The Fifth Corner of the Room

Israel Metter - a classic of Russian-Jewish literature in the Soviet period. The story "The Fifth Corner" is largely autobiographical. Its hero, Boris, mathematician, writer and journalist, recalls his youth spent in Kharkov and in the Urals, and the work of the Leningrad radio during the siege. Boris ancestors dreamed of higher education, but the Jews did not take into universities, so they are envied and despised vykresta, educated - a successful lawyer Belyavsky. The revolution not only opened to Boris and his brothers the way to university, but, in contrast, has put new obstacles. Well-sounding author's voice raises questions about the mill of totalitarianism, when caught in the machinery of the state machine a person is weak-willed figure, and his will, a personal decision can not change anything, even his own life. Language Metter - a bright, imaginative and musical at the same time, the wealth of metaphors and accuracy of style is a bit like George Olesha.