The Hotelier

I. Grekova began to be published in "Novy Mir" by Tvardovsky, who made a note on the manuscript of her first story: "The author should be kept in mind for the future. He has a pen." I. Grekova's books are... written with the finest, impeccable taste and uncompromising honesty. There is not a grain of falsehood in them; one believes in her characters, their stories are touching. Contemporary readers find them as interesting as they were many years ago to their parents. The film based on I. Grekova's novel "The Hotelier" was called "Bless the Woman" by Stanislav Govorukhin. And this is very accurate: a woman in any era has a very hard time — she cannot afford to be weak, she cannot allow herself to break. Vera Laricheva lived in not the easiest of times, and it was very difficult for her to remain strong. But this woman possessed an amazing inner strength, dignity, and the ability to love. Everyone who entered her orbit seemed to be nourished by her light. It would seem that such a woman should be rewarded by fate. But, alas, fate is not always just, and blessings do not come immediately.