The current, called postmodernism, emerged at the end of the 20th century and combined the philosophical, worldview and cultural moods of its time. The integration of science and art, religion, philosophy. Postmodernism, not striving to study the deep problems of being, gravitates to simplicity, a superficial reflection of the world. Therefore, the literature of postmodernism is not aimed at understanding the world, but at accepting it for what it is.
Postmodernism in Russia
The forerunners of postmodernism were modernism and avant-garde, which sought to revive the traditions of the Silver Age. Russian postmodernism in literature abandoned the mythologization of reality, to which previous literary trends gravitated. But at the same time, he creates his own mythology, resorting to it as the most understandable cultural language. Postmodern writers conducted dialogue with chaos in their works, presenting it as a real model of life, where the harmony of the world is a utopia. At the same time, a compromise was sought between space and chaos.
Russian postmodern writers
The ideas considered by various authors in their works sometimes are strange unstable hybrids called to conflict forever, being completely incompatible concepts. So, in the books of V. Erofeev, A. Bitov and S. Sokolov, compromises are presented, paradoxical in essence, between life and death. For T. Tolstoy and V. Pelevin, between fantasy and reality, for Viktor Yerofeyev and Petsuh, between law and absurdity. From the fact that postmodernism in Russian literature is based on combinations of opposite concepts: sublime and low, pathetics and mockery, fragmentation and integrity, oxymoron becomes its main principle.
To the postmodern writers, in addition to those already listed, include S. Dovlatov, V. Voinovich, L. Petrushevskaya, V. Aksenov, A. Sinyavsky. In their works, the main characteristic features of postmodernism are observed, such as an understanding of art as a way of organizing text according to special rules; an attempt to convey the vision of the world through organized chaos in the pages of a literary work; gravitation to parody and denial of authority; emphasizing the conventions used in the works of artistic and visual techniques; connection within the same text of different literary eras and genres. The ideas that postmodernism proclaimed in literature indicate its continuity with modernism, which in turn called for a departure from civilization and a return to savagery, which leads to the highest point of involution - chaos. But in concrete literary works one cannot see only the desire for destruction, there is always a constructive tendency. They can manifest themselves in different ways, one prevailing over the other. For example, Vladimir Sorokin's works are dominated by the desire for destruction.
Having formed in Russia in the period of the 80-90s, postmodernism in literature absorbed the collapse of ideals and the desire to escape from the ordering of the world, so a mosaic and fragmented consciousness arose. Each author in his own way refracted this in his work. In L. Petrushevskaya and V. Orlov , the works combine a craving for naturalistic nudity in the description of reality and a desire to leave it in the mystical realm. The feeling of peace in the post-Soviet era was characterized precisely as chaotic. Often in the center of the plot for postmodernists becomes an act of creativity, and the main character is a writer. It is investigated not so much the relationship of the character with real life, but with the text. This is observed in the works of A. Bitov, Yu. Buyda, S. Sokolov. The effect of the isolation of literature on oneself comes out when the world is perceived as a text. The protagonist, often identified with the author, pays a terrible price for its imperfection when confronted with reality.
One can make a prediction that, being oriented towards destruction and chaos, postmodernism in literature will one day leave the stage and give way to another movement aimed at a systemic worldview. Because sooner or later the state of chaos is replaced by order.