Ilya Masodov Explained

Ilya Masodov (unknown; some sources state 1966) is a modern Russian writer.^[1]

Biography

According to the publisher, Ilya Masodov was born in 1966 in Leningrad. He worked as a school teacher for a while and moved to Germany. There is no trustworthy evidence of the existence of the writer. An agent of the writer, Dmitry Volchek, stated that Masodov is a real person, but Volchek himself is not aware of the fate of the writer after 2003.^[2]

Debate over the identity of Masodov and the authorship

There is a discussion about whether Ilya Masodov is a real writer. According to one theory, Masodov is a pseudonym derived from the names of other Russian writers such as "Ma-" for Mamleev, "-so-" for Sorokin and "-dov" for Radov (or less commonly, for "Dovlatov"). Other people consider the name as an anagram from von Sacher-Masoch and Marquis de Sade.^[3] It is also argued that Ilya Masodov is a project of Marusya Klimova or her publisher named Dmitry Volchek.

Style and language

Some critics found Masodov uses the "pared to the bones" creative approach of Vladislav Krapivin.^[4] Masodov works between two genres, namely "Necrorealism" and "guro"^[5] or "vampire horror".^[6]

Works

Trilogy of novels 2001:

• The Darkness of Your Eyes (Russian: Мрак твоих глаз) - a mocking and surreal story about a teenage vampire girl who travels to Black Moscow in order to raise Lenin from the dead.^{[7] [8]}
• The Heat of Your Hands (Russian: Тепло твоих рук)
• The Sweetness of Your Soft Lips (Russian: Сладость губ твоих нежных)

Additionally, a publisher of Masodov has stated that there is at least one unpublished novel by the author.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Stasulane A. et al. Birgit Menzel; Michael Hagemeister & Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal (eds.), The New Age of Russia: Occult and Esoteric Dimensions //Acta Baltica Historiae et Philosophiae Scientiarum. – 2014. – Т. 2. – №. 1. – C. 126-129.
2. https://m.polit.ru/article/2011/09/01/dmvolchek/ m.polit.ru - Volchek
3. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4998590 Kommersant.ru
4. Web site: gorky.media. 2020-12-28. Кто умер в 2020 году. 2022-02-01. «Горький». ru-RU.
5. Web site: Книга Илая. 2022-02-01. darkermagazine.ru. ru.
6. https://rg.ru/2018/09/02/aleksej-ivanov-napisal-knigu-pro-pionerov-vampirov.html rg.ru
7. https://www.ryzhakov.co.uk/best-100-contemporary-russian-novels/#:~:text=The%20Darkness%20of,been%20translated%20yet Ryzhakov: Best 100 contemporary novels
8. Куликова Д. Л. ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ ХОРРОРА В «МРАКЕ ТВОИХ ГЛАЗ» ИЛЬИ МАСОДОВА //Филоlogos. – 2021. – №. 2. – С. 47-53
9. Web site: gorky.media. 2019-06-02. Идиотская история с музыкантом Моби. 2022-02-01. «Горький». ru-RU.