Vladimir Makanin
Biography
Makanin’s route to his current position as one of the acknowledged masters of contemporary Russian prose is not only a representative tale of the history of Russian literature in the twentieth century, but also a testament to the depth of his talent. Born in 1937 in Orsk, a town straddling the boundary between Europe and Asia, the young Makanin was a chess fanatic. This passion led him to study maths in Moscow, where for many years he worked as a teacher and where he still lives.
Makanin made his entrance onto the cultural scene during the fertile years of Khrushchev’s thaw, publishing works drawing on his interest in the language of cinema. After the thaw came to a frosty end, official suppression forced Makanin’s work out of the cultural mainstream until perestroika ignited new interest in Makanin’s psychological realism and acute analysis of the role of the individual in society. Since then his standing in Russian literature has only risen: this once marginalised author is now on the school curriculum.
In 2008 his novel Asan, a virtuosic stream-of-consciousness take on the war in Chechnya, won the Big Book award. Makanin has been widely translated into English, French, Spanish and other European languages.
Books /selected/
Лаз / Escape Hatch (2009)
Асан / Asan (2008)
Андерграунд или Герой нашего времени / Underground or a Hero of Our Time (1999)
Кавказский пленный / Prisoner from the Caucasus (1998)
In Translation /selected/
in English
Escape Hatch (2009)
Baize-Covered Table With Decanter (1995)
The Loss (1998)
in German
Der Schreck des Satyr beim Anblick der Nymphe (2008)
Prizes and Awards /selected/
2008 - The Big Book Prize
1999 - The Russian State Prize
1999 - Penne Prize, Italy
1993 - The Russian Booker Prize