The Blizzard

What strange Bolivian virus sparked an epidemic in a Russian village? Where did crystal pyramids come from in the snow among fields and forests? Who are the vitamin-dwellers—living their own special lives in houses made of self-growing felt? And how will the story end of Dr. Garin’s trip that begins in a blizzard on a small station where you can never find horses? Vladimir Sorokin’s novella is about much more than that. The poetic, brief, exquisite “The Blizzard” stands apart among the author’s books. Like the famous Russian classics about traveling through one’s native lands, this small novella paints a broad picture of Russian life and poses philosophical questions that it does not answer.