It Can’t Be!

Mikhail Zoshchenko is one of the most popular and beloved writers in our country. Colossal fame came to him almost at the start of his career, in the 1920s. Enthusiastic readers sent him thousands of letters, delighted fans visited his home, and numerous magazines competed fiercely for his stories... The secret to Zoshchenko’s widespread success was not only his satirical talent. On the pages of his books, the Soviet world of everyday life comes alive—a world the writer himself called “a sad misunderstanding at the dawn of human life.” However, today, a century later, Zoshchenko’s works continue to find their audience, holding an honored place among the best examples of 20th-century Russian literary classics. This edition includes all of Mikhail Zoshchenko’s principal fictional works: stories and feuilletons, the “Sentimental Tales,” and the astonishing “Blue Book,” an attempt to write “a brief history of human relations” starting from ancient times.