Cold Heart

Without a doubt, the best work of one of the greatest storytellers in the history of the world. Only someone who understood the essence of human nature with all their HEART could write such a simple yet, at the same time, complex by meaning work. What did Peter Munk want from life? Simply to live it NOT the way it had been written for him at birth. Happiness for Peter was to be like Ezekiel the Fat, whose luck at dice seemed endless. And Peter does get that chance—but, alas, it doesn’t bring him happiness.

A simple desire, fulfilled thanks to the efforts of the Little Glass Man, leads him to a mysterious lumberjack-rafter, Mikhail, who promises to make Peter rich and respectable—and therefore a “happy” person. What’s the price? His heart! After all, this “thing” only gets in the way of making thoughtful and pragmatic decisions, pushes him into frivolous actions, and in general is a harmful contraption in every respect—its presence or absence changes nothing. Peter agrees, but soon realizes he has lost far more than he has gained.