Books
automatic translateHarold and Maude by Jack Higgins, summary
This absurd situation comedy was written by Colin Higgins in 1971. The plot revolves around the paradoxical relationship between a depressed young man and a cheerful woman sixty years his senior.
"War Thunders Somewhere" by Viktor Astafyev, summary
This book is a collection of short stories and novellas, created between 1958 and 1988. The collection is distinguished by its harsh autobiographical sincerity, conveying the bitterness of a Siberian teenager’s coming of age against the backdrop of the Great Patriotic War.
"Hector Servadac" by Jules Verne, summary
The French writer’s novel was published in 1877. Its fantastical plot revolves around an unusual cosmic event: an unknown comet collides with Earth, sweeping small sections of the Earth’s surface, along with the people trapped on them, into interplanetary space.
Euripides’ Hecuba, Summary
Hecuba (Ancient Greek: Ἑκάβη ) is a tragedy by Euripides, written around 424 BC. The action takes place on the Thracian Chersonesus, where the Achaean fleet moored, awaiting favorable winds after the fall of Troy.
"The Raphael Gene" by Katya Kachur, summary
"The Raphael Gene" is the third novel by journalist and writer Katya Kachur, published by Eksmo in 2024. The action takes place in the tiny Volga settlement of Ostrov Raphael—formerly Bolshiye Gryazi-2—on the other side of the Volga from the city.
A summary of Alexander Galich’s "Dress Rehearsal"
This autobiographical novella was written in 1973. It seamlessly blends the author’s personal recollections of Soviet theater censorship with the full text of his own banned play, "Sailor’s Silence."
A summary of Theodore Dreiser’s "Genius"
The novel "Genius" was written by the author over several years and published in 1915. This book is a semi-autobiographical account of the life and creative quest of American artist Eugene Witla, who rises from a provincial youth to a renowned illustrator and head of a major publishing syndicate.
A summary of Sergei Lukyanenko’s "Genome"
"Genome" is a novel by Sergei Lukyanenko, written in 1999 and published by AST that same yearThe story takes place in the distant future, where humanity has conquered the galaxy and divided into two classes: "specialists"—people genetically programmed even before birth for a specific profession—and "naturals," who have undergone no transformation.
A summary of "The Geographer Drank His Globe Away" by Alexey Ivanov
"The Geographer Drank His Globe Away" is a 1995 novel by Alexei Ivanov. Set in Perm in the first half of the 1990s, the plot revolves around the intersection of Viktor Sluzhkin’s home life, his school career, and a river trip with his students.
Euripides’s "Heraclides," a summary
This tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright describes the wanderings of Heracles’ children, seeking refuge from the persecution of the Argive king. The work was written around the spring of 430 BC.
"Heroes Are Not Killed" by Elena Topilskaya, summary
"Heroes Are Not Killed" is a detective novel by Elena Topilskaya, published in 2002Topilskaya is an active investigator in the St. Petersburg prosecutor’s office, and this professional experience lends the book a rare authenticity: the legal proceedings, the work of the investigators, detectives, and forensic experts are described without fictional embellishment.
Hermann Hesse’s "Gertrude," a summary
The book is based on the memoirs of the aging violinist and composer Peter Kuhn about his youth, friendship, and unrequited feelings for a woman who became the wife of another musician. The narrator looks back on the decades he lived through the prism of a sonic harmony that displaces the unsettledness of life.
Richard Wagner’s "Götterdämmerung" (The Twilight of the Gods), summary
The musical drama "Götterdämmerung" was composed by Richard Wagner between 1848 and 1874. The opera serves as the final chord of the monumental tetralogy "Der Ring des Nibelungen."
Xenophon’s Hiero, Summary
The work is a fictional dialogue written by the ancient Greek historian and philosopher Xenophon, probably after 365 BC (the action of the dialogue is dated to 474 BC
A summary of "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" by Alexei Tolstoy
This book is a science fiction novel by Alexei Tolstoy, written in 1926–1927 and expanded by the author in 1937. The plot revolves around the construction of a device that emits a destructive heat beam.