Books
automatic translate"Stupid for Others, Smart for Yourself" by Lope de Vega, summary
This comedy is a classic work by the Spanish playwright, published in 1635. The play’s protagonist is forced to play the role of a village idiot to save her life, outwit numerous enemies, and secure her rightful throne.
"The Wilderness" by Boris Vasiliev, summary
This 2001 novel chronicles the life of an unnamed narrator in a provincial town during the global upheavals of the late twentieth centuryThe degradation of social institutions and the fusion of local authorities with criminals are depicted through the personal story of a former military representative at a defense factory.
Charles Bukowski’s Hollywood, Summary
The novel was published in 1989. Charles Bukowski brought his own experience working on the film "The Drunkard" to its pages, coding real Hollywood figures under similar names. The book is the fifth installment in the autobiographical series about Henry Chinaski.
"The Head of Professor Dowell" by Alexander Belyaev, summary
This 1937 science fiction novel explores the reanimation of severed human heads. The work reveals the tragedy of a mind isolated from the physical world and sternly warns of the criminal ambitions of unscrupulous scientists willing to transgress moral standards for the sake of glory.
A summary of Mikhail Zoshchenko’s "The Blue Book"
Mikhail Zoshchenko’s satirical work, written in 1934–1935, is an unconventional exploration of human nature, intertwining historical chronicles with everyday scenes from Soviet life in the 1930s.
Arthur Conan Doyle’s "The Blue Carbuncle," a summary
"The Blue Carbuncle" is a short story by English writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in 1892. It is one of Sherlock Holmes’s most famous cases, in which the detective is confronted with an unusual mystery involving the theft of a valuable gemstone.
"Naked People" by Kir Bulychev, summary
Kir Bulychev’s 1977 science fiction novella is an original fusion of ironic fantasy, spy detective fiction, and satire on Soviet reality, couched in the form of a pseudo-documentary report.
"Vertical Racing" by the Vainer brothers, summary
This book is a detective novel by Arkady and Georgy Vainer, first published in 1974. The most important feature of the text is its dialogic narrative structure. The authors alternately give the floor to two antagonists: Moscow criminal investigation inspector Stanislav Tikhonov and recidivist thief Alexei Dedushkin.
"The Hounds of Lilith" by Christina Stark, summary
"The Hounds of Lilith" is the debut novel by Russian author Christina Stark, a dark romantic thriller. Published in 2016, it follows twenty-year-old Skye Polanski from Dublin, a girl with few illusions about herself and the world around her, who is gradually drawn into a web of manipulation.
"The Grief of Mr. Gro" by Max Fry, summary
This book is a novella published in 2007. It is structured as a story within a story. The main action takes place in a magical institution on the border of worlds. The most terrifying detail of the work concerns the materialization of human suffering.
"Burn, burn, my star..." by Yuliy Dunskoy, summary
The action takes place during the Civil War and depicts an attempt to create a "revolutionary" traveling theater in a provincial town, where power and morals change faster than the scenery can be replaced.
"Gorlov Deadlock" by Polina Dashkova, summary
The novel, created in 2019, is a large-scale historical detective story whose plot links the Stalinist repressions of the Doctors’ Plot of 1952–1953 with the covert operations of the Soviet intelligence services and the tragic events in Moscow in January 1977.
Arthur C. Clarke’s "The City and the Stars," Summary
The novel tells the story of the last human settlement on Earth, isolated from the Universe for a billion years. The local population achieved physical immortality thanks to memory crystals and matter synthesizers, having abandoned the fear of death along with their thirst for cosmic achievements.
"The City Accepted" by Arkady and Georgy Vainer, summary
Arkady and Georgy Vainer’s novella was published in 1978It’s a detailed chronicle of exactly one day in the life of a Moscow police duty station. The writers minutely chronicle the endless cycle of incidents, false alarms, genuine tragedies, and petty domestic squabbles that befall the officers of this vast metropolis.
Clifford Simak’s "The City," a summary
The novel "The City" is based on a series of short stories published between 1944 and 1951, and was published as a book in 1952. The narrative is structured as eight ancient dog tales, with commentary from storytellers in the distant future debating the reality of the mythical Man.