The White Poodle and Other Stories

«We live next to many animals and know nothing about them at all. We just don't care,» — lamented the Russian writer Alexander Kuprin. The writer was interested in literally everything; his range of interests was vast — from balloon flights to «dentistry». Shalyapin said of Kuprin that he had «the most sensitive nose in Russia», and one French perfumer, shocked by how accurately Kuprin guessed the composition of the perfume, exclaimed: «You, a man with such a rare gift, one might say, with a real dog's nose, — and suddenly you are some kind of writer?!»  Teffi recalled: «Notice how he always sniffs at people! He'll sniff and finally knows what kind of person it is!»

Animals and people in Kuprin's stories are as real as the miracles described in them. Here, an unfortunate beggar on a snow-covered bench tells a passerby about his troubles, and everything in his life changes as if by magic! And only a great miracle, as big as an elephant, can heal a little girl. And, of course, the elephant appears. Kuprin writes about everything vividly, engagingly, and so sincerely that you empathize and share the feelings of his characters. And this is exactly the result we expect from a good book.