Vadim Shefner’s creative work is built on the principle of everyday miracles—something that brings him close to Yevgeny Schwartz. The simplicity of his genius characters lies in the fact that they don’t attach special importance to their inventions, seeing in them only a way to bring joy to others. At the same time, his more complex heroes create practical miracles, such as four-sided bicycle spokes or soap titled “Don’t Steal,” containing black liquid for marking thieves. These elements are what shape the uniqueness of Shefner’s works.
He created many pieces, including the touching “Sister of Sorrow” and more than twenty collections of lyrics. His most successful stories were about unusual people, where the fantastic intertwines closely with the real, making the genre hard to define. In this regard, Shefner can be compared to Gabriel García Márquez, a pioneer of magical realism—but in a Russian literary setting.