Short Stories and Tales

The book of the outstanding master of lyrical-romantic prose and a keen observer, Konstantin Georgievich Paustovsky, includes works created by him in the 1930s-1950s. The description of the beauty of nature, the truthful reflection of human character, and the ability... to notice the slightest details – all this distinguishes the writer's creativity and gives his works individual traits.

The novellas and tales included in the collection accurately convey the atmosphere of the time and the characters of the people. "The Fate of Charles Loncevile" tells the tragedy of a captured Napoleonic officer who, by the will of fate, ended up at a cannon factory in Petrozavodsk. The biographical novellas "Orest Kiprensky" and "Isaak Levitan" reveal to us the scenes of the life and creativity of the leading Russian painters through the prism of Paustovsky's own perception of visual art. The essay "Floods of Rivers" is dedicated to several days in the life of M. Y. Lermontov on his way to the Caucasus and his meeting with his muse, Maria Shcherbatova. In Paustovsky's works, there is no sharp conflict or dizzying adventures, but there is the inner beauty of a person, lively emotions, and genuine feelings. And because of this, the images created by the author become closer and more understandable to the reader.