Sad Detective

The main character of the story by Viktor Petrovich Astafyev (1924-2001) "Sad Detective" is a former operational officer of the criminal investigation department, Leonid Soshnin, who, recalling the years he has lived, cannot answer his own question: why is there so much sorrow and suffering in life, but love and happiness are always scarce? He realizes that among other incomprehensible things and phenomena, he must grasp the so-called Russian soul, and he must start with his close ones, with the episodes he witnessed, with the fates of the people he encountered… Why are Russian people ready to feel sorry for a bonebreaker and a bloodletter and not notice that next door, in the neighboring apartment, a helpless war invalid is dying?.. Why does a criminal live so freely and boldly among such kind-hearted people?.. The book also includes two more novellas and a story by this outstanding Russian writer.