Episodes of text-making in the narrative structure of Victor Pelevin's novels

This paper investigates the principles of episodization of a narrative work in both theoretical and practical aspects. Following VI. Tyupa’s theory, the term ‘episode’ is defined as a text fragment characterized by the unities of space, time, and characters’ roster; ‘narration’ is defined as a dissection of a story into event segments, which are then linked together. The Configuration of the narrative is viewed in the light of historical narratology. This paper suggests that throughout the history of Russian literature, certain changes in methods of connecting those fragments have occurred: thus, coherent large episodes are typical of classical works, modernist texts employ paradigmatical correlation between the events of the story, and postmodernist ones possess the “serial” type of eventfulness. Based on V. Pelevin’s novels, this paper studies the specific functions of episodes in contemporary fiction. The role of episodes of text-making, or, in other words, fragments in which the characters are creating their own texts, are being analyzed. This paper concludes with the statement that such features as repeating scenes of writing or reading, serial method of linking together the framing and the embedded narratives, the correlation between the novels discourse and the genre of literary “notes” are needed to emphasize the intrigue of interpretation, which is relevant to the reader as the situation of postmodern by definition “lacks” reality. Episodes of text-making allow both the protagonist and the reader to take “the position of being situated outside” (M. Bakhtin) regarding the patterns of creation and perception depicted in the novels. In other words, they become the points in which the communicative levels of narrative can resonate with each other.