Chapter 18: Reverberations

"Who is this Mr.? I don't recall ever seeing his name before."

"I've never heard of him either, but he must be a writer of great ability; otherwise, how could he deserve such high praise from Vissarion?"

"No, no, no, this seems to be a complete, thorough newcomer. Look at this sentence: 'Though this is his first attempt at creation, there is no doubt he has revealed the subtleties of artistry, the truth of art!'"

"'His emergence has taken up the banner of the "Natural School," which began maturing with Gogol, and in some respects has gone even further than Gogol!' He actually dares to compare an unknown nobody with Gogol!"

"In this article, I see the same passion that Vissarion displayed when reviewing Gogol."

………

Out of habit, most of the young people who bought the book immediately flipped the magazine *Otechestvennye Zapiski* to the section commenting on social hotspots.

Nowadays, Russian literary magazines basically consist of two parts: the first half contains novels, poetry, and plays, while the second half consists of commentary articles or debate pieces.

In the second half, one must note that it contains a large amount of coded language deliberately used to evade censorship.

Either abbreviations or metaphors.

Just as in later times, saying "Great Qing" doesn't necessarily refer only to the Great Qing, and complaining about "Old America" doesn't necessarily refer only to Old America.

As for the debates, sometimes they are rational discussions, but once both sides get heated, they often turn into pure shouting matches.

At the same time, one can also see someone publicly blasting another person, while others, being more cowardly, choose to publish their views anonymously.

And Belinsky's article, without a doubt, appeared in the second half.

Following Belinsky's usual style, he would often, alongside literary criticism, launch critiques against certain social realities and offer certain views and summaries on art.

But this time, there was more interpretation of the two short stories *Vanka* and *Misery*, along with praise and affirmation for this author. Treating a newcomer's work with such solemnity is rare for any critic, let alone Belinsky, who is currently at the height of his fame in the critical world!

At this very moment, on Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, at the street corner of Vasilievsky Island, outside the shop window of Kolpino, and even in front of major bookstores on Tverskaya Street in Moscow, countless young people first looked at each other in silence, then began to discuss the matter fervently.

Once the discussion finally quieted down, some of them took their purchased literary magazines home, some walked to school with their companions, and others, in small groups, headed to nearby cafés, preparing to find a warm, bright place to read seriously.

But most of the young people, unable to restrain their curiosity any longer, began reading with ravenous eagerness under the slightly dim sky, preparing to see how a newcomer to the literary world had earned the appreciation of Belinsky, the most famous critic today.

One must remember that as the cultural and economic center of Russia, St. Petersburg and even Moscow have never lacked writers and poets wanting to carve out a place for themselves, but how easy is it to be a writer or a poet?

Even someone like Nekrasov, who managed to get by just barely well enough, still had to do all sorts of odd jobs to make a living.

So, how well has this newcomer actually written?

The first to sense something was wrong were actually the secret police, who were constantly yawning and bored, because at some unknown point, those noisy young people had suddenly fallen silent, not making a single sound.

When they looked up in surprise, they only saw young faces lost in thought, even faintly showing signs of pain.

Among these people, Vladimir was the first to finish reading. After finishing, this frail young man first felt an inexplicable sadness, his whole person enveloped by an indescribable emotion, followed immediately by a sense of outrage.

This outrage contained many complex feelings: sympathy for people, anger at reality, but above all, it was a question: Why is it like this?

And when he saw his companions around him gradually finishing as well, Vladimir couldn't help but speak to the companion beside him first:

"I seem to have seen a reality that has been ignored until now."

The moment Vladimir spoke his first sentence, it immediately triggered a chain reaction, and the sound of discussion suddenly rose again among these young people:

"A perspective never seen before! A poor child, a poor coachman, to whom should their misery be told?"

"Oh God! In today's Russia, who can still live a good life?!"

"Deep observation of reality, the most concise expression, and the most surging emotions! This respectable Mr. expressed no ideological tendency in his novels, but just as Vissarion commented, he has told the reader everything he wanted to say!"

"Two very moving short stories. Can novels be written like this? A technique never seen before! But upon first reading, one wouldn't notice it at all; only after thinking about it later can one feel the skill involved."

"'He observes the world from the very bottom!' There is no more precise description than this."

"I prefer the metaphor of the surgeon; the words are truly like a scalpel, cutting into the heaviest part of Russia!"

………

Scenes identical to this were happening at this very moment in various places in St. Petersburg and Moscow. After all, reading these two short stories didn't take much time, so the reaction came quickly and was sufficiently fierce.

Some marveled at the technique of these two short stories: extreme conciseness, accuracy, and the surging emotions hidden in the shadows; even in Pushkin and Gogol, one could not find such novels!

Some were surprised by the subject matter of these two short stories, that they actually placed the children of serfs and lowly coachmen into the sacred realm of literature.

Others, through the content of the novels, felt the weight of reality and were once again stirred by that inexplicable emotion in their hearts.

What exactly should be done? How can Russia become better? Should we wait for the grace of that Tsar Nicholas?

As St. Petersburg and Moscow gradually became noisy again, the secret police, who had originally been curious why these young people had suddenly become so silent, now had faces as ugly as if they had eaten a fly.

Although they didn't know what kind of nonsense had been published in these magazines, the words spoken by the young people had undoubtedly made these secret police smell a certain sensitive aura.

An aura that must be met with a heavy blow, strictly according to the indication of His Majesty the Great Tsar Nicholas.

Even if the current situation cannot yet be called serious, who knows if there won't be further developments later.

If the superiors give an indication, the people down here will have to work like dogs.

Therefore, among these secret police, some had ugly faces, feeling that they might have to deal with more trouble in the future, while others, through the repeated words of the young people, passively remembered the name Mikhail.

Of course, there was also a very small portion of the secret police who felt a certain curiosity about the words in the magazine, but at such a moment, they certainly could not step forward to join these young people.

(End of Chapter)