The Little Demon

In a bleak provincial town, a low‑ranking schoolmaster named Peredonova lives under the weight of his own ambitions and insecurities. He is convinced that a tiny, invisible creature—his “little demon”— haunts every object he encounters, turning ordinary chores into ominous battles. As he scrambles to climb the bureaucratic ladder, his paranoia sharpens, and the mundane world around him becomes a stage for absurd yet unsettling moments.

The novel weaves dark humor with stark tragedy, exposing the petty cruelties and hollow pretensions of small‑town life. Peredonova’s obsessive need for approval and his relentless self‑deception create a portrait that feels both uniquely Russian and universally human. Listeners will find themselves both amused and unsettled as the story peels back the layers of a soul consumed by its own imagined evil.