Maxim Gorky is a writer whose name many people seem to recognize, at least from school lessons. He was canonized as a classic of socialist realism, which effectively pulled him out of critical discussion by locking in his works with a predetermined, enthusiastic praise-filled tone of interpretation. Yet if you set aside those imposed evaluations, you can see THE PERSON: above all, a living human being with a deeply humane nature who experiences and suffers. To truly understand Gorky, you need independence of judgment and bold, unconventional—sometimes unexpected—ways of reading. That is how the multifaceted nature of his gift is revealed, and it becomes possible to truly enjoy it.