The image of Alexandria in André Aciman’s essay collection “False Papers”

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the image of Alexandria in André Aciman’s collection of essays “False Papers”. The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the representation of the Alexandria topos in the collection. The scientific novelty of the work is determined, firstly, by the research material itself: it is the first time that A. Aciman’s essays have been introduced into the academic discourse of Russian literary studies; secondly, the image of Alexandria presented here is examined holistically for the first time, in the unity of its thematic and problematic field. As a result, it has been established, first and foremost, that the key techniques for depicting the topos include intertextuality (references to L. Durrell and C. Cavafy) and biblical motifs, as well as retrospection, through which Alexandria in the essay collection is presented in two aspects: the real and the unreal. Furthermore, while the actual Alexandria is depicted through descriptions of landmarks, memories of the author’s ancestors, and reflections on prominent figures genetically or biographically linked to the city, the unreal Alexandria emerges exclusively as a product of the author’s imagination – a synthesis of cognitive distortions and genuine memories of the city – and is inextricably linked to the problem of existential loneliness. Finally, the space of Alexandria is often narrowed down to the loci of the paternal home, embodying the idea of lineage and family, and the room as a chamber space for the author-protagonist, in which he feels protected.

Research materials

1. Вордсворт У. Избранная лирика. М.: Радуга, 2001.
2. Даррелл Л. Размышления о Венере Морской / пер. с англ. Е. Ракитиной, В. Михайлина. М.: Б.С.Г.-Пресс, 2006.
3. Aciman A. False Papers. N. Y.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: September 2, 2026.
• Published: October 22, 2026.

Keywords

• творчество А. Асимана
• современная американская литература
• образ Александрии в эссе А. Асимана
• феномен мультикультурализма в литературе
• André Aciman’s work
• contemporary American literature
• image of Alexandria in André Aciman’s essays
• phenomenon of multiculturalism in literature

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