Flap Your Wings for Goodbye: Avian Imagery in Sasha Sokolov’s Between Dog and Wolf

The present article explicates a selection of bird imagery in Sasha Sokolov’s second novel, Between Dog and Wolf (1980). It analyzes the author’s use of certain birds and their folkloric and mythological subtexts for symbolic purposes. In particular, he pairs his protagonists with key birds (hoopoe, lapwing, goose, magpie, albatross) to underscore aspects of their personalities, behaviors, relationships, and experiences. This ornithic imagery emphasizes how the characters cannot overcome their temptations and other base feelings to attain higher meaning and ultimately remain bound to the physical, natural world. (For a plot synopsis of Between Dog and Wolf, please consult the introduction to this issue of CASS.