«THE STALKER» AND «STALKERISM» IN THE NOVEL BY M. KAMYSH «OFORMLIANDIA OR THE STROLL TO THE ZONE» AS AN ATTEMPT OF DEPARTURE FROM THE CHORNOBYL TRAGIC LITERARY DISCOURSE

Abstract

The novel «Oformliandia or the Stroll to the Zone» by M. Kamysh establishes new way for Ukraine of understanding the Chornobyl disaster. This approach follows the tradition of antitragedy fictional discourse. It is related to the Chornobyl stalkerism (pathfinding), i. e. a kind of extreme tourism at the Chornobyl territory. Character-narrator defines stalkers not taking into the account official tourists, foreigners or celebrities whom he shows around the Zone. Similarly to J. Campbel’s monomyth character, the stalker is formed by means of initiation. Elucidating the stalker phenomenon in the novel M. Kamysh materializes Chornobyl steps aside from its depiction as a spiritual substance. Certain various Zones differing topographically and seasonally can be found in the text. The style of novel narration is either harsh, i. e. rich in jargonims, or romantic being written like a fairy-tale. The character-narrator’s «split personality» causes the creation of both naturalist and mythic images of the Zone. Author mythologizes the narration at the level of the plot,
endowing his character with the features peculiar to culture character and actualizing the elements of eschatological and cosmogonical myths in the novel. M. Kamysh materializes and mythologizes Zone. This
fact levels the emphasis on the comprehension of Chornobyl’s past and actualizes its perception as that of a modern and timeless phenomenon.