The Hunt for the Clairvoyant by Anatoly Korolyov: An experience of creating a bestseller

The Hunt for the Clairvoyant is an experience of Anatoly Korolyov's conscious work at the junction of polar genre forms. This article considers the features of mass literature contained in the novel. A significant indicator of book production that is aimed at a wide audience is the possibility of escapism. The effectiveness of this immersion depends on the entertainment potential: the plot should be amusing and should include additional lines. The analyzed work contains a lot of thrilling moments, including several false denouements. Escapist illusiveness is clearly found in the “happy-end philosophy”. Emphasis is placed on the exceptional in the fate of the main characters. The simplicity of text decryption is achieved due to a number of principles, among which cliche situations occupy an important place; the main events are characterized by formulae, many of them are based on mythological elements. Orientation to the unsophisticated reader is shown in the “pedaling” of key details. The combination of dialogic and diegetic forms of presentation helps to increase the impact on the reader. The novel is clearly focused on the action genre. The characters are constantly on the move. Descriptions of fights, shootings, chases make up a significant part of the novel. Many of the characters show superhuman dexterity. Both the “bad” and the “good” use violence. As in many thrillers, the novel tells about a rescue of a young girl, who became a target for murderers. On the mythological level, another of the book's genre features is revealed: the beautiful Lisa saves the world from destruction. An example of a sociopathic villain, a typical character in this kind of literature, is a misogynistic maniac, who has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. Shocking scenes are characterized by emphasized naturalism. The intrigue, based on the disclosure of malicious intent, associates the novel with a detective story. Korolyov describes the events in a harsh manner that is characteristic of a noir novel. The writer actively uses slang and profanities. A sexual fatal line is introduced into the plot. Implicitly the work has a motif for the hero's collision with corruption and lawlessness. As in horror literature, the characters in the novel have psychic abilities. One of the most mysterious figures is the sleepwalker Vera; the portrait of the monster evokes a sense of squeamishness, and its actions are disgusted, as destructive aesthetics suggests. The actions of several characters are described as obsessions; animals hunt people and show amazing insight. The clash of so many genres and types of entertainment literature leads to dissonance. Korolyov's parody of cliches develops into their indirect denial. Through the usual motifs and images, a philosophical subtext emerges. The author's focus on the word and sign allows defining the Hunt for the Clairvoyant as a semiotic novel with an open structure.

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