New sentimentalism: the case of L. E. Ulitskaya

Introduction. Modern literary studies distinguish neo-sentimentalism as one of the most important trends in Russian literature of the turn of XX - XXI centuries. Writers of modern times, denying the ideology of postmodernism, with its inherent crisis of self-identification of the individual, the world of simulacra, skepticism, etc., find support in the „fundamentals” of literature - referring to tradition, create a new artistic paradigm. The authors of the article analyze the iconic texts of L. Ulitskaya, as a bright representative of neo-sentimentalism of the early XXI century, and find markers of representation of the main features of the direction in the work of the writer. Support for the study was the works of M. Bakhtin, N. Leiderman, M. Lipovetskiy, N. Kovtun, A. Chagin, J. Podlubnova and other scientists. Materials and metods. Comparative, historical, cultural, structural, typological and descriptive approaches became the methodology of the research. The subject of the research is the functioning of the features of the new sentimentalism in the early texts by of L. Ulitskaya. Results. Based on the analysis of iconic works of early works of L. Ulitskaya, it is concluded that the life of the individual, the attempt of its self-identification, the inner world of the characters prevails over the relationship with the outside world. In the artistic reality of L. Ulitskaya, there is a need to assert the priority of the fate of a particular person in relation to historical events, personalities, catastrophes. Conclusions. The narrative of the writer is not endowed with edifying character. L. Ulitskaya ironically gives the reader the right to choose - to treat the work as a fascinating story, or to join the author,s intentions. The task of the narrator is to reconcile the reader with the ambivalence of real life, so similar to the stories in the pages of her books.