Konovalov

The short story "Konovalov" (1897) is an example of Maxim Gorky's autobiographical writing, depicting the suicide of a quiet prisoner, Konovalov, whom Gorky decides to immortalise on the page. The narrative follows the chronological life of the main character, constructed from the memory of the narrator himself, adding a tinge of authenticity. The story brings some existentialist philosophies to mind, coating the ordinary situations with an air of nostalgia and universality, so characteristic of Gorky's entire oeuvre.