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“On the Blue Field” (1922) is a short novel (story) by Alexei Remizov, one of the most important Russian modernists and émigrés. The novel is autobiographical in tone – it is based on the life of Remizov’s wife Serafima Pavlovna Remizova-Dovgello.

The main character is Olya Ilmenyeva, a girl from a wealthy provincial family in the village of Vatagin, through which the pilgrimage routes to Kiev and Chernigov pass. The story follows her childhood, youth, family relationships, encounters with pilgrims, peasants and everyday life in Russian provincial life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Remizov writes in a characteristic ornamental, folkloric-poetic style – rich in archaisms, repetitions, rhythm and close to Russian oral storytelling and old chronicles. There is no classic dramatic plot or major external conflicts; the action flows calmly, almost chronicling-like, with an emphasis on atmosphere, customs, beliefs and the inner spiritual world of the characters. “Blue Field” symbolizes the Russian land, infinity, sky and the spiritual dimension of life.

The book exudes warmth, melancholy and love for old Russia, its ordinary people, faith and folklore. Remizov masterfully depicts a world full of miracles, suffering and everyday beauty – pilgrims, icons, family stories, nature. The style is demanding, but hypnotic: a mixture of realism, symbolism and Russian ornamentality (tale). The work belongs to his “quieter”, more intimate works, in contrast to the grotesque and demonic stories from the same period.