-authored with brother Boris in 1973. The story is not easy. The script was commissioned by Mosfilm and was chosen by writers from five options. Odessa film studio also claimed to be shooting. But the film was banned for severity and timeliness.
The plot for 1973 and the Soviet system was indeed non-trivial. On Earth, people of the future live in social utopia. Justice and compassion above all. With this mission, they observe the progress of a foreign civilization, which is at the level of the 20th century. War, bloodshed, disease and cruelty dominate the planet of the Giant. For especially dangerous tasks train "fighting cats".
Korney, one of the observers from Russia, rescues a young “cats” cadet Gag, who was wounded in battle, and brings him home for rehabilitation. The soldier, who was only taught to kill, has a worldview turned upside down. Gag tries to fight obsession, clings to familiar slogans about patriotism, runs away home. But the seed of peace and pity has sprouted in his soul.
Gag is a "guy from the underworld." Arkady Strugatsky became interested in the very fact of an outward look at the utopia of a "bright future". For the 20th century in the Soviet Union, it was an impermissible luxury.
The best bibliography
Arkady
Strugatsky, whose
books are incredibly popular, with his brother Boris created 27 novels and short stories, 3 plays, 21 short stories. The best works are:
- “A picnic on the sidelines” is a story about stalkers who secretly visit the place where the aliens flew in at an abandoned toy factory.
- “It is difficult to be a god” - the plot tells about the earthling Anton, who is sent by historical society to observe the planet Arkanar.
- “Monday begins on Saturday” is a humorous trilogy about an institution dedicated to human happiness.
- “The city is doomed" is the history of the experiment, when people from different eras are placed in the closed space of one city.
- “Inhabited Island” is a novel about people of the future Earth who, by the will of outer space, fall on another planet and try not only to survive, but also to help representatives in solving pressing problems.
- "Hotel" At the deceased climber "" - a detective with an unpredictable denouement.
- “Baby” is a story-tale about “space Mowgli”.
Between the lines
Arkady Strugatsky, whose books have been distributed in millions of copies all over the world for decades, is not just a science fiction writer. In the heyday of his work, the Soviet system did not allow free thinking. Especially if it was expressed against the prevailing order in the country.
This was the period when, for a joke in the kitchen, they sent to camps and prisons. But the writers whose pen was driven by true talent could not remain silent. The protest against the system destroyed a whole layer of gifted authors. The Strugatsky brothers found an original outlet for their rebellion: fiction. The censors did not get a grasp of the meaning and did not take the Strugatsky “fairy tales” seriously. Thus, the writers had access to a thinking reader who saw between the lines the true meaning of the works.