The proposed research is an attempt to analyze gonzo-criticism in the context of the modern Ukrainian literary process. The change of aesthetic orientations in the Ukrainian literary process had significant impact on the role and status of literary criticism. The analysis of gonzo-criticism is based on the example of texts of Tetiana Trofymenko, literary critic, cultural manager, lecturer, participant of various literary and artistic events. She taught at the universities of Kharkiv and Lviv, worked at the Kharkiv Literary Museum. The reviewer cooperated at various times with the magazine “SHO”, the sites “Novynarnia”, “MediaPort”, “ZAXID.NET”, “LitAktsent” etc. The article summarizes the views on gonzo journalism and approaches to its characteristics. The analysis of Tetiana Trofymenko’s reviews is conducted on the stylistic and genre levels taking into account the problem-thematic contexts, features of the presentation of works of art and compositional peculiarities. Gonzo is a special kind of criticism with the dominant subjective view on literature. Its main criteria are impressions and emotions of the critic, this style does not have clearly regulated rules but mainly depends on the author’s personality, his perception and understanding of the artistic work, the vision of text in the context of literary process, the author’s creativity, the ability to present his position vividly and convincingly. The critic conducts a dialogue with the reader, exchanges opinions, reflections and estimations with him. The characteristic features of review are personalized point of view, personal beginning, factuality, reasoned position of the author. The narrative in review is polythematic, because it aims to highlight a variety of facts, usually united by the author’s opinion. The author of the artistic review demonstrates to the reader an analytical work aimed at cognition, understanding, interpretation and evaluation of a literary work. The stylistic features of gonzo-criticism are analyzed in details. The attention is focused on the peculiarities of the presentation of fiction texts through the ironic, subjective view of the critic. The researcher found out that this style of literary criticism manifests in emotional expressions, the use of irony, sarcasm, and the critic offers an unexpected look at the literary work, shocks and provokes the audience.
The African Novel and the Western Reader. A Case Study
