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RESPECTING THE FICTIVE WORLD WITH DIFFERENT RULES

Radoslav Rusnak, D. Leskova

Abstract

In the paper we focus on foreign literature for children and young adults in Slovak translations. The criterion for our choice was the presence of the character with disability. We deal with two books, which were published in Slovak translation in recent five years: A social novel Aristoteles a Dante spoznГЎvajГє svet a tajomstvГЎ vesmГ­ru (Benjamin Alire SГЎenz: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, 2012; Slovak translation in 2016) and a novel with fairy-tale features ГљВћasnГЎ cesta Barnabyho Brocketa okolo sveta (John Boyne: The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket, 2012; Slovak translation in 2013). The paper has no aspiration to propose a detailed interpretation study. The literary work is interesting for us as the basis for the analysis of disability from the gender point of view and from the perspective of the category of queerness. We present thematization of the character with disability (or with certain degree of strangeness or peculiarity) as the respecting of the fictive world with different rules. We also claim that through the presence of the literary characters with disability (Aristotle Mendoza, Dante Quintana, Barnaby Brocket) both literary texts are opened to alternative receptive perspectives. In the conclusion we offer evaluative comments on artistic authenticity of disability portrayal in both selected books.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2018/6.2/S27.068

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