Vadim Shefner. The Debtor's Shack and Other Tales for the Smart

The principle of the ordinary miracle is the foundation of Shefner's writing (it's no coincidence that Shefner and Schwartz begin with the same letter). And the simplicity of his modest geniuses, who don't often dwell on the miracle they've devised (for them, it's just a matter of everyday life); the main thing is that this miracle brings joy to at least someone. And the "complexity" of his other characters, those who create practical miracles: four-sided bicycle spokes, a soap called "Don't Steal," filled with a black liquid that marks the thief. And... Many of these "ands" constitute the essence of the astonishing phenomenon known as Vadim Shefner.
The master wrote a great deal. The poignantly sad, wonderful "Sister of Sorrow" and more than two dozen books of lyrical poetry. But he excelled at writing stories about eccentric people, where fantasy was so tightly intertwined with reality that it's difficult to pinpoint the genre to which these works belong. Here, if we were to compare (though any comparison is misleading), Shefner could be placed alongside Gabriel García Márquez, the father of what was called "magical realism" in literature. Only not on Latin American soil, but on Russian soil.

The collection includes the best of what the writer has created in this genre.