Mikhail Weller’s new novel “Bum” tells about a distorted world of former people, which is a strange reflection of our own. Against all odds, it is full of irony and vicious jokes. Here a former special services officer argues with a former intelligentsia member; a former literature teacher nicknamed “Belinsky” preaches spirituality; and a former psychic from a secret laboratory predicts the future of the former party nomenklatura—now entirely made up of deputies and businessmen. Here they try to understand the meaning of life and human downfall. And it all turns into an unexpected plot that keeps you on edge until the very last page.