Kim Anatoly Alexandrovich is a well-known prose writer, translator and playwright, who began his literary work in the Soviet years and continues to this day. It is about this amazing author that we will talk in this article, we will analyze his biography and the most famous books.
Childhood
Anatoly Kim (whose biography is presented here) was born in the village of Sergievka (Kazakhstan) on June 15, 1939. His parents were teachers, his mother taught Korean, and his father taught Russian. The ancestors of the writer moved to Russia from Korea back in the 19th century. One of his ancestors, Gi-Yong, served as the chief of the royal guard in the 15th century, but after a palace coup was forced to flee and hid for a long time in the remote Korean province. Descendants who moved to Russia were also persecuted by the authorities. So, in 1937, Anatoly's parents were exiled to Kazakhstan, and then in 1947 to Sakhalin.
Search for yourself
In 1971, Anatoly Kim graduated in absentia from the Moscow Gorky Literary Institute , where he attended creative workshops by V. Lidin. As for the writer's working biography, it is very rich and motley. Whom he just did not have time to work for his life: he held the position of crane operator of tower cranes; worked as a craftsman in a furniture factory; served as a projectionist; He was an inspector-art historian at the USSR Art Fund; taught prose theory at a literary institute, which he graduated from; earned money in editorial offices and publishing houses.
For a long time, the future writer was fond of painting. This continued until he realized that the picture is just an image of a frozen moment, and literature is a stream of living time, which is dense, elastic, irreversible and at the same time permeable and unique. It was these differences regarding the time of these two arts that became decisive for Kim when choosing his vocation.
The first steps in the literature
Anatoly Kim began his literary journey by writing poems that were published in the newspaper For Road Traffic. But the attention of critics was not paid to the poetic texts of the writer, but to the prosaic ones. The stories "Rosehip Meco" and "Watercolor", published in 1973 in Aurora, brought first fame. These works were attracted not only by their exoticism, the depth of the image of the dramatic fate of the characters, but also by the subtlety of the psychological drawing, penetrating lyricism and picturesque colors.
It was these qualities that later became a feature of the author’s artistic manner and his distinguishing feature. The images that Kim creates are also noteworthy. At the same time, they are hyperbolic and focused on folk art, have a vivid metaphor. Bizarrely combined in the writer's stories is everyday and festive, big and small, insignificant and significant.
Originality of creativity
Immediately, criticism noted yet another bizarre feature of Kim’s works - his whole work seemed to be united, and each new creation is both the end of the previous one and the beginning for the next. This unity of the text is a reflection of the unity of the surrounding world, which the writer recreates on the pages of his works.
In his interviews, Kim said that all parts of the world, including the living and nonliving, people and animals, make up the "whole organism." He saw his task in describing the earthly world as cosmic, as part of something larger. Such statements allowed critics to make assumptions about the philosophical basis of Kim's work.
The author’s stories address natural-philosophical problems, in them the writer seeks to learn the laws of the unity of nature and man.
Work in magazines
Anatoly Kim is also always active in journalistic activities. He took part in the creation and preparation for printing of such periodicals as Literaturnaya Gazeta, Den, Soviet Literature, New World, Moskovsky Vestnik, Roman Newspaper.
In 1996, Kim became an academician at the Academy of Russian Literature. In the same year he was appointed to the post of editor of Yasnaya Polyana magazine. The writer also devoted a lot of time to this work and always approached it responsibly.
Also, the writer is engaged in the translation into Russian of the works of Kazakh writers. For example, A. Nurpeisov, M. Auezov, etc.
In 2004 he moved to Kazakhstan, where he lived until 2012, until he returned to Moscow again.
Philosophical subtext of works
Initially, Anatoly Kim described the Far East and Sakhalin in his stories and stories, paying particular attention to the depiction of Korean national life, folklore and worldview.
The writer's works are strongly gravitated to subject blur and lyrical-philosophical meditation. They must be read slowly and thoughtfully, gradually expanding the narrative and paying attention to every detail. Otherwise, it is impossible to comprehend the semantic polysemy, replete with symbolic images, and the deep meaning of Kim's books. No wonder his works are sometimes characterized as Buddhist and Sufist. A lot of the eastern worldview and understanding of the stories and novels of the author.
Noospheric thinking
Anatoly Kim is a philosopher writer, which is why his artistic thinking in criticism is often called "noospheric." It manifests itself most vividly in the fantastic-mythological philosophical parable of 1992, “The Village of Centaurs,” in which Kim describes the conflict of two worlds: earthly and heavenly. In the lower vain space there are constantly quarreling and warring people, Amazons, centaurs, horses, and in the highest - powerful creatures that decide their fate.
Often in his philosophical and providential works, Kim turns to the biblical subjects of symbolism. Such is the 1995 novel “Onliria”. In the book, the history of man is presented as a game between God and the prince of evil.
Kim's works are a kind of continuation of the traditions that were laid down by science fiction scientist I.A. Efremov. Hence the desire for cosmism and intellectual analysis.
"Squirrel"
This time, Anatoly Kim addresses the topic of soul relocation. “Squirrel” is a fairy tale novel telling about the fates of 4 artist friends. In this regard, the problem of the presence of an evil "bestial" (devilish) principle in man is raised. Thus, Kim continues to develop a 20th-century West European philosophical novel. The writer’s inner conflict is resolved by the person’s ability to overcome the sinful through the act of creation, through art, in which he can be equated with God. But this path is not easy, it consists of a constant struggle, which, if enough effort is made, can end in victory, which consists in gaining an anti-bestial essence and immortality.
“The Creative Man” is the best representative of his kind and is opposed to well-fed earthiness, philistinism, and philistinism. This idea goes back to representatives of German romanticism, such as the Schlegel brothers and Hoffmann. With these writers, Kim is also related by eclecticism and mosaic narration, as well as the versatility, phantasmagoricity and mystery of the text.
Father-Forest (Anatoly Kim)
This 1989 famous parable novel combines a cosmic view of our civilization with an apocalyptic forecast of the future of humanity.
The fate of three generations of the Turaev family, hereditary nobles, appears before the reader. Their lives, and even thoughts, are closely connected with the mysterious power of the Meshchera forest, which helps them to abandon pettiness, fuss, anger and feel the joy of merging with the world. From the point of view of the writer, the only salvation of our world, destroyed by mankind, is a reunion with nature.
The novel has many mythological images. For example, the image of the Serpent of Gorynych is embodied by the sergeant Obrezov, the merchant Ferapontov and several other characters who destroy the Forest.
Anatoly Kim, “Genius”
This book stands out among other works of the writer. This is due to the fact that it is dedicated to the beautiful and famous actor Innokenty Smoktunovsky, who jokingly called himself a genius. Kim talks about the fact that it was thanks to this man that he began his literary career. It Smoktunovsky helped him to publish for the first time. And after many years, when the writer decided to be baptized, the actor agreed to be his godfather.
Kim also shares his memories of frequent meetings with Smoktunovsky, which allow him to see the actor from an unusual side. The book largely shows the attitude of the writer himself to Smoktunovsky, and the reader sees the actor through the eyes of Kim himself.