Waiting for the Goat

The war has ended… Unexpectedly, the father returns to the family, who was believed to be dead. The man reconnects with his sons, but the abandoned boys who don’t recognize any authority seem utterly foreign to him—like a dictator, against whom the brothers, Viktor and Vad, decide to fight.

And around them is hunger, unexploded shells, and lack of work. In search of a better life, the family moves to the father’s native village. But here, too, there is no salvation: the same devastation, and with it—suspicion and a fearful, cautious attitude toward one another. The parents of the boys go to buy a goat—because milk means food and prosperity. But the goat does not become a symbol of a happy life…

In the tragic story, Evgeny Dubrovеin tells how the heroes’ history becomes the history of the whole post-war country. The writer conveyed the most important things poignantly and yet very simply: about humanity and kindness, about growing up, the difficulty of choice, and responsibility—for the decision made and its consequences.