Dark Alleys. Eternal Stories

"Dark Alleys" is a cycle of stories about love, written by Bunin in emigration between 1937 and 1945, in conditions of need and isolation. The writer considered it the pinnacle of his creativity, although for many contemporaries the book turned out to be too bold.

This cycle is about fleeting, forbidden, sometimes cruel, and always unforgettable feelings, about a sudden meeting that momentarily illuminates life and changes it forever. Love in Bunin's works does not promise happiness but remains the brightest event in a person's memory. Almost all stories relate to pre-revolutionary Russia through everyday life, speech, nature, and sensual details, thus, the book about the relationships between men and women also became a book about loss, both personal and historical.