“One writer sketches all kinds of episodes onto huge canvases with broad strokes, another describes a revolution, a third war ritornellos, a fourth love affairs and problems. And the author, because of his special heart qualities and humorous inclinations, describes a person—how they live, what they do, and where, for example, they strive…”—that’s how Mikhail Zoshchenko wrote in the introduction to the “Sentimental Tales,” which are included in this collection. The work of a talented master of humorous stories and an acknowledged classic became a symbol of post-revolutionary Russia. And his funny, touching, dreamy, and sometimes sad works—where everything is so familiar and everyday—remain relevant in any era.
This collection also includes: the story “Mishеl Sinyagin”—about an intelligent man who can’t adapt to the realities of new life—and satirical stories from the collection “A Fun Life.”