The Multidimensionality of Space (City) in the Works of Pavel Vilikovský

Abstract

Pavel Vilikovsky (1941–2020) was one of the Slovak “sixties” writers, the author of novels, short stories, and essays, who created his own special artistic world marked by psychology and self–irony. The author moves freely in the sphere of his own texts and in the coordinates of world literature. The motifs, elements and images of spiritual and material space that are repeated in his works are noted. Bratislava in his books looks like a palimpsest; the writer is attracted by the historical layering of the city. The locations of the city that are significant for Vilikovsky are the old streets, train stations, cemeteries. The options of an “enclosed space” are also important and functional for him: a room, a staircase, a closet. The novel “The Buzz is Gone” (2018), the last work of the writer, reflects many of the motives and features inherent in his entire work. This is an educational novel in which space, the material and moral environment of the autobiographical narrator plays a significant role. Images of real spaces (dormitories, train stations, cemeteries) are intertwined in the novel with motives of spiritual search and reflection.

Received: 10.03.2025.
Revised: 13.03.2025.
Accepted: 18.03.2025.

Citation
Shirokova L. F. The Multidimensionality of Space (City) in the Works of Pavel Vilikovský // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 356–366 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.17