The Little Angel, and Other Stories

A stark yet lyrical collection of Russian short fiction, this volume invites listeners into worlds where ordinary hardship is seasoned with unsettling imagination. The stories are built around single, often unsettling ideas—faith, cruelty, madness—around which carefully drawn characters move, revealing the thin line between good and evil. The prose balances grim realities with moments of unexpected tenderness, offering a philosophical edge that feels both timeless and haunting.

The opening tale follows a thirteen‑year‑old boy who endures relentless punishment at school and at home, answering his oppression with reckless defiance and a fierce, almost animal ferocity. His rebellious antics, from snarling confrontations to darkly comic sketches in his notebook, expose a raw survival instinct and a yearning to break free from an unending cycle of suffering. As the narrative unfolds, listeners glimpse the clash between a child’s indomitable spirit and the oppressive forces that seek to crush it, setting the tone for the collection’s broader exploration of human darkness and fleeting light.