What Needs to be Commented on in Olesha’s novel "The Three Fat Men"?

Abstract

 This article explores systematized, generalized and augmented observations related to the commentary of Olesha’s fairy tale “The Three Fat Men”. Special attention is given to the poetics of characters’ names, which leads readers to consider the reasons behind the conscious selections Olesha has made. Central to the discussion is the significance of the autobiographical nature of Olesha’s narrative that influenced the choices of basic motifs and images in his story. The article concludes by presenting for the first time a draft of Olesha’s letter to V. L. Grunzaid, to whom he dedicated his fairy tale.

Keywords: Olesha, The Three Fat Men, children's literature, fairy tale, commentary, autobiographical nature, textual criticism, V. L. Grunzaid, Russian literature, Soviet era literature, poetics of naming, onomastics, anthroponomy