Sergey Nikolaevich is a theater critic, journalist, and writer. His new book is a curated collection of miniature portraits, fleeting sketches, and micro-essays—some written in the concise, punchy style of social media posts. Nikolaevich writes about figures from the art world—ranging from global stars to unsung museum workers—with such personal intimacy that they come alive for the reader with dazzling clarity, as if they were characters in an autobiographical novel. In essence, *Hostages of Beauty* is just that: a novel in which life and art are inseparable, and every individual destiny is woven into the grand tapestry of world art.