Create Legend

Author: (Russian) Solokub, translated by Zhang Bing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The novel The Legend of Creation (1914) depicts an imagined world, promoting the idea of testing reality through fantasy and art. The book blends realistic grotesque techniques with mysticism, love, and morbid fantasies. The stories set in two different countries initially seem like parallel lines, but miraculously intersect at the end. The Legend of Creation is 600,000 words long and divided into three parts: The Droplet of Blood, The Queen of Aultruda, and Smoke and Ash.
In The Droplet of Blood, set against the backdrop of Russia at the time, the author portrays the turbulent social conditions of the city of Skorodolye and the revolutionary struggles of the socialists. It tells the strange story of Trilodov, a chemist, poet, and novelist who sympathizes with the revolution and has participated in revolutionary activities in the past. However, he now lives in the forest on the outskirts of the city, obsessively devoted to his creations—such as summoning the spirits of the dead, shrinking people into dry husks, and building a spaceship capable of flying to the moon.
In the second part, The Queen of Aultruda, the author invents a kingdom of united islands. The story unfolds in parallel with the first part, and the two countries face similar social conflicts. However, the Queen of Aultruda is clearly more concerned with mystical forces and less with social issues. This part is filled with court struggles, power and passion, and the interweaving of conspiracies and greed, making readers sense the author's disillusionment with human nature. To some extent, it seems to explain why Trilodov created and sought to change people.
The third part, Smoke and Ash, continues to return to Trilodov's real-world conflicts. He decides to run for the throne of the united islands and ultimately succeeds. He marries his long-love Elizabeth, while the social conflicts in Skorodolye escalate. Strikes and other struggles are destroyed by the Black Hundred, and troops and police storm Trilodov's estate. In the final moments, Trilodov leads the people aboard his spaceship, flying into space, and ultimately lands in the united islands, where he will carry out his social experiments. The novel ends just as Trilodov's spaceship is about to land.