Storage Room. A Merchant's Book

Alexander Kabakov (1943–2020) — prose writer, journalist, playwright; author of the family novel “Everything is Fixable”, the sensational dystopia “The Nonreturnee”, the elegant “Fugitive” and others. “Storage Room” — memories of the things in my life. The entire second half of the 20th century and a considerable part of the 21st century are preserved in these objects. I believe that they can tell us as much about time as people can. …I firmly stand by the idea that the clothing of characters and small accessories are no less important than their portraits, everyday habits, and even social status. “Wide Bolivar” and “watchful Breguet” of Onegin, “the frock coat of Navarin smoke with flames” and the cleverly twisted tie of Chichikov, Oblomov's bathrobe, “Jordan trousers” of Aksyonov and the Lend-Lease leather jacket of Trifonov — all this flea market, the list of brands and trends is the literary flesh of the aforementioned characters… Alexander Kabakov
Illustrations by Sasha Nikolaenko.