Books
automatic translate"Look at Him" by Anna Starobinets, summary
"Look at Him" is a 2017 nonfiction book by Anna Starobinets based on real events: in November 2012, at 16 weeks of pregnancy, the writer was diagnosed with a severe fetal malformation—bilateral multicystic dysplasia of the kidneys, incompatible with life.
"The Grass Has Ripened" by Dmitry Darin, summary
This book is a profound poetry collection, published in 2008. The text seamlessly blends heartfelt confessional lyrics with grand historical poems, transforming the lyrical hero’s personal yearning for a vanishing rural Russia into a chronicle of national suffering.
"The Shamer of Satan" by Andrei Belyanin, summary
The humorous fantasy novel "The Shaitan Shamer," written in 2006, is a direct continuation of the adventure story of Muscovite Lev Obolensky’s travels through time and space.
"Post 2. To Save and Preserve" by Dmitry Glukhovsky, summary
This book is a sequel to the post-apocalyptic novel about Russia disintegrating after a devastating civil war. Published in 2021, the story unfolds in Muscovy, a region cut off from the rest of the world, where a strict monarchy has resurfaced, and an unknown and deadly threat lurks beyond the Volga River.
"The Fast" by Dmitry Glukhovsky, summary
This book is a dark post-apocalyptic thriller from 2019, transporting the reader to a Russia torn apart by a long-ago catastrophe. The story was first published in an innovative audio series format, narrated by the author himself, before being translated into print.
"The Victims Have No Claims" by Arkady and Georgy Vainer, summary
This book is a classic Soviet crime novel, written in 1986. It intertwines a crime story with the moral and ethical issues of society. The most important plot point lies in the paradoxical situation: a man voluntarily takes the blame for a murder.
"Descendants of the Sun" by Andrei Platonov, summary
This book is a collection of stories and short stories created between 1922 and 1945. Industrial technological progress is intertwined here with a profound exploration of the boundaries of the human spirit.
"The Shadow Thief" by Marc Levy, summary
French writer Marc Lévy’s novel was published in 2010. Told in the first person, it centers on the fate of a nameless boy endowed with an unusual gift: he can hear the shadows of others, who confide in him their deepest secrets, childhood fears, and the heartaches of their owners.
A summary of "The Abduction of Europa" by Evgeny Vodolazkin
"The Rape of Europa" is Evgeny Vodolazkin’s debut novel, published in German by the Munich-based Zwillinger Brothers in 2003 and later in Russian. It covers approximately a year in the life of twenty-year-old German Christian Schmidt—a period he describes as his "past life."
"The Abduction of the Sorcerer" by Kir Bulychev, summary
This science fiction novella was written in 1979. It is a harmonious blend of science fiction about time travel and a meticulous historical reconstruction of medieval Russian life, where messengers from the future attempt to rescue unknown geniuses of the past from the clutches of certain death.
A Kiss Under the Mistletoe by Asya Lavrinovich, Summary
The novel was written in 2019. The plot unfolds in frosty St. Petersburg on New Year’s Eve, where tenth-grader Olya Vorobyova moves from a tiny provincial town. The book stands out for its honest depiction of school hierarchy and the sincere experiences of teenagers.
"Leonardo’s Handwriting" by Dina Rubina, summary
This book is the story of a circus gymnast who rejects her mystical gift for the sake of freedom and a simple human destiny. The work was created in 2008. The main character was born with the ability to foresee the future, read other people’s thoughts, and write in mirror writing with her left hand.
Charles Bukowski’s "Post Office" Summary
The novel was created in 1970 and published in 1971. Charles Bukowski wrote this debut in three weeks, immediately after leaving the military at the age of forty-nine, accepting publisher John Martin’s offer of a hundred dollars a month for life.
"Almost Like People" by Clifford Simak, summary
The takeover of civilization is accomplished through the application of the laws of the free market, the financial system, and the institution of private property. Behind the fantastical plot lies a satire on consumer society, where legality replaces morality.
A summary of Emil Braginsky’s "Almost a Funny Story"
This book is a light, lyrical comedy, written in 1976. With warm irony, the text tells the story of the late awakening of feelings in two elderly people long accustomed to their solitude.