Michael Blekhman

Stories of Similar Epochs Michael Blekhman Russian edition

The book consists of 2 novels: The Third One, 'a novel in short stories' as it might be called, and Reflection. Some of the stories in The Third One are written in the realistic manner, but most of them are postmodern. All of them make a kind of entity, and if read separately, they 'sound' in a different way than as part of the whole novel. The Third One is about many important things - love, art, past and future. So it's about life. In the epilogue, I discuss the essence of art, from the postmodern point of view, with my two great teachers - so I dare to consider myself the third one. Reflection is more realistic, with some postmodern melodies. It's based on the true story of my parents' and grandparents' lives in the Soviet Union, in the 30s-50s of the 21st century. The general idea of the novel is happiness. How to be happy despite all the troubles and tribulations? How to remain optimistic? How to love life? And, as The Third One, Reflection reflects the past and the future. And we understand that the epochs of our life are very similar, no matter how different they are.