Farewell to Paper

“Farewell to Paper” is a collage of memories, nostalgia for the “Gutenberg universe”—for a world where books do not glow but rustle and smell of printing ink, and where instead of SMS messages people send notes on scraps of paper

Yevgeny Grishkovets reflects on the modern era, when paper is more and more often replaced by electronic media. All over the world, an unspoken farewell to paper is taking place, yet in the bustle of life we do not even realize it. No one writes each other tender long letters anymore; in the editorial offices of publishing houses and newspapers one no longer hears the clatter of typewriters; and old, worn books are increasingly being replaced by light electronic equivalents. By consigning paper to oblivion, we also renounce the emotions it gives us.

"We are parting not with paper, but with a way of life. Forever," Grishkovets reminds us. Everyone, of course, knows that he writes his books (plays) обязательно by hand, with gel pens, and types on a computer only sometimes, when necessary...