Bezumnoe iskusstvo : strakh, skandal, bezumie - .

The book is devoted to the existence in the culture of the three main psycho-emotional states - fear, scandal and madness. Leading experts from Russia, France, America and Israel offer readers to see the hidden meanings underlying well-known works: "The Auditor," "Crime and Punishment," "Idiot," "Uncle Vanya," "Small Bess," "Lolita" and many others. Figures of Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Nabokov appear before the reader in a new light. Fear is a strong impetus in the development of a person's personality. But it can cause its fundamental change, destruction and sometimes death. Literary scandals reveal new details of writer's biographies and cultural life of the era, which is embodied in the work of writers and artists. And perhaps the most intriguing part of the book, introducing into the world of literary madness, tells about writing as pathology. About epigons and imitators, about mentally unhealthy heroes of books, delusions and hallucinations, performing, however, important artistic tasks in the works.