Alternative universes of Victor Pelevin : a study of novels Empire V and Batman Apollo

The subject of the following article centres around Victor Pelevin’s novels Empire V and Batman Apollo, which focus on portraying a modern society of vampires. The main objective is to present not only how Pelevin creates an alternative universe in his novels, but also to describe various contexts and traditions, that are featured in his literary works. In the introductory part of the text the authoress briefly explains Pelevin’s approach to postmodern literature and analyses his connection with Russian literary tradition, the usage of intertexual references, linguistic games and pop-cultural remarks. The text later confronts Pelevin’s creation of alternative universe with his philosophical insight and proves that Pelevin uses fantasy stories and vampiric themes to emphasize the fact that human existence is confusing and always marked with frightening nothingness.