The story of the nurse Vera, the heroine of the new novel by Pyotr Aleshkovsky, a Russian woman from Central Asia, who has a truly magical gift to alleviate the suffering of her loved ones with the touch of her hands, resonates in the heart with some incredible, aching sincerity and authenticity.
The story of the nurse Vera, the heroine of the new novel by Pyotr Aleshkovsky, a Russian woman from Central Asia, who has a truly magical gift to alleviate the suffering of her loved ones with the touch of her hands, resonates in the heart with some incredible, aching sincerity and authenticity. Half-starved childhood and youth in Tajikistan, on the far outskirts of a boundless country, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the years of forced wanderings, the departure of loved ones — Vera goes through all these trials simply and with dignity, guided through life by her only principle — to help those whom you can help, and forgive those you can forgive.
TIME, 352 s.