Andrei Gelasimov

Although this novella is short, it was hard to get into it at first. However, it reminded me of Russian essays which never seem straight forward, but get closer to the point by circling around it. Konstantin (Kostya) is a disfigured veteran of the war in Chechnya who was not save right away because his comrades thought him to be dead. He spends his day in a drunken stupor. However, his army comrades show up looking for another friend from the war days who has gone missing. They go on a quest to find their friend, and he starts telling his story in flashbacks. As a reader, you need to be willing to go in circles with him, but it's worth it in the end. I really appreciated that the end provided a more positive outlook than I expected from a Russian novella like that.… (meer)