VG Korolenko Without language In the Volyn province, not far from the town of Khlebno, above the winding river is the village of Lozishchi. All its inhabitants bear the surname Lozinsky with the addition of different nicknames. There are legends that once Lozinsky were Cossacks, they had some privileges, but now all this has been … Read more
Henry James Daisy Miller A young American, Winterbourne, who has lived in Europe for many years and has become unaccustomed to American customs, comes to a small Swiss town of Vevey to see his aunt. In the hotel, he accidentally gets acquainted with the rich American family of Millers – a nine-year-old boy, his older … Read more
The island of Pingareea is in the Unknown Ocean, north of the kingdom of Rinkitinia, separated from the land of Oz by the Wicked Desert and the possessions of the King of the Dwarves. Pingareei is ruled by King Kitticut, and his subjects are mainly engaged in pearls, which they then bring to Rinkitinia, to … Read more
In one of the departments there is an unremarkable official, Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. For many years he does the same routine work – rewriting documents. His post is called “official for writing.” Despite the harmlessness and non-conflictness of Akaky Akakievich, his colleagues, especially the young ones, laugh at him. They find many reasons for their … Read more
V. Ya. Lakshin Ivan Denisovich, his friends and foes It’s hard to imagine that a year ago we did not know the name of Solzhenitsyn. The mediocrity has to the complacency of evaluations, but the one who struck us at the first appearance, can not expect indulgence. The story “One day of Ivan Denisovich” is … Read more
The action takes place in medieval France, amidst wars and complex court intrigues, the French King Louis XI, an intelligent and subtle politician, is fighting the mighty European rulers for the prosperity of France. Unprincipled and cautious Louis is the antipode of Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, the first enemy of the French … Read more
In the old days, a son, a young boy of extraordinary talents, grew up in the family of a noble dignitary. His father was proud of him. It’s time to go to the state exams in the capital. The young man rode into Chang’an through the gate of the entertainment quarter and immediately spotted the … Read more
Professor Peter Kean, a long and skinny forty-year-old bachelor, during his traditional morning walks, peeps through the windows of bookstores. Almost with pleasure he notes that the waste paper and the boulevard spread wider and wider. Kin, a world-renowned scholar, a synologist, has the most important private library in Vienna in twenty-five thousand volumes. A … Read more
When Pushkin’s pen was born a winged line that exhaustively defined the face and character of his beloved hero: “Moskvich in Harold’s Cloak,” its creator, I think, was not at all eager to impress compatriots striking in the face with originality. Its purpose, it is reasonable to assume, was not so ambitious, although no less … Read more
The action takes place in the ancient Greek city of Abdera. This city, located in Thrace, has become famous in the history of mankind by the stupidity of its inhabitants, as well as the German city of Schild or the Swiss city of Lahlenburg. The only sensible person in Abder is the philosopher Democritus. He … Read more