Artistic Features of Eastern Chronotope in Andrei Volos's Novel “Return to Panjrud”

This article explores the artistic characteristics of the chronotope of the East using Andrei Volos’s novel “Return to Panjrud” as a case study. The originality of this work lies in its first-time determination of the specifics of organizing time and space within the global socioethnic category of “East,” along with an analysis of their functions in the fictional universe of the text. It is demonstrated that the chronotope of the East has a complex structure encompassing simpler chronotopes. Special attention is given to the primary spatial loci of the novel — pit, home (permanent or temporary), city — which collectively form the everyday chronotope. Additionally, it is argued that beyond the everyday chronotope, the novel presents historical space chronotope associated with the Samanid Empire era, legendary space chronotope linked to distant pasts of Central Asian peoples, and mythopoetic space chronotope, which are layered over the everyday chronotope and imbue the text with historical-philosophical depth. Ultimately, the authors conclude that key features of the Eastern chronotope in the novel include its depiction as a unique spiritual state characterizing memory space, close connection with symbolic elements found in the mythology, folklore, and literature of Central Asian peoples, and representation of temporal progression as cyclical movement implying constant return to origin.

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