Compromise

The prose of Sergey Dovlatov (1941–1990) at least for a moment gives the feeling of absolute happiness. Dovlatov, like no one else, could notice the absurdity of everyday life and tell about it in such a way that the reader... involuntarily recognizes themselves in the hero: a bit sad, very funny, but what can you do, let's move on. Life continues in his prose, and artistic fiction mysteriously flows into life - this is how the great alchemy of genuine literature is realized. Dovlatov has long been a classic, but unlike many, he does not bronze; he is still more alive than anyone else - daring, ironic, and insanely charming.
The book you hold in your hands contains two collections of stories: "Compromise" and "Suitcase." From 1972 to 1975, Dovlatov worked as a freelance correspondent for the Tallinn newspaper "Soviet Estonia." The stories from his journalistic practice, which initially appeared as independent novellas, later made up the book "Compromise." The hero of "Suitcase," leaving for the USA, takes only a small suitcase with him. Each item in this suitcase becomes a reason for memories. The "rehearsal" of emigration and the real departure from the homeland unite these two collections, written at different times.