The Mountain Pass

Based on the story of the same name (1959).

Siberia is in the midst of the 1930s. The death of his mother has thrown Il’ka off balance, and his stepmother—out of the house. By the violent current of fate, the boy is swept into a crew of workers paving the way for log-floating…

The story is an apology for human kindness expressed on a child’s, pure level of consciousness: Il’ka “now firmly knew that if ever things become difficult in life—if trouble happens—one must run not from people, but to people.”

Astafyev called the story his “favorite thing”: “Unfortunately, I have never again been able to write such a plainly open, almost childlike-clear piece—and I am very, very sorry about that.”

In his mature work, however, the artist instead asserts the idea of the tragedy and hopelessness of human history. The fate of the earth in the final novel “Cursed and Killed” is no longer tied to the fate of a person.