The article reveals some peculiarities of functioning of artistic detail in such a particular genre as memoirs on the example of I. Odoevtseva’s book On the Banks of the Neva. It shows how the mem-oirist models the fictional reality, creates a deep subtext, and forms a reader’s perception through specific details. It demonstrates that details are not only important elements of literary portraits in Odoevtseva’s memoirs (for example, that of O. Mandelstam or the author’s self-portrait), but also the keys to the charaсters.
