Collected Works. Volume 7. 2010-2012

The famous novel by the master of "grotesque realism" Yuri Polyakov, "The Gypsum Trumpet", has no analogs in contemporary Russian literature in terms of its engaging nature, genre uniqueness, or thematic scope. This "ironic epic", as critics named it, combines elements of detective fiction, a love story, a psychological novel, and social satire, and its abundance of brilliant interpolated novellas reminds one of the "Decameron". As always, the author captivates the reader with a virtuoso plot twist, conquers with vivid and complex characters, delights with a polished ironic style, astonishes with unexpected metaphors and aphorisms, and touches with refined eroticism. The second book includes the third and fourth parts of the novel – "The Male Adorer and the Male Adored" and "The Feast of the Defeated", as well as an epilogue that ties together all the numerous threads of the narrative and is called by the author "The End of the Film". The volume concludes with a selection titled "Thus Spoke Saint-John Perse". These are the beloved author's aphorisms extracted from the text of the ironic epic.