"In a Quiet Town by the Sea" by Maria Metlitskaya, summary Automatic translate

This story of broken human destinies, written in 2018, depicts a lonely man’s difficult journey to finding a true family. The narrative spans several decades, transporting the reader from the quaint alleys of Moscow to the harsh northern regions and the warm seashore, where the protagonist finds refuge. The novel is part of the "Women’s Fates: The Cozy Prose of Maria Metlitskaya" series.

Ivan Gromov arrives at the station in a southern provincial town on a July morning. He limps, leaning on a cane. At the station, he rents a dilapidated shed from a gloomy barmaid, Lyuba. He hopes to find peace of mind by the sea after the disasters he’s experienced.

Moscow childhood and youth

Ivan spent his childhood in Moscow, in a communal apartment on Starokonyushenny Lane. His parents left for Kazakhstan, leaving the boy in the care of his grandmother, Maria Zakharovna, and grandfather, Pyotr Stepanovich. His grandmother came from a merchant family and was known for her strict disposition. His grandfather, a simple peasant’s son, became a respected builder. The old couple quarreled, and his grandfather cheated on his wife, but she endured it for the sake of the family. Ivan loved them, especially his grandfather, who took him mushroom picking and encouraged his passion for drawing. The Gromovs’ neighbors were the kind cleaning lady, Ninka Sumaleeva, and the perpetually absent geologist, Mitrofanych.

The boy was sent to art school on the advice of his drawing teacher, Oleg Viktorovich. This teacher changed Gromov’s fate, although he himself later committed suicide due to unrequited love. At the Surikov School, Ivan became friends with Lenka Velizhansky, the son of a wealthy architect. Ivan’s grandmother died of cancer, and some time later, his grandfather died of a heart attack. Left an orphan, Ivan passed the entrance exams to the Stroganov School. His student years brought him his first love. In Sokolniki Park, he met student Katya Girshtein. The young couple dated, but the girl’s family was preparing to emigrate. Upon learning of her daughter’s pregnancy, Katya’s mother forced her to have an abortion and took her out of the country. Ivan suffered betrayal, turned to alcohol, and narrowly avoided expulsion.

Marriage and Tragedy

After completing his studies, the sculptor began working at the factory. Lenka Velizhansky held a high position there and helped his friend with commissions. Ivan began a torrid affair with his married colleague, Maya, which lasted five exhausting years. Their relationship ended during a picnic in the countryside, where Maya had brought her husband. Ivan fled into the woods and never spoke to her again. He later learned that Maya had left for Uzbekistan to join her new husband, and a few years later, she committed suicide.

During a trip to Leningrad with Velizhansky, Ivan met the pianist Alena. They soon married, and Ivan moved into a communal apartment with his wife. Through some exchanges, the couple obtained a small apartment in Kupchino. They had a son, Ilya. Family life was difficult. Alena was distant and would leave on weekends, leaving her husband with their child. On the day the apartment renovation was completed, his mother-in-law revealed the truth to her son-in-law: Alena had been having an affair with her former teacher for many years.

A shocked Ivan got behind the wheel, lost control, and crashed into an oncoming truck on the highway. Doctors at the military hospital miraculously saved the hero’s life. Surgeon Nonna Sergeyevna brought him back from the brink, but his left leg had to be partially amputated. While the crippled man lay in the hospital ward, Alena brought him divorce papers and a document renouncing custody of their son. She was planning a new life with another man.

After being discharged, Ivan stayed briefly with Nonna Sergeyevna and her daughter Marina. The women showered him with care, but he felt empty inside and refused to disappoint their expectations. He left Leningrad forever. Seeing his young son Ilya from afar during a walk in the Summer Garden, Ivan boarded a train and headed north to the Murmansk region.

Life in the North

Ivan stayed in the village of Pechenga with his half-sister, Lena. Lena worked as a surgeon and lived with her husband, Petrovich, and their two daughters, Sveta and Toma. The former Muscovite had found work as a drafting teacher at a local school. Ivan’s mother, paralyzed after a stroke, was also in the apartment. Ivan cared for her, though he felt no filial affection. Before her death, his mother uttered a single word, asking her son for forgiveness.

When Lena was offered a position at a Leningrad hospital, she hesitated because of her ailing mother. Ivan insisted on their move, convincing his sister to think about her nieces’ future. Left alone after the death of his mother and the departure of his sister, Ivan fulfilled a long-held dream – he moved south to the sea.

In a quiet town by the sea

At the bus station of a southern resort village, Ivan rents a rickety shed from a gruff dishwasher named Lyuba. Lyuba lives with her reclusive mother, nicknamed Izergil, and their six-year-old, wild daughter, Asya. The lodger adjusts to the simple life and finds work as an artist at the local cinema. Ivan befriends the locals — the local police officer, Semyon Udalts, and Baba Sveta, a vendor of boiled corn. Asya, intimidated by her mother and grandmother’s shouts, begins to reach out to the lodger. Ivan reads to the girl, takes her to the seaside, and treats her to ice cream. The fairy tale of Scarlet Sails captivates the little girl, and Ivan affectionately names her Assol. Discovering the girl’s talent for painting, he teaches her the basics of perspective and composition.

Gradually, Ivan uncovers Lyuba’s difficult story. In her youth, her fiancé, Sergei, drowned during a storm. Broken by grief, she turned to drink and ended up in a gangster’s den, where she experienced violence. She escaped and found shelter with a kind woman, but after a brief affair with her son, she became pregnant. Returning home, Lyuba tried to abort the fetus with herbal infusions, but her mother prevented her from committing the irreparable act. Thus, Asya was born.

Ivan sympathizes with his exhausted wife. Lyuba stops drinking, a bond develops between them, and they begin living as husband and wife. Ivan picks up his brushes again and paints seascapes. A chance collector from Tula, Albert Arnoldovich, buys several of his paintings for a huge sum. The proceeds allow the family to renovate the house, buy new appliances, and buy clothes.

Growing up Asya

That summer, Asya began earning her first money by drawing caricatures of vacationers. With her earnings, she bought her mother a silk scarf and Ivan a blue striped shirt. Asya finished eighth grade and, without warning, left for St. Petersburg, where she enrolled in art school. She settled into a room and spent her days visiting museums, admiring the northern capital. Lyuba grieved the separation, cried at night, and resented her daughter’s rare letters. Ivan supported his common-law wife, urging her to rejoice in her talented child’s success.

Several years later, Lyuba suddenly disappeared from home for a month. When she returned, she looked like a withered old woman. Doctors diagnosed her with inoperable stage-four stomach cancer. She went to the hospital, but upon learning the truth, she returned home to die. Realizing that after her death, Ivan could be thrown out on the street, Lyuba insisted on an official marriage registration. The modest ceremony took place right at her bedside. Ivan placed a gold ring on his wife’s withered finger. Four months later, Lyuba died, asking Ivan to make her pea soup, but dying before he could bring it. Lyuba never lived to see Asya return. Soon, news arrived of Ivan’s father’s death.

Finding a family

Ivan remained alone in the quiet house, pining for Lyuba, his son Ilya, and Asya. He carved a beautiful white marble bust for his late wife and installed it in the local cemetery. The artist hid his tools in the shed, resolving never to return to sculpture again. He spent long periods sitting in the yard, reminiscing about the past years, his late grandparents, his deceased friend Lenka, his sister Lena, and analyzing his own mistakes. The physical pain in his injured leg tormented him at night.

One late evening, the gate creaked. A grown-up Asya stood there, holding a baby in her arms. Upon learning of her mother’s death, the girl burst into tears. After putting the little girl to bed, Asya told her stepfather her story.

In St. Petersburg, Asya found Ilya, Ivan’s biological son. She simply wanted to see him and tell him the truth about his father. But the young people fell in love. Ilya had no idea they were formally related. The relationship lasted about a year, with the couple sharing an apartment, until the programmer decided to leave for work in America. Ilya left the country a month before Asya learned she was pregnant. She dropped out of college in her fourth year and gave birth to a daughter, Dina.

The baby inherited the Gromov family’s blond hair and blue eyes. Ivan tearfully accepted his newborn granddaughter, realizing that Ilya hadn’t abandoned the pregnant girl but simply hadn’t known about the child. Asya began calling Ivan "Daddy," and the baby gained a loving grandfather.

On New Year’s Eve, the postwoman delivered letters from her sister Lena and brother Mishka. The entire extended family had decided to gather in a quiet seaside town for the winter holidays. Asya began fussing about insulating the barn and accommodating the numerous relatives on inflatable mattresses. Ivan looked at his daughter and granddaughter, feeling happy. Life had given him a cozy home and a loving family.