Vasily Shukshin. Red Viburnum. Stories

Shukshin's characters—village dwellers, provincials, simple workers—aren't as simple as they might seem at first glance. Sometimes they commit absurd, inexplicable acts. They'll suddenly lie or instantly ruin their own plans and well-being. They'll start inventing a perpetual motion machine; spend all their savings on a microscope; devote an entire day to the bathhouse or, gun in hand, begin to fight off someone else's beautiful lady... Stupidity? Recklessness? Hooliganism? Eccentricity? All of this is nothing more than a search for meaning in events, a search for truth and justice, an attempt to penetrate to the very essence hidden behind everyday life and the mundane.
The hero of the film story "Kalina Krasnaya" also tries to change his life and make it meaningful by listening to the movements of his soul and trying to follow them.
The collection of Vasily Shukshin's works was illustrated by the artist Alexander Andreev, who conveyed the characters of the "eccentrics" with amazing sensitivity and good humor.
The text is printed according to the edition: Shukshin V.M. Collected works: in 3 volumes / comp. L. Fedoseeva-Shukshina. - M.: Young Guard, 1985. - T. 2, 3