The Burning Bush

A novella about the postwar life of Lieutenant Antonina Fedorovna Ivanyshina—a veteran and an invalid of the Great Patriotic War, a former commander of an infantry company. “There were three wounds (two minor and one severe), there was shell shock and two strokes. There were three orders—the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and two Orders of the Red Star. There were medals—two ‘For Courage’ and one ‘For Combat Merit.’ There were all kinds of badges, an invalid’s card from the Great Patriotic War, the right to wear a uniform on Victory Day, a room in a two-room apartment, good neighbors, like family—and a homeless student Tonyechka. But Antonina Fedorovna Ivanyshina never had children…”