In Memory of Dear Stefa

It is both an epistolary novel and a story of archival research that leads to the uncovering of an almost detective-like family secret. In the narration, time and space intertwine: Russian, French, Italian, English, and even Provençal; letters and a maiden album from the past; and electronic messages from today. A kaleidoscope of events and feelings allows a very young man who finds himself in a world alien to him to gain care, love, and a new, large, many-member family. The novel “For the Sake of Dear Stepha” tells of very different people—by character, age, and even language—wandering through the backstreets of someone else’s world, and in the end, through their own. A story reaching far into the past—once inexplicable and even frightening—suddenly turns into joy as people find one another.