Old Man Hottabych

If a modern fifth-grader were to find a bottle containing an all-powerful genie, it’s terrifying to imagine how many wishes the poor old man would have to fulfill. But in Soviet times everything was different. “The Old Man Hottabych” is a book about the ideals and values of a bygone era of the USSR. And while that era had plenty of shortcomings, it would be wrong to deny that it also had its merits. Naive Volka doesn’t even try to take advantage of his new friend’s abilities on a grand scale—he is more worried about the people around him and about the poor, sorry wizard, whose help often looks comical and out of time. Just remember what Hottabych turned a football match into—giving each player a ball so they wouldn’t suffer. Or how he gave his beloved Volka a mouthful of golden teeth. What seems absurd to a modern person is perfectly natural for a fairy-tale genie. This clash of worldviews between an old man from the distant past and a naive pioneer is presented in an entertaining and humorous form.

“Old Man Hottabych” is a good, kind fairy tale that lets you not only laugh, but also look at ordinary things from a different angle.