In VN¡¯s play Izobretenie Val¡¯sa (¡°The Waltz Invention,¡± 1938) Salvator Waltz wants to rule the world from Palmora (in the English version, ¡°the island of Palmera¡±). Asking the Colonel to send him reports to Palmora, Waltz says that they should be bez tsifr (¡°without numbers¡±) and repeats this phrase three times:
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §¯§Ö §à§Ô§à§â§é§Ñ§Û§ä§Ö§ã§î, §á§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü, §ñ, §Ó§Ö§â§à§ñ§ä§ß§à, §Ó§í§Ò§Ö§â§å §Ó§Ñ§ê§å §ã§ä§à§Ý§Ú§è§å §Ó §ã§ä§à§Ý§Ú§è§í §Þ§Ú§â§Ñ §Ú §Ò§å§Õ§å §Ü §Ó§Ñ§Þ §ß§Ñ§Ö§Ù§Ø§Ñ§ä§î, -- §ï§ä§Ñ§Ü §â§Ñ§Ù §Ó §ä§â§Ú §Þ§Ö§ã§ñ§è§Ñ, §ß§Ñ §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §Õ§ß§Ö§Û, §á§à§ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§ä§î, §Ó§ã§× §Ý§Ú §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§á§à§Ý§å§é§ß§à. §¯§å, §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §Ú §ä§å§Õ§Ñ §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä§Ö §Þ§ß§Ö §á§à§ã§í§Ý§Ñ§ä§î §Õ§à§Ü§Ý§Ñ§Õ§í, -- §Ø§Ú§Ó§í§Þ §ñ§Ù§í§Ü§à§Þ §ß§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Ö, -- §Ú, §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ó§ß§à§Ö, §Ò§Ö§Ù §è§Ú§æ§â, §Ò§Ö§Ù §è§Ú§æ§â, §Ò§Ö§Ù §è§Ú§æ§â... §´§Ñ§Þ §Ò§å§Õ§å §Ø§Ú§ä§î §Ó §Õ§Ú§Ó§ß§à§Þ §Õ§Ó§à§â§è§Ö, -- §Ú §Ó§à§ä §ï§ä§à§ä §Þ§Ú§Ý§í§Û §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §é§ä§à §ß§Ñ§Ò§â§Ñ§Ý §Õ§Ý§ñ §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §è§Ö§Ý§í§Û §ê§ä§Ñ§ä. §°§ä§ä§å§Õ§Ñ §Ò§å§Õ§å §ã§á§à§Ü§à§Û§ß§à §á§â§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ä§î §Þ§Ú§â§à§Þ, -- §ß§à §á§â§Ú §ï§ä§à§Þ §Þ§à§ñ §Þ§Ñ§ê§Ú§ß§à§é§Ü§Ñ §à§ã§ä§Ñ§ß§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §ä§Ñ§Þ, §Ô§Õ§Ö §ß§Ñ§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §ã§Ö§Û§é§Ñ§ã, -- §Ó§Ö§ã§î§Þ§Ñ §Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ö§Ü§à §à§ä§ã§ð§Õ§Ñ, -- §Ú §Õ§Ñ§Ø§Ö §ß§Ö §Ó §ä§à§Û §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ß§Ö, §à§ä§Ü§å§Õ§Ñ §ñ §â§à§Õ§à§Þ -- §Ú §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §Ó§í §ä§à§Ø§Ö §ß§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö, -- §Ñ §Ó §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Û, §Ó §à§Ò§Ý§Ñ§ã§ä§Ú... §³§Þ§à§ä§â§Ú§ä§Ö, §ñ §é§å§ä§î §ß§Ö §á§â§à§Ò§à§Ý§ä§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ! §£§à§ä §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ò§í §ç§à§â§à§ê§à... §Á §Ó§Ú§Ø§å, §é§ä§à §Ó§í §à§Ò§Ñ §ß§Ñ§Ó§à§ã§ä§â§Ú§Ý§Ú §å§ê§Ü§Ú, §Ñ §ä§Ö§á§Ö§â§î §à§á§ñ§ä§î §á§â§Ú§å§ß§í§Ý§Ú. §³§Ý§Ñ§Ó§Ñ §Ò§à§Ô§å, §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§Ö §ß§Ö §å§Ó§Ú§Ø§å §ï§ä§à§Ô§à §á§Ú§ã§î§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ô§à §ã§ä§à§Ý§Ñ, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Û §ë§Ö§â§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ú §Ó§í§Ô§Ú§Ò§Ñ§Ö§ä §ã§á§Ú§ß§å. §¯§Ñ §±§Ñ§Ý§î§Þ§à§â§å, §ã§Ü§à§â§Ö§Û §ß§Ñ §±§Ñ§Ý§î§Þ§à§â§å! (§¬ §á§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü§å.) §¯§å, §é§ä§à -- §Þ§à§Û §á§Ý§Ñ§ß §Ó§Ñ§Þ §ñ§ã§Ö§ß? §±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §¢§à§Ý§Ö§Ö §é§Ö§Þ §ñ§ã§Ö§ß. (Act Three)
In VN¡¯s novel Mashen¡¯ka (¡°Mary,¡± 1926) Ganin compares the mathematician Alfyorov to tsifra (a figure) and his young wife, to tsvetok (a flower):
-- §¡ §ñ §ß§Ñ §é§Ú§ã§Ý§Ñ§ç, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ñ §Ü§Ñ§é§Ö§Ý§ñ§ç, §Ó§ã§ð §Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§î §á§â§à§Ü§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ. §¢§í§Ó§Ñ§Ý§à, §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§Ý §Ø§Ö§ß§Ö: §â§Ñ§Ù §ñ §Þ§Ñ§ä§Ö§Þ§Ñ§ä§Ú§Ü, §ä§í §Þ§Ñ§ä§î-§Ú-§Þ§Ñ§é§Ö§ç§Ñ.
§¤§à§â§ß§à§è§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ó §Ú §¬§à§Ý§Ú§ß §Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î §ä§à§ß§Ü§Ú§Þ §ã§Þ§Ö§ç§à§Þ. §¤§à§ã§á§à§Ø§Ñ §¥§à§â§ß §Ó§Ù§Õ§â§à§Ô§ß§å§Ý§Ñ, §Ú§ã§á§å§Ô§Ñ§ß§ß§à §á§à§ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ý§Ñ §ß§Ñ §à§Ò§à§Ú§ç.
-- §°§Õ§ß§Ú§Þ §ã§Ý§à§Ó§à§Þ: §è§Ú§æ§â§Ñ §Ú §è§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ü,-- §ç§à§Ý§à§Õ§ß§à §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý §¤§Ñ§ß§Ú§ß.
§´§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §¬§Ý§Ñ§â§Ñ §å§Ý§í§Ò§ß§å§Ý§Ñ§ã§î. §¤§Ñ§ß§Ú§ß §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý §ß§Ñ§Ý§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ä§î §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ó§à§Õ§í, §Ó§ã§Ö §ã§Þ§à§ä§â§Ö§Ý§Ú §ß§Ñ §Ö§Ô§à §Õ§Ó§Ú§Ø§Ö§ß§î§Ö.
-- §¥§Ñ, §Ó§í §á§â§Ñ§Ó§í, §ß§Ö§Ø§ß§Ö§Û§ê§Ú§Û §è§Ó§Ö§ä§à§Ü,-- §á§â§à§ä§ñ§Ø§ß§à §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý §¡§Ý§æ§×§â§à§Ó, §à§Ü§Ú§ß§å§Ó §ã§à§ã§Ö§Õ§Ñ §ã§Ó§à§Ú§Þ §Ò§Ý§Ö§ã§ä§ñ§ë§Ú§Þ, §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Ö§ñ§ß§ß§í§Þ §Ó§Ù§Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ§à§Þ.
According to Alfyorov, he used to tell his wife: raz ya matematik, ty mat¡¯-i-machekha (¡°since I¡¯m a mathematician, you are a coltsfoot¡±). Alfyorov¡¯s pun brings to mind the Colonel¡¯s pun in ¡°The Waltz Invention:¡±
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §ª §Ó§ã§×-§ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú §ñ §á§â§Ö§Õ§á§à§é§Ú§ä§Ñ§ð §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§î §ã §Ó§Ñ§Þ§Ú §ã §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§å §ß§Ñ §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù.
§±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §¯§Ñ§Ô§Ý§à-§ã!
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §¯§å, §Ü§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ò§å§â§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ó§í §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §ß§Ö §å§Õ§Ú§Ó§Ú§ä§Ö. §µ §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §Ó §¬§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ò§å§â§Ô§Ö §Õ§Ó§Ö §æ§Ñ§Ò§â§Ú§Ü§Ú §Ú §Õ§à§ç§à§Õ§ß§í§Û §Õ§à§Þ. (Act One)
In reply to Waltz's phrase s glazu na glaz (¡°t¨ºte-¨¤-t¨ºte¡±), the Colonel says: naglo-s (¡°[you are] impudent¡±). According to Waltz, the Colonel will not surprise him with puns, for he owns two factories and an apartment house in Kalamburg (¡°Calembourg¡±).
Literally, mat¡¯-i-machekha (coltsfoot) means ¡°mother and stepmother.¡± Mat¡¯ (¡°Mother,¡± 1906) is a novel by Gorky. The main character in VN¡¯s play Sobytie (¡°The Event,¡± 1938), Aleksey Maksimovich Troshcheykin is a namesake of A. M. Peshkov (Gorky¡¯s real name). In 1931 Nizhniy Novgorod (Gorky¡¯s home city) was renamed Gorky. In his poem Vsyo kamennoe. V kamennyi prolyot¡ (¡°Everything is of stone. In the stone bay¡¡± 1923) included in Evropeyskaya noch¡¯ (¡°European Night¡±) Khodasevich (the author of several memoir essays on Gorky) calls Berlin machekha rossiyskikh gorodov (the stepmother of Russian cities):
§£§ã§× §Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö. §£ §Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §á§â§à§Ý§×§ä
§µ§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §ß§à§é§î. §£ §á§à§Õ§ì§Ö§Ù§Õ§Ñ§ç, §å §Ó§à§â§à§ä -
§¬§Ñ§Ü §Ú§Ù§Ó§Ñ§ñ§ß§î§ñ - §ã§Ý§Ú§á§ê§Ú§Ö§ã§ñ §á§Ñ§â§í.
§ª §ä§ñ§Ø§Ü§Ú§Û §Ó§Ù§Õ§à§ç. §ª §ä§ñ§Ø§Ü§Ú§Û §Õ§å§ç §ã§Ú§Ô§Ñ§â§í.
§¢§â§Ö§ß§é§Ú§ä §à §Ü§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§î §Ü§Ý§ð§é, §Ô§â§Ö§Þ§Ú§ä §Ù§Ñ§ã§à§Ó.
§·§à§Õ§Ú §á§à §Ü§Ñ§Þ§ß§ð §Õ§à §á§ñ§ä§Ú §é§Ñ§ã§à§Ó,
§¨§Õ§Ú: §â§Ö§Ù§Ü§Ú§Û §Ó§Ö§ä§Ö§â §Õ§å§ß§Ö§ä §Ó §à§Ü§Ñ§â§Ú§ß§à
§±§à §ã§Ü§Ó§Ñ§Ø§Ú§ß§Ñ§Þ §Ô§â§à§Þ§à§Ù§Õ§Ü§à§Ô§à §¢§Ö§â§Ý§Ú§ß§Ñ -
§ª §Ô§â§å§Ò§í§Û §Õ§Ö§ß§î §Ó§Ù§à§Û§Õ§×§ä §Ú§Ù-§Ù§Ñ §Õ§à§Þ§à§Ó
§¯§Ñ§Õ §Þ§Ñ§é§Ö§ç§à§Û §â§à§ã§ã§Ú§Û§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §Ô§à§â§à§Õ§à§Ó.
Grubyi den¡¯ (the coarse day) in the poem¡¯s penultimate line brings to mind Grub, one of the eleven generals in ¡°The Waltz Invention.¡±
The action in Mashen¡¯ka takes place in Berlin. It seems that Waltz has two factories and an apartment house in Berlin. The name Alfyorov begins with an A. Describing Palmora to the Colonel (who affirms that such an island does not exist), Waltz says that all plants that begin with an A (agaves, aloe, etc.) grow there:
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §´§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §Ó§í, §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §ã§Ý§í§ç§Ñ§Ý§Ú §à §ß§Ö§Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§à§Þ §à§ã§ä§â§à§Ó§Ö §±§Ñ§Ý§î§Þ§à§â§Ñ §Ó §Ó§à§ã§î§Þ§Ú§ã§ä§Ñ§ç §Þ§à§â§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §Þ§Ú§Ý§ñ§ç §à§ä §ð§Ø§ß§Ö§Û§ê§Ö§Ô§à §Þ§í§ã§Ñ §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ö§Û §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ß§í? §¡§Ô§Ñ! §¯§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö!
§±§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §´§Ñ§Ü§à§Ô§à §à§ã§ä§â§à§Ó§Ñ §ß§Ö§ä.
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §¥§Ó§à§Û§Ü§Ñ §ã §Þ§Ú§ß§å§ã§à§Þ, §á§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü. §³§Ý§à§Ó§à§Þ, §ï§ä§à§ä §à§ã§ä§â§à§Ó §Þ§ß§à§Û §â§Ö§Ü§Ó§Ú§Ù§Ú§â§à§Ó§Ñ§ß. §®§ß§Ö §Õ§Ñ§Ø§Ö §Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §á§à §Ó§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§Ñ§Þ, §é§ä§à §Ú §ß§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý-§ä§à §ñ §ã §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ö§Û §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ß§í §Ú§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à §á§à§ä§à§Þ§å, §é§ä§à §ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ú §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ú§ç §Ó§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Û §Ö§ã§ä§î §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §ã§Ñ§Þ§à§è§Ó§Ö§ä. §ª§Ù§Ò§Ñ§Ó§Ú§Ý§à §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ §à§ä §Ý§Ú§ê§ß§Ú§ç §ç§Ý§à§á§à§ä... §¯§Ö§Ø§ß§Ö§Û§ê§Ú§Û §Ü§Ý§Ú§Þ§Ñ§ä, §Ó§Ö§é§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ó§Ö§ã§ß§Ñ, §â§Ñ§Õ§å§Ø§ß§í§Ö §á§ä§Ú§é§Ü§Ú... §ª §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§é§Ú§ß§Ñ §Ü§Ñ§Ü §â§Ñ§Ù §Þ§ß§Ö §á§à§Õ§ç§à§Õ§ñ§ë§Ñ§ñ: §±§Ñ§Ý§î§Þ§à§â§å §Þ§à§Ø§ß§à §à§Ò§ì§Ö§ç§Ñ§ä§î §ß§Ñ §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§Ö §á§à §Ò§Ö§â§Ö§Ô§à§Ó§à§Û §Õ§à§â§à§Ô§Ö §Ó... §Ó §ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §é§Ñ§ã§à§Ó, §³§à§ß?
§³§à§ß. §³§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§Þ, §Ó §á§ñ§ä§î, §Ö§ã§Ý§Ú §ß§Ö §ã§Ý§Ú§ê§Ü§à§Þ §ä§à§â§à§á§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ.
§£§Ñ§Ý§î§ã. §°, §ñ §Ú §ß§Ö §Ò§å§Õ§å §ä§à§â§à§á§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ. §Á §Ú§ã§ä§à§ã§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §á§à §á§à§Ü§à§ð, §á§à §ä§Ú§ê§Ú§ß§Ö, -- §Ó§í §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä§Ö §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §á§â§Ö§Õ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ä§î, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ñ §Ý§ð§Ò§Ý§ð §ä§Ú§ê§Ú§ß§å. §´§Ñ§Þ §â§Ñ§ã§ä§å§ä §Ñ§ß§Ñ§ß§Ñ§ã§í, §Ñ§á§Ö§Ý§î§ã§Ú§ß§í, §Ñ§Ý§à§ï -- §ã§Ý§à§Ó§à§Þ, §Ó§ã§Ö §â§Ñ§ã§ä§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ, §ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ß§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Ö§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ "§Ñ". §£§á§â§à§é§Ö§Þ, §Ó§í §Ó§ã§× §ï§ä§à §ß§Ñ§Û§Õ§×§ä§Ö, §á§à§Ý§Ü§à§Ó§ß§Ú§Ü, §Ó §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Þ §å§é§Ö§Ò§ß§Ú§Ü§Ö... §£§é§Ö§â§Ñ §ñ §à§ä§Õ§Ñ§Ý §á§â§Ú§Ü§Ñ§Ù §Ó §Õ§Ó§å§ç§Õ§ß§Ö§Ó§ß§í§Û §ã§â§à§Ü §à§é§Ú§ã§ä§Ú§ä§î §à§ã§ä§â§à§Ó §à§ä §Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ñ§ã§Ö§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §Ú §ã§ß§Ö§ã§ä§Ú §Ü §é§×§â§ä§à§Ó§à§Û §Þ§Ñ§ä§Ö§â§Ú §Ó§Ú§Ý§Ý§í §Ú §Ô§à§ã§ä§Ú§ß§Ú§è§í, §Ó §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§ç §á§â§à§ç§Ý§Ñ§Ø§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ú§ã§î §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ú §â§Ñ§Ù§Ò§à§Ô§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ó§ê§Ú§Ö §Ü§å§á§è§í. (§¬ §³§à§ß§å.) §¿§ä§à, §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §Ú§ã§á§à§Ý§ß§Ö§ß§à?
§³§à§ß. §¦§ë§× §Ò§í. (Act Three)
Btw., Ganin¡¯s patronymic, Glebovich, brings to mind Gleb Uspenski, the author of Zhivye tsifry (¡°Living Numbers,¡± 1888). In Uspenski¡¯s story Vypryamila (¡°She Straightened me out,¡± 1885) Tyapushkin admires Venus de Milo in Louvre. In ¡°The Waltz Invention¡± the armless whore (one of the five whores procured by Son, the reporter who runs errands for Waltz) tells Waltz that Venus, too, had no arms:
§´§°§§³§´§¡§Á: §¸§í§á§Ñ§ß§î§Ü§Ñ, §Ú§Õ§Ú§ä§Ö §Ü§à §Þ§ß§Ö¡
§³§µ§·§°§»§¡§£§¡§Á: §£§Ö§ß§Ö§â§Ñ §ä§à§Ø§Ö §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §Ò§Ö§Ù§â§å§Ü§Ñ§ñ¡
§£§¡§§¾§³: §°§ä§Ó§ñ§Ø§Ú§ä§Ö§ã§î, §Ó§à§ß! §³§à§ß, §é§ä§à §ï§ä§à §Ù§Ñ §Ü§à§ê§Þ§Ñ§â! §¬§Ñ§Ü §ä§í §ã§Þ§Ö§Ý, §ß§Ö§Ô§à§Õ§ñ§Û¡ (§³§â§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §Þ§Ñ§ã§Ü§å.) §Á §ä§â§Ö§Ò§à§Ó§Ñ§Ý §ä§â§Ú§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §ð§ß§í§ç §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ó§Ú§è, §Ñ §Ó§í §Þ§ß§Ö §á§â§Ú§Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú §Õ§Ó§å§ç §ê§Ý§ð§ç §Ú §ä§â§×§ç §å§â§à§Õ§à§Ó¡ §Á §Ó§Ñ§ã §â§Ñ§ã§ã§é§Ú§ä§Ñ§ð! §£§í §á§â§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î! (Act Three)
In his Ballada (¡°The Ballad,¡± 1925) Khodasevich says that he cannot be himself and wants to go mad when an armless man goes to the cinema with his pregnant wife:
§®§ß§Ö §ß§Ö§Ó§à§Ù§Þ§à§Ø§ß§à §Ò§í§ä§î §ã§à§Ò§à§Û,
§®§ß§Ö §ç§à§é§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §ã§à§Û§ä§Ú §ã §å§Þ§Ñ,
§¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ã §Ò§Ö§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §Ø§Ö§ß§à§Û
§ª§Õ§×§ä §Ò§Ö§Ù§â§å§Ü§Ú§Û §Ó §ã§Ú§ß§Ö§Þ§Ñ.
According to Ryovshin (Lyubov¡¯s lover in ¡°The Event¡±), last night he met Barbashin (the killer of whom Troshcheykin is mortally afraid) on his way home from the cinema:
§²§×§Ó§ê§Ú§ß. §°§Õ§ß§Ú§Þ §ã§Ý§à§Ó§à§Þ... §£§é§Ö§â§Ñ §à§Ü§à§Ý§à §á§à§Ý§å§ß§à§é§Ú, §ä§Ñ§Ü, §Ó§Ö§â§à§ñ§ä§ß§à, §Ó §ä§â§Ú §é§Ö§ä§Ó§Ö§â§ä§Ú §à§Õ§Ú§ß§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§à§Ô§à... §æ§å, §Ó§â§å... §Õ§Ó§Ö§ß§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§à§Ô§à, §ñ §ê§×§Ý §Ü §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ú§Ù §Ü§Ú§ß§Ö§Þ§Ñ§ä§à§Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ñ §ß§Ñ §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ö§Û §á§Ý§à§ë§Ñ§Õ§Ú §Ú, §Ù§ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ä, §Ó§à§ä §ä§å§ä, §Ó §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§Ú§ç §ê§Ñ§Ô§Ñ§ç §à§ä §Ó§Ñ§ê§Ö§Ô§à §Õ§à§Þ§Ñ, §á§à §ä§à§Û §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß§Ö, -- §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§ä§Ö, §Ô§Õ§Ö §Ü§Ú§à§ã§Ü, -- §á§â§Ú §ã§Ó§Ö§ä§Ö §æ§à§ß§Ñ§â§ñ, §Ó§Ú§Ø§å -- §Ú §ß§Ö §Ó§Ö§â§ð §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Þ -- §ã§ä§à§Ú§ä §ã §á§Ñ§á§Ú§â§à§ã§Ü§à§Û §¢§Ñ§â§Ò§Ñ§ê§Ú§ß.
§´§â§à§ë§Ö§Û§Ü§Ú§ß. §µ §ß§Ñ§ã §ß§Ñ §å§Ô§Ý§å! §°§é§Ñ§â§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à. §£§Ö§Õ§î §Þ§í, §§ð§Ò§Ñ, §Ó§é§Ö§â§Ñ §é§å§ä§î-§é§å§ä§î §ß§Ö §á§à§ê§Ý§Ú §ä§à§Ø§Ö: §Ñ§ç, §é§å§Õ§ß§Ñ§ñ §æ§Ú§Ý§î§Þ§Ñ, §Ñ§ç, "§¬§Ñ§Þ§Ö§â§Ñ §à§Ò§ã§Ü§å§â§Ñ" -- §Ý§å§é§ê§Ñ§ñ §æ§Ú§Ý§î§Þ§Ñ §ã§Ö§Ù§à§ß§Ñ!.. §£§à§ä §Ò§í §Ú §Ñ§ç§ß§å§Ý§à §ß§Ñ§ã §á§à §ã§Ý§å§é§Ñ§ð §ã§Ö§Ù§à§ß§Ñ. §¥§Ñ§Ý§î§ê§Ö! (Act One)
In the cinema Ryovshin watched Kamera Obskura, the best film of the season. Kamera Obskura (¡°Laughter in the Dark,¡± 1932) is a novel by VN in which the action begins and ends in Berlin.
Alexey Sklyarenko