The article proposes to re-read “Cursed Days” by I. Bunin as an important junction between nineteenth-century realism and contemporary hyperrealism. The author focuses attention primarily on how the writer uses documents not only to capture a photographic image of reality, by inserting those documents into the narrative, but also to make his point of view abundantly clear. After all, it is the writer himself who declares his intention to wield public opinion by offering the truth proven by hard facts. Thereby Bunin paves ground for contemporary hyper-realistic literature. Theoretically, the article draws on the critical works by Raffaele Donnarumma, particularly his book “Ipermodernità. Dove va la narrativa contemporanea” (2014), where the concept of hyperrealism, previously applied to painting and sculpture, is used for the analysis of contemporary literature. Buninʼs political commitment, which back then was representative of opponents of the revolution, is also a typical feature of contemporary hypermodern writers. From this perspective, the work of Ivan Bunin is reconsidered in all its modernity, as a form of realism that precedes contemporary hypermodern fiction by more than a century.
Mobilizing public opinion for a political commitment for a Tobacco Endgame strategy - obstacles and possibilities
