The motive of the theft of books in the works of V. M. Shukshin

The episode of the theft of books from the school cabinet became an important part of the Shukshin’s biographical myth. For many Shukshin heroes, the introduction to the world of culture also begins with the theft of books. This motive plays a plot-forming role, in particular, in the oral story told by Shukshin I. to I. Khutsiev. The miraculous transformation of the novel,s hero from a difficult teenager into a cultural person begins with reading a random book, bought for stolen money. The mature Shukshin is not so optimistic. It is not difficult to guess that the source of the poetic erudition of the thief-“designer” (Pechki-lavochki) is books from the stolen suitcases. However, in this case, you can not count on the fact that the cultural baggage acquired by such a questionable way will lead to the transformation of the hero.