"In Crimea (collection)" by Alexander Kuprin, summary

This book is a collection of novellas, short stories, and essays written between 1903 and 1929. The texts meticulously capture everyday life on the Black Sea coast, where the natural beauty of the south conceals profound human dramas and the clashes of strong, freedom-loving characters. Individual works from the collection have been adapted for film numerous times. The novella "The White Poodle" served as the basis for the 1955 film of the same name. The classic story from "The Garnet Bracelet" received a well-known film adaptation in 1964. The famous short story "Gambrinus" was successfully adapted for the silver screen in 1990.

White poodle and early sketches

A traveling troupe of performers wanders along the Crimean coast in search of work. An old man named Martyn Lodyzhkin with a barrel organ, a young acrobat named Sergei, and a poodle named Arto perform at the dacha of a wealthy engineer named Obolyaninov. A spoiled boy named Trilly throws a tantrum, demanding that he immediately buy the dog he likes. Lodyzhkin firmly replies, "I don’t sell dogs." That night, a local janitor steals Arto. The grandfather is unable to report the incident to the police because of his fake passport. Sergei sneaks into the dacha at night. He risks his life, rescues the dog from the cold basement, and runs away with it.

In the short sketch "Frenzy," a clear southern night is sharply contrasted with the stuffy atmosphere of a crowded café chantant. A bored audience and tired performers try unsuccessfully to have fun. The lyrics to "Diamonds" describe the hypnotic effect of precious stones on a crowd at an illuminated shop window. The glow of the stones awakens hidden vices and an insatiable thirst for wealth. The sketch "Empty Dachas" conveys the melancholy of a suddenly cold autumn. A deserted resort, abandoned hungry dogs, and memories of fleeting summer encounters evoke a quiet, humble sadness.

Memories of contemporaries

The memorial text for Anton Pavlovich Chekhov describes his life in Yalta in detail. The author recalls the great writer’s love for his garden, animals, and ordinary working people. The author describes the writer’s modest study, his boundless hospitality, and the secrecy of his daily creative process. Chekhov consistently supported aspiring authors.

The essay "Events in Sevastopol" documents tragic episodes of the 1905 uprising. The narrator witnesses a nighttime fire on the cruiser Ochakov. Admiral Chukhnin’s brutal reprisal against the rebellious sailors is described. The rescue of drowning sailors from the burning ship was deliberately prohibited by the military command.

The memoirs of Nikolai Mikhailovsky are based on personal encounters with this energetic engineer. He passionately initiated the Crimean electric railway project. The essay on Leo Tolstoy recounts a brief crossing on the steamship St. Nicholas in 1905. Tolstoy emerges as a commanding genius, before whom the crowd silently parts, and at the same time a graceful social aristocrat, a master of subtle, amusing anecdotes.

Gambrinus and Other Stories

Every evening, a talented Jewish musician named Sashka plays the violin masterfully in the underground port pub "Gambrinus." Sailors, thieves, fishermen, and smugglers regularly frequent the pub. Sashka uses his music to pacify fights and finds the right approach to any person. During the Japanese War, the musician is drafted to the front. He returns alive, but soon bloody pogroms break out in the city.

During a confrontation with police detective Motka Gundosy, Sashka smashes his violin in anger. At the police station, the violinist’s left hand is brutally mutilated. Sashka nevertheless returns to the pub and brilliantly performs cheerful tunes on the labial ocarina.

The tale "Laurels" is told from the perspective of a withered bay leaf in a dirty garbage dump. It mournfully recalls its long journey from a southern tree through palace balls and lavish funerals. The highest peak of its fame was a theatrical laurel wreath. The end of its journey was banal — the leaf was simply thrown into a kitchen broth pot.

The handsome young Medzhid works as a horse guide in Yalta. He imitates his more experienced colleague, Memet, in everything he does. During a horseback ride, Medzhid easily seduces the ecstatic wife of a St. Petersburg archpriest. In the story "Lenochka," Colonel Voznitsyn meets his childhood friend Elena on the deck of a steamship. They reminisce about tender youthful infatuation and secret kisses. The colonel meets Elena’s adult daughter. The officer is filled with a sweet sadness, accepting the harsh laws of generational change.

Lystrygonians

A series of essays about Balaklava fishermen describes the seaside town’s transition to the autumn fishery. The author sincerely admires the courage and bravery of the descendants of the ancient Genoese. The series describes the masterful mackerel fishing of the cunning Yura Paratino and the secret nocturnal poaching of mullet by the light of the phosphorescent sea. The fishermen use difans, local three-walled nets, which ensure a bountiful catch.

The film depicts the extremely dangerous winter expedition of young Vanya Andrutsaki after a giant beluga during a fierce north-east wind. Local customs include diving into the icy sea for a silver cross on the feast of Epiphany. Harsh sailors often indulge in drunken, potent wine and engage in brutal battles between venomous tarantulas. Italian divers attempt unsuccessfully to recover heavy gold from a sunken English frigate.

The Wine Barrel and the Caterpillar

Prosecutor Ignatius Leshedko arrives in Yalta for the fashionable season. He unsuccessfully courts the wealthy and beautiful Baroness Mentzendorf. A high-society group attends a professional wine tasting in the Massandra cellars. The guests imbibe a vast quantity of a variety of vintage spirits. A drunken Leshedko dares to crawl through the narrow opening of a giant wine barrel. He gets stuck, screaming loudly and suffocating from the alcoholic fumes. Workers are forced to strip the prosecutor completely naked and coat him liberally with machine oil to extricate him. The disgraced Leshedko hurriedly flees the city.

The events of the story "Caterpillar" take place in the fall of 1905 in a workers’ settlement near Sevastopol. Irina Platonovna, the wife of a private lecturer, is considered a narrow-minded woman by her acquaintances. Her husband dismissively calls her a caterpillar, declaring, "You’re not a woman, you’re a caterpillar." After the cruiser Ochakov is shelled, the revolutionary asks intellectuals to shelter ten surviving sailors. It is Irina who boldly takes charge of the entire organization. She harshly shames the cowardly liberals, quickly gathers clothing, and distributes the fugitives among remote villages. Her selfless act transforms the woman.

Storm and the Strong Men

The short sketch "Storm" is dedicated to a small, nimble passenger on a steamship. During the heavy seas, he stoically cares for his large family. The man himself suffers from bouts of nausea, but firmly suppresses his suffering to help his loved ones. In the essay "Strong People," the author reflects on the pristine beauty of free physical labor. He admires the precision of the movements of rip saws and experienced sailors. True professionals are contrasted sharply with the cowardly, random passengers.

Garnet bracelet

On her name day, Princess Vera Sheina hosts a quiet family dinner at her dacha. She receives an unexpected, anonymous gift: a low-grade gold bracelet with five large blood-red garnets. The sender is the humble official Zheltkov. He has been secretly and passionately in love with the princess for eight long years. Vera’s brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich, and her husband, Vasily Lvovich, discover Zheltkov’s exact address. They pay him a visit, sternly demanding that he cease his amorous pursuit once and for all.

Zheltkov bluntly declares to Vera’s husband: "I know I can never stop loving her." He firmly promises to disappear forever. Vanish without a trace. To finance his departure, he deliberately embezzled state funds. Upon learning of her husband and brother’s visit, Vera senses an impending tragedy. The next day, local newspapers report the young official’s suicide. Vera receives his final farewell letter. In it, he selflessly blesses her and asks her to listen to Beethoven’s Second Sonata.

The princess goes to Zheltkov’s poor apartment. She feels a deep need to see the deceased. Vera brings a large red rose and tenderly kisses the deceased’s cold forehead. That evening, she listens to the virtuoso performance of a pianist friend. Vera weeps bitterly, clinging tightly to the trunk of an acacia tree in the garden. She clearly understands that true, great, sacrificial love has passed her by. The music gently comforts her soul, bringing a feeling of radiant and complete forgiveness.