The Taste of Life. Set of 3 Books by Maria Metlitskaya

A set of 3 books—save money on your purchase and get more reading.

The set includes: “Everything We Once Loved,” “Bitter Chocolate,” and “Careful—Doors Are Closing.”

Buying the set is more выгодно than taking each book separately.

Everything We Once Loved
Under one cover—three novellas. Three storylines you experience alongside the heroes: about hope and helplessness, about pain and happiness, and, of course, about love.

Sometimes it’s enough to catch a glimpse of strangers—and your imagination already fills in their past. An elderly, elegant man and a mature woman sit in a restaurant of an upscale spa hotel overlooking the Carpathians—and you can’t help but wonder who they are to each other. Were they married for a long time? Perhaps they once separated, but never let go?

Marek and Anna meet once a year: she comes from Kraków, and he flies in from Israel. It matters to them both to speak and to stay silent—because they are bound by a story in which they were both spouses and lovers. In books, things often end at the altar, but in life that’s where many things truly begin. Their path is not “like everyone else’s”: it includes hope, despair, and endless love.

Bitter Chocolate
Is it possible to be completely happy?
Probably not—even at the brightest moment you understand it won’t last forever.

Life really does resemble a zebra: the dark alternates with the light. And it’s important not to forget—nothing is permanent: luck, loss, joy, and disappointment.

But there is something that remains: the love of loved ones, the warmth of home, closeness, and support.

And for that, you want to live.

Careful—Doors Are Closing
The collection includes the stories “Careful—Doors Are Closing,” “A Gift,” and “A Letter.”

The novella is a genre for the few: in just a few pages, you have to fit an entire fate and manage to evoke strong feelings in the reader. Maria Metlitskaya does this confidently and precisely. Her short prose is grounded in a recognizable tone, apt details, and a gentle irony that carries a bright, wistful sadness. The characters are not divided into “good” and “bad”—they make mistakes, stumble, and choose, the way living people choose.

The collection includes previously published stories