“The novel of one life” by V.S. Baevsky: the lyricism of narration in a memoir novel

The memoir novel by VS. Baevsky has incorporated his previously published autobiographical stories and essays. At the same time, the “Novel of One Life” is a single mnemonic narrative, with the image of a scientist in the centre. “The Novel of One Life” is an autobiographical narrative, the unifying core of which is the image of the narrator and his story. The autobiographical narrator links up all the levels of the mnemonic text, as it combines a specific author, narrator, and protagonist. The narrative of the memoir novel implements the narrative strategy of life description, and the probabilistic worldview is formed from the description of real historical events and the trials that the protagonist overcomes. The novel creates a time of memory, where the past is not only inextricably linked with the present, but also continues in it. The center of the narrative strategy is the narrator. In memoirs, the narrator’s image combines several categories, namely that of a particular author, the “I” - being told about and the “I” telling. In “The Novel of One Life” the story and image of the narrator are formed on the basis of personal documents: the author’s diary and correspondence with poets and scientists. The author’s attitude to the documentality of history also testifies to the objectification of the narrative. Despite the autobiographic nature, stylistically, the narrative is based on distancing the narrator from the specific author. One of the most important components of the narrator’s image in the “The Novel of One Life” is an attempt to escape from the egocentric narrative typical of any autobiography. The dominant feature of the narrator is the lyrical origin, the feeling of being a lyric poet.