Arkady and Georgy Vainer, "Loop and stone in the green grass": description, plot and features

"Loop and stone in the green grass" - detective. At least, this is evidenced by the name of the authors. The Weiner brothers are the most popular detective writers in the Soviet Union. In the book "The Loop and the Stone in the Green Grass" we are talking about an investigation of a once-in-fact crime, but its fictional characters are leading it. This work of art differs significantly from the others in the work of the Weiners. What are the features of the novel?

Time of lies

The events of the novel take place in the seventies. Stalin's body was long ago taken out of the mausoleum and buried. A bloody meat grinder is stopped, hundreds of thousands of people are released from the camps. But although Stalin is no more, the state machine created by him works without interruptions.

In the basement of the Lubyanka there are no murders, for new victims do not drive cars in the middle of the night to the houses. But the apparatus of violence is still omnipotent and powerful. Fear, grafted for years, does not leave, it would seem, even intelligent and educated people. They are ready to condemn colleagues and comrades for a fictitious offense. And this is despite the fact that the time of investigative offices and stages on the Kolyma has long ago passed.

The cultural figures are vexing their colleagues. They are not threatened by the fate of the prisoner. The cruelest thing that can happen is a ban on going to France or refusing to publish a new book. It's all about fear, which has penetrated deeply into the consciousness of Soviet citizens. A self-interest and fear of losing a warm place deprives people of the latest moral principles. In this atmosphere of lies and fear live, act and die heroes of the novel "The Loop and the Stone in the Green Grass".

Plot

In the center of the work are the fates of the Jewess Sulamith Ginzburg and the Russian writer Alexei Epanchin. "Loop and stone in the green grass" - a kind of chronicle of the life of one family. Father Epanchina - the former head of "bodies." He once worked under Stalin, Yezhov, and Beria. Now he is retired, but has a "general's apartment," rations and reverence around. His children are worthy sons of his father. Except for one - Alexey.

The book "Loop and stone in the green grass" tells of the love of the general's son to a Jewish girl. The main character, Alexei, is not an official or an intelligence agent. He, contrary to family traditions, moved into literature. His beloved is the daughter of a writer who mysteriously died in 1948. It was the death of her father, Sulamith, that prompted Alexei to conduct an independent investigation.

The murder of Ginzburg is directly connected with the death of political figure Solomon Mikhoels. Therefore, it is from the search for the perpetrators of the death of this famous man that Alexei begins his investigation. Attempts by Alexey and Uly (Sulamith) to find the truth lead to the fact that a woman is expelled from the country. The writer miraculously eschews arrest, however, broken in spirit, sleeps alone.

A detective or a historical novel?

The fact that the book is only true and nothing but her, say in the preface Vainera. "Loop and stone in the green grass" - this is, therefore, not a detective? But the work naturally combines both real-life personalities and those whose characters and destinies are nothing but the fruit of a writer's fantasy. What did Arkady and Georgi Vainer have in mind when speaking about the truth? "Loop and stone in the green grass" - a novel in which the main role is played not by the heroes with their uneasy destinies, but by time.

The atmosphere that reigned in the "era of stagnation" is depicted in the book only in gray and black tones. Everywhere cowardice, denunciations and hatred - this was seen by writers in the far seventies. This is their truth. However, the readers do not agree with the opinion of the Vainers, who remember that time. This is evidenced by numerous angry reviews about the book. "Loop and stone in the green grass" - this, most likely, a work that has an indelible impression on the readers of the younger generation. On those who know little about the social and political situation that prevailed in our country in the second half of the last century.

The Jewish Question

Anti-Semitism in the USSR was manifested in different spheres and in different ways. Starting from small quarrels and elements of xenophobia in the kitchens of Moscow communal apartments, ending with crimes of state scale. The hero of the novel often witnesses quarrels between neighbors. His close relatives - parents and brothers - do not feel sympathy for the Jews. But Alexey, representing a rebellious personality, starts an affair with a woman of Semitic origin.

The protagonist of the novel revolts quietly, almost imperceptibly. His modest protest is expressed in drinking alcohol and in that he does not want to enjoy the material goods available to him. But, having learned that Ula, after thirty years, is still trying to find out the names of his father's executioners, he undertakes a detective investigation. The murder of Solomon Mikhoels is one of the events from which the drama of the Jewish people in the Soviet Union began. And this acute social theme is central to the novel.

The death of the artist

Solomon Mikhoels was not only a politician, but also a famous actor and director. In addition, this man led the Moscow Jewish Theater. The circumstances of his death began to unfold only after Stalin's death. Until 1953, the official version of the death of Mikhoels and his colleague was an accident.

As a result of the investigation it became clear that the murder was organized on Stalin's direct order. The perpetrators of the crime were arrested, but, apparently, not all. In any case, the Weiners novel deals with the fact that the killers are still at large. A truthful Aleksei with all his strength seeks to find that thread that will lead to the real organizers of this despicable act.

Name

A loop and a stone in the green grass are symbols of the tribunal "Feme" - an organization fighting against dissenters. In the first chapter, the hero, while in a daze, sees a strange dream. He was sentenced to death for his freethinking and prejudice. His executioners are the leaders of the above-mentioned organization. Concerning the title in their small foreword, the authors did not say anything. But perhaps it has a twofold meaning.

Childhood memories

The hero of the novel is the son of well-off parents. He does not know what need is from childhood. But with external prosperity, Alexei suffers from an early age, disgusted with lies and silence of crimes, which occurs everywhere. He witnesses the mass death of hundreds of people at the funeral of Stalin. A father, an employee of the MGB, returning home after a day's work, expresses his feelings to his wife: he feels sorry for a colleague who is likely to be removed from office after an unfortunate incident in the center of Moscow. Hundreds of innocent victims do not cause pity in him.

In his dream, Alexei perishes at the hands of the judges of the tribunal only because he read the case of Feme. And this is only permissible for judges. Any crime, whether mass murder or removal from office of an uncomfortable personality, was not discussed in the Soviet Union. Similar questions were solved by the employees of the state apparatus. Thus, "Fehm" is a symbol of the MGB.

Soviet society

The readers' opinion about the novel is twofold. The plot captures, constantly keeps in suspense. However, the background of this literary work causes a depressing impression. How is Soviet society shown in the novel "The Loop and the Stone in the Green Grass"?

Reviews about the book are found negative precisely because the citizens of the USSR in the Weiners are depicted in the most that neither is a disgusting quality. They are all sycophants, opportunists, informers and alcoholics. Hatred of the Jews is their characteristic feature. Almost all Russian characters in the book are anti-Semites. Not every reader can agree with such a vision. Perhaps, xenophobia in Soviet society took place, but not in such a concentrated form. By the way, the representatives of Jewish nationality in the novel are people of exceptional morality.

The shortcomings of this work of the Weiner brothers, according to the readers, is the distortion of historical facts and excessive emphasis on the so-called Jewish question. Advantages - a fascinating plot and a vivid depiction of Soviet life.