The stories and essays by Gennady Alexandrovich Barabtarlo (1949–2019), a philologist, poet, translator, and researcher of V. V. Nabokov's works, are truly astonishing. The literary and philosophical images they evoke span a vast temporal period from St. Augustine to Pushkin and from Plotinus to Shestov.

His fresh, precise, and exquisite language reminds the reader of the highest literary standards. This is the prose of an artist who dedicated his entire life to the study of literature and, until his last days, not only preserved the essence of his native language but also enriched its gift.