Boris Akounine

Boris Akounine ( БорисАкунин in Russian), of his true name Grigori Chalvovitch Tchkhartichvili , is a Russian writer géorgien of language , born the May 20th 1956, installed with Moscow since 1958 and there having made all its career.

It was in turn or simultaneously essay writer, literary translator, and novelist. Its pseudonym has two origins. On a side, “akunin” is a Japanese word (悪人) which one could translate, according to the context, by “gangster” (more precisely “bad man”). In its novel “the diamond Carriage” (still new in the countries of French language), the author defines a akunin as being that which creates its own rules. In addition, its pseudonym of novelist, in the form “B. Akunin” (initial of the first name and complete name), would also refer to the famous Russian anarchist Bakounine.

Akounine, which is recognized like very marked by the theater Kabuki, integrated the section of history and of philology of the Institute of the countries of Asia and Africa to the Université of State of Moscow and courses of Japanese civilization gave to it.

In addition, in 1986, it entered the team of the prestigious Russian literary review Inostrannaïa Literatoura (“Literature foreign”), and associated in 1993 became about it the editor association, until the success of its novel pushes it to leave the review in October 2000.

Boris Akounine supervises, since 1996, the publication of an Anthology of the Japanese literature in twenty volumes. He also chairs the directory of “Pushkin Library Project”, financed by George Soros. He is the author of a test on “the Writer and the suicide”, of many literary criticisms, translations in Russian since the Japanese and the English (of the United Kingdom or the United States).

Already having a strong notoriety in her country under her civil statue géorgien, the international celebrity moreover came to measurement from the translations, to Occident, of the detective novels of the series “Eraste Pétrovitch Fandorine”, as from 2000. According to the leading sources, Boris Akounine would have written Azazel “to rest work long and demoralizing” which the drafting of the test would have consitué the Writer and the suicide . The novel is right now in the course of translation in German, English, French, Italian and Japanese. On the territory of only Russia, the total sales of its works would reach the figure impressing of four million annual specimens, according to an interview (in English) of the Dutch scenario writer Paul Verhoeven).

Two of its series have as a framework the last decades of Russia tsarist, but Boris Akounine also undertook a new cycle, contemporary that one, having for hero the grandson of Eraste Fandorine.

Although its romantic career is still very recent, Boris Akounine was already distinguished several times by various “nominations” or rewards from the literary circle of the detective novels.

Works

In France, all the books of Boris Akounine are published in the editions of the Presses of the City.

Series “Eraste Pétrovitch Fandorine”

Azazel ( Азазель , whose action proceeds in 1876)
Turkish Gambit ( Турецкийгамбит , whose action proceeds in 1877)
Léviathan ( Левиафан , whose action proceeds in 1878)
the Death of Achilles ( СмертьАхиллеса , whose action proceeds in 1882)
the Knave of spades ( Пиковыйвалет , of which the action is held in 1886), published grouped with the following under the title special Missions
the Decorator ( Декоратор , of which itaction proceeds in 1889), published grouped with the precedent under the title special Missions
the Adviser of State ( Статскийсоветник , whose action proceeds in 1891)
Crowning, or the Last of Romanov ( Коронация, илиПоследнийизроманов , whose action proceeds in 1896)
the Mistress of Dead the ( Любовницасмерти , whose action of unrolls in 1900)
the Lover of Dead the ( Любовниксмерти , whose action proceeds in 1900)
the captive one of the tower which puts in scene in new a Arsene Lupin and Sherlock Holmes.
the diamond Carriage (French title under reserves, still new, Алмазнаяколесница )

Series “Nicolas Fandorine”

Altyn Tolobas ( Алтын-толобас )
( Внеклассноечтение )
F. Mr. ( Ф. М. )

Series “Pelagie Sister”

Pelagie and the white Bulldog ( Пелагияибелыйбульдог )
Pelagie and the black Monk ( Пелагияичерныймонах )
Pelagie and the red Cock ( Пелагияикрасныйпетух )
(translated into German under the title Pelagia und der Rote Hahn and into English under the title Pelagiya and the Red Rooster )

This series is conceived like a trilogy sufficient with itself and not having to have following - beyond three episodes, characterized each one by a specific color and an environment.

Film adaptations

The Dutch scenario writer Paul Verhoeven reveals, in the interview referred to above, than it acquired the rights related to the first novel of the series “Fandorine”, Azazel , and than the global budget of its future adaptation should at least reach the 40 million American dollars. The journalist Leon Aron revealed in addition, in an article (see low), than the novelist would for its part like that the role of Fandorine, in film under consideration by Verhoeven, is held by Hugh Grant.

External bonds

www.akunin.ru: official site of Boris Akounine, in Russian and richly illustrated, worked out by the graphic designer Artemy Lebedev. This site, which is defended to have the least commercial vocation (1), was launched in September 2000 and, at present, offers inter alia the access to the full text of 6 of the 12 novels “Eraste Fandorine”, of 1st of the 3 novels “Pelagie Sister”, of the novel Altyn Tolobas and some other texts…
(1) its originator, which has agencies in Russia, in Ukraine, in Latvia and France, legitimately seems to make use of it like personal window of its competences.
Akunin.net Boris Akounine in your language
Interview in German on the www.krimi-forum.net site (see with the need the automatic translation for English Google)
“has Private Hero for has Privatized Country”: copious article (in English) devoted to the hero Eraste Fandorine, written by Leon Aron, director of studies Russian in “American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research” (AEI)

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