"The Adventurer" by Alexander Green, summary Automatic translate

This book is a collection of short stories and novellas by the distinguished Romantic writer, written between 1909 and 1927. The central theme of the works is the paradoxical interweaving of dark psychological plots with fantasy and a profound exploration of the human soul. The characters constantly balance on the brink of madness, despair, or sudden insight.

Dark visions and death

In the story "Nightmare," the hero falls asleep after reading for a long time. He wanders around a dark apartment. He imagines he’s strangled a green-eyed stranger. In the morning, he wakes up next to his living wife, Olga.

The characters in the novella "Paradise" gather for a dinner party. A banker treats the guests to poisoned wine. Soon, the accountant, the journalist, the captain, and the young woman slowly realize their inevitable demise. They die in physical and mental agony.

In "Incident on Dog Street," Alexander Golts suffers after a breakup with his lover and behaves like a madman. Golts shocks the crowds in a restaurant and a bakery, throwing gold coins around. Then he publicly shoots himself in a public square.

"The Riddle of a Foreseen Death" depicts the criminal Ebergaille. He humbly awaits his execution on the scaffold. Ebergaille vividly imagines the axe falling. His head is torn from his body after the words about the overturning of his sentence.

The story "A Rare Photographic Camera" describes the murder of an old miner named Enoch. The killer, Barton, hides under the statue of the "Lazy Mother." A sudden lightning strike leaves a photograph of the statue and the murdered man on Barton’s neck. A doctor from Zurbagan examines the wounded Barton and exposes the culprit.

Sea, secrets and crimes

In the "Repentance Manuscript," the bell ringer Valer Ostwald tricks Hans Pichholtz into hiding diamonds inside the bell. Valer deceitfully removes the ladder. Hans falls fifteen meters to his death. The bell ringer finds the swallowed diamonds in the dead man’s stomach. He writes a confession before his own execution.

"Barge on the Green Canal" tells the story of a young doctor. He saves the wounded Lina. She brings him to her father’s barge. The doctor is knocked unconscious and thrown into the hold with rising water. He miraculously escapes through a small opening.

"The Headless Horseman" tells the story of the guard Valentin Mutterkind. He has long dreamed of the glory of Hans Pichholtz. The guard meets Gottliebmuchen in the forest. The old man confesses that he broke the stone head off Pichholtz’s statue over a foolish argument. Valentin rushes to the city. He finds the statue unharmed.

In the novella "The Poisoned Island," Captain Tart discovers a settlement of the dead on Farfont Island. The natives have been poisoned with a powerful toxin, leaving only Joseph Scorrey and two children alive. The cause of the mass suicide is later revealed: the natives had been watching battles between warships and aircraft from afar. They had gone mad with fear of this incomprehensible war.

"Pierre and Surine" describes the funeral of the sailor Pierre in the North Creek Cemetery. Pierre fell asleep from exhaustion at the door of the widow Pacuta. He was taken for dead. Surine’s beloved weeps bitterly at the fresh grave. She hears a knocking sound from underground, digs up the coffin, and saves Pierre from being buried alive.

Illusions and split personality

Accountant Birk ("Birk’s Tale") shares a mystical experience. He wandered the city at night, watching for thieves. After breaking down someone’s door, Birk found himself in his own apartment. There, he saw himself sleeping on the bed.

The story "Night and Day" transports the reader to the jungle. The detachment’s sentries perish at a fairytale stream. Lieutenant Ren sets an ambush. He catches the killer and recognizes him as Captain Cherbel. The captain is fast asleep. In his dreams, he kills his soldiers, imagining himself a savage from the Roddo tribe. Ren shoots Cherbel.

"Murder in the Fish Market" depicts a time shift. Pick-Mick beats the merchant Criss with a heavy cane. Fleeing the scene of the fight, he overhears passersby talking about Criss’s murder. Later, the protagonist realizes he heard these words before the crime.

In the novella "Fire and Water," Leon Shtrikh lives in exile. He learns from Mort, the teacher, about a fire in his house. Shtrikh runs thirty-two kilometers toward Zurbagan. He flies through forests and across the waters of the bay. In the hospital, he sees his dying wife, Zella. It turns out Shtrikh had fallen into a lethargic sleep. He had simply imagined the run.

Journalist Galien Mark ("Hell Returned") suffers from hyper-awareness. He is wounded in a duel with Guktas. Upon awakening, Mark loses his genius. He becomes a narrow-minded, complacent philistine. His lover, Veasey, secretly writes articles for him. Unable to bear Mark’s indifference, she leaves. Galien discovers the truth. He desperately searches for Veasey to rekindle their former feelings.

Psychological games and art

Traveler Ammon Coot ("The Adventurer") arrives at Lilian’s estate to visit farmer Dogger. Dogger leads a normal, boring life with his wife, Elma. One night, Ammon discovers his master’s secret studio. Brilliant, terrifying paintings are kept there. Dogger confesses that he fled to the village to escape the destructive power of his talent. Before his death, Dogger burns the canvases.

Judge Gakker ("The Creation of Asper") amuses himself by creating myths. He invents the elusive bandit Asper. In his name, Gakker sends money to the poor and threats to the rich. The judge gets a tattoo of Asper on his arm. He dies so that the legend will live on.

Violinist Gratian Duplay ("The Power of the Incomprehensible") asks Doctor Rumière to hypnotize him. Duplay wants to recall a heavenly melody from his dreams. In a trance, he plays music of incredible beauty. The doctor is frightened by this power and erases the musician’s memory. Duplay goes mad.

In "White Fire," auctioneer Joseph Leiter escapes from a mental hospital. Deep in the woods, he discovers a marble staircase. Beautiful statues of girls stand on it. This creation by an unknown sculptor restores Leiter’s sanity.

Augustus Esborne ("The Marriage of Augustus Esborne") leaves his young wife, Alice, on their wedding night. He succumbs to an inexplicable urge to leave. Esborne changes his name to John Turner. Twelve years later, he returns to Alice. Seeing her married to another man, Esborne dies of a broken heart.

Distortions of space and time

The gambler Jung ("The Club Blackamoor") loses all his money in a Petrograd club. A stranger gives him a mystical deck of cards, the Shees-Magor. Every bet in this game transports the player to the past or the future. Jung gambles with the sharper Bronstein for ten years of his life. He loses. Jung is instantly transported to his deathbed.

The hero of the novella "Magical Ugliness" falls in love with a beautiful girl. He buys her some songbirds. That night, he sees his beloved burning a titmouse in the fireplace. The young man runs away. He discovers that three years have passed. His real wife has long since died.

Tightrope walker March ("The Tightrope") sets a trap for a madman who believes himself to be the ancient prophet Amivelech. March forces the madman to walk on the rope above the crowd. The madman walks the wire with perfect balance. Suddenly, the official Foss regains his sanity. Foss falls into the net. March escapes with the safety rope.

Works about Petrograd occupy a special place.

In "The Pied Piper," a hungry hero wanders through a winter market. He meets a girl, who pins his collar shut with a safety pin. Later, the hero finds refuge in the vast, empty Central Bank building. In an abandoned closet, he discovers an untouched supply of delicacies. At night, the hero hears music and a secret conspiracy of strange creatures. Rats have taken human form. They plan to take over the world. Trapped, the hero escapes. He finds the same girl from the market, Susi, and her father, Jensen. Jensen works as a rat catcher and knows about the rodents’ conspiracy. The rat catcher saves the young man from death.

Fandango

The book concludes with the short story "Fandango." Freezing and hungry, Alexander Kaur comes to the artist Brok. Brok shows him a painting. The canvas depicts a bright, sunny room in the south. Kaur enters the House of Scientists to get rations.

There he meets a Spanish delegation led by Professor Bam-Gran. The Spaniards distribute luxurious fabrics, guitars, and a silk bedspread. The irritated statistician Ershov shouts loudly, calling the whole thing an illusion. Bam-Gran and his retinue play the melody "Fandango."

Music plays. The electricity goes out. Kaur uses a mysterious cone of white metal. He bought this cone from the gypsies. The cone transports him straight through Brock’s painting into sunny Zurbagan. Bam-Gran treats Kaur to wine while a symphony orchestra plays.

Returning home, Kaur discovers the terrible truth. He’s been missing for two years. He proves to his wife, Lisa, the reality of his journey with a handful of gold piastres. She believes him.