Astafiev “Sad detective” - analysis. "Tsar Fish" and "Sad Detective": analysis of Astafiev's works

The journalistic beginning is palpable in V. Astafiev’s story “The Sad Detective,” but the main thing that defines this work is “cruel” realism. The prose of “cruel” realism is merciless in depicting horrors Everyday life. The story concentrates criminal episodes from the life of the provincial town of Veysk, and in such quantity that it seems implausible that so much negativity, so much dirt, and blood could be concentrated in such a small geographical space. Here are collected monstrous manifestations of the collapse and degradation of society. But there is both an artistic and real justification for this.

V. Astafiev makes us horrified by reality, he awakens ears accustomed to information not only with the meaning of crimes, but also with their number. The pumped-up facts, destinies, and faces mercilessly plunge one into a reality that is terrible in its bitterness and lack of motive for crimes. This brutal realism combines fictional and real episodes into a single canvas, imbued with angry pathos.

This saturation with criminal events is also explained by the profession of the main character Leonid Soshnin. Soshnin is an investigator, a policeman, who daily deals with the fall of a person. He is also an aspiring writer. Everything that Soshnin sees around becomes material for his notes; with all facets of his soul he is turned towards people. But “work in the police eradicated from him pity for criminals, this universal, not fully understood by anyone and inexplicable Russian pity, which forever preserves in living flesh Russian man an unquenchable thirst for compassion and striving for good.”

V. Astafiev sharply raises the question of the people. That idealized image of a single people - a lover of truth, a passion-bearer, which was created in previous decades (1960-80s) in “village prose”, does not suit the writer. He shows in the Russian character not only what makes you touch. Where then does the dump truck hijacker, who killed several people in a drunken stupor, come from, or Venka Fomin, who threatens to burn the village women in the calf barn if they don’t give him a hangover? Or that pet guy who was humiliated in front of women by more arrogant suitors, and in revenge he decided to kill the first person he met. And for a long time, he brutally killed a beautiful student with a stone in the sixth month of pregnancy, and then at the trial he shouted: “Is it my fault that such a good woman was caught?..”

The writer discovers in man a “terrible, self-devouring beast.” He speaks the merciless truth about his contemporaries, adding new features to their portrait.

The children buried their father. “At home, as usual, the children and relatives cried for the deceased, drank heavily - out of pity, at the cemetery they added - damp, cold, bitter. Five empty bottles were later found in the grave. And two complete ones, with a muttering voice, are now a new, cheerful fashion among highly paid hard workers: with force, richly not only spend your free time, but also bury it - burn money over the grave, preferably a pack, throw after the departing bottle of wine - maybe the poor thing will want a hangover in the next world. The grieving children threw bottles into the hole, but they forgot to lower their parents into the land.”

Children forget their parents, parents leave their tiny child in an automatic storage room. Others lock the baby at home for a week, leading him to catch and eat cockroaches. The episodes are interconnected by a logical connection. Although V. As-tafiev does not make any direct comparisons, it seems that he simply strings one after another onto the core of the hero’s memory, but in the context of the story, between different episodes there is a force field of a certain idea: parents - children - parents; criminal - the reaction of others; people - “intelligentsia”. And all together adds new touches to the image of the Russian people.

V. Astafiev does not spare black tones in national self-criticism. He turns inside out those qualities that were elevated to the rank of virtues of the Russian character. He is not admired by patience and humility - in them the writer sees the causes of many troubles and crimes, the sources of philistine indifference and indifference. V. Astafiev does not admire the eternal compassion for the criminal, noticed in the Russian people by F. Dostoevsky. Material from the site

V. Astafiev, in his desire to understand the Russian character, is very close to Gorky’s “Untimely Thoughts,” who wrote: “We, Russia, are anarchists by nature, we are a cruel beast, dark and evil slave blood still flows in our veins... There are no words, which it would be impossible to scold a Russian person - you cry with blood, but you scold..." V. Astafiev also speaks with pain and suffering about the beast in man. He brings terrible episodes into the story not in order to humiliate the Russian people, to intimidate, but to make everyone think about the reasons for the brutality of people.

“The Sad Detective” is an artistic and journalistic story, marked by sharp analysis and merciless assessments. “Detective” by V. Astafiev is devoid of the happy ending element inherent in this genre, when a lone hero can tame the evil that has broken through and return the world to the norm of its existence. In the story, it is evil and crime that become almost the norm in everyday life, and Soshnin’s efforts cannot shake it. Therefore, the story is far from an ordinary detective story, although it includes crime stories The title can be interpreted both as a sad crime story and as a sad hero whose profession is a detective.

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Composition

The main task of literature has always been the task of relating and developing the most current problems: in the 19th century there was a problem of finding the ideal freedom fighter, on turn of XIX-XX centuries - the problem of revolution. In our time, the most pressing topic is morality. Reflecting the problems and contradictions of our time, wordsmiths go one step ahead of their contemporaries, illuminating the path to the future.

Victor Astafiev in the novel “The Sad Detective” addresses the topic of morality.

He writes about the everyday life of people, which is typical for peacetime. His heroes do not stand out from the gray crowd, but merge with it. Showing ordinary people suffering from the imperfections of life around them, Astafiev raises the question of the Russian soul, the uniqueness of the Russian character. All the writers of our country have tried to solve this issue in one way or another.

The content of the novel is unique: main character Soshnin believes that we invented this riddle of the soul ourselves in order to keep silent from others. Peculiarities of the Russian character, such as pity, sympathy for others and indifference towards ourselves, we develop in ourselves. The writer tries to disturb the reader's souls with the fate of the heroes. Behind the little things described in the novel, there is a problem posed: how to help people? The life of the heroes evokes sympathy and pity. The author went through the war, and he, like no one else, knows these feelings. What we saw in war can hardly leave anyone indifferent or not evoke compassion, heartache. The events described take place in peacetime, but one cannot help but feel the similarity and connection with the war, because the time shown is no less difficult.

Together with V. Astafiev, we think about the destinies of people and ask the question: how did we get to this?

The title "The Sad Detective" doesn't say much. But if you think about it, you will notice that the main character really looks like a sad detective. Responsive and compassionate, he is ready to respond to any misfortune, a cry for help, to sacrifice himself for the sake of the good completely strangers. The problems of his life are directly related to the contradictions of society. He cannot help but be sad, because he sees what the lives of the people around him are like, what their destinies are. Soshnin is not just a former policeman, he brought benefit to people not only on duty, but also by the call of his soul, he kind heart. Astafiev gave a description of his main character through the title. The events described in the novel could happen now. In Russia ordinary people It has never been easy. The time period of which events are described in the book is not specified. One can only guess what it was after the war.

Astafiev talks about Soshnin’s childhood, about how he grew up without parents with Aunt Lina, then with Aunt Granya. The period when Soshnin was a policeman was also described, catching criminals, risking his life. Soshnin recalls the years he has lived and wants to write a book about the world around him.

Unlike the main character, Syrokvasova is far from a positive image. She is a typical figure of modern fiction. She is tasked with choosing whose works to publish and whose not. Soshnin is just a defenseless author, under her power among many others. He is still at the very beginning of his journey, but he understands what an incredibly difficult task he has taken on, how weak his stories are, how much he will take from him without giving anything in return, literary work, to which he doomed himself.

The reader is attracted to the image of Aunt Granya. Her tolerance, kindness and hard work are admirable. She devoted her life to raising children, although she never had her own. Aunt Granya never lived in abundance, did not have great joys and happiness, but she gave all the best she had to the orphans.

At the end, the novel turns into a discussion, a reflection of the protagonist about the fate of the people around him, about the hopelessness of existence. In its details the book does not have the character of a tragedy, but in general outline it makes you think about sad things. A writer often sees and feels much more behind the seemingly ordinary fact of personal relationships. The fact is that, unlike others, he analyzes his own feelings more deeply and comprehensively. And then a single case is elevated to general beginning, prevails over private. Eternity is expressed in a moment. Simple at first glance, small in volume, the novel is fraught with very complex philosophical, social and psychological content.

It seems to me that the words of I. Repin are suitable for “The Sad Detective”: “In the soul of a Russian person there is a trait of special, hidden heroism... It lies under the cover of the personality, it is invisible. But this - greatest power life, she moves mountains... She merges completely with her idea, “is not afraid to die.” This is where her greatest strength lies: “she is not afraid of death.”

Astafiev, in my opinion, does not let the moral aspect of human existence out of sight for a minute. This is probably what attracted my attention to his work.

Leonid Soshnin's childhood, like almost all children of the post-war period, was difficult. But, like many children, he did not think about such complex issues life. After his mother and father died, he stayed to live with his aunt Lipa, whom he called Lina. He loved her, and when she began to walk, he could not understand how she could leave him when she had given him her whole life. It was ordinary childish selfishness. She died shortly after his marriage. He married a girl, Lera, whom he saved from pestering hooligans. There was no special love, he just, as a decent person, could not help but marry the girl after he was received in her house as a groom.

After his first feat (capturing a criminal), he became a hero. After this he was wounded in the arm. This happened when one day he went to calm down Vanka Fomin, and he pierced his shoulder with a pitchfork.

With a heightened sense of responsibility for everything and everyone, with his sense of duty, honesty and fight for justice, he could only work in the police.

Leonid Soshnin always thinks about people and the motives of their actions. Why and why do people commit crimes? He reads a lot of philosophical books to understand this. And he comes to the conclusion that thieves are born, not made.

For a completely stupid reason, his wife leaves him; after the accident he became disabled. After such troubles, he retired and found himself in a completely new and unfamiliar world, where he was trying to save himself with a “pen”. He did not know how to get his stories and books published, so they lay on the shelf for five years with the editor Syrokvasova, a “gray” woman.

One day he was attacked by bandits, but he overcame them. He felt bad and lonely, then he called his wife, and she immediately realized that something had happened to him. She understood that he always lived some kind of stressful life.

And at some point he looked at life differently. He realized that life doesn't always have to be a struggle. Life is communication with people, caring for loved ones, making concessions to each other. After he realized this, his affairs went better: they promised to publish his stories and even gave him an advance, his wife returned, and some kind of peace began to appear in his soul.

main topic novel - a man who finds himself among the crowd. A man lost among people, confused in his thoughts. The author wanted to show the individuality of a person among the crowd with his thoughts, actions, feelings. His problem is to understand the crowd, to blend in with it. It seems to him that in the crowd he does not recognize people whom he knew well before. Among the crowd, they are all the same, good and evil, honest and deceitful. They all become the same in the crowd. Soshnin is trying to find a way out of this situation with the help of the books he reads, and with the help of the books he himself tries to write.

I liked this work because it touches on eternal problems man and the crowd, man and his thoughts. I liked how the author describes the hero’s relatives and friends. With what kindness and tenderness he treats Aunt Grana and Aunt Lina. The author portrays them as kind and hardworking women who love children. How the girl Pasha is described, Soshnin’s attitude towards her and his indignation at the fact that she was not loved at the institute. The hero loves them all, and it seems to me that his life becomes much better because of these people’s love for him.

The theme of the loss of moral guidelines in the work of V. P. Astafiev. V. P. Astafiev - this is truly great writer second half of the 20th century. In his works, he poses the most complex questions that go beyond everyday existence. Astafiev’s special merit is that in his works he depicts real life, the kind to which we are all accustomed. But it is against the backdrop of this everyday life that the most important philosophical questions regarding the meaning of life look especially relevant.

The story “The Sad Detective” was written in the mid-eighties. Each era has its own flavor. If we talk about the eighties, then people’s lives were at first glance simple and uncomplicated; on the other hand, the problem of the loss of moral values ​​became especially acute.

The Soviet state “educated” its citizens in a very unique way. At the beginning of the 20th century, after civil war and the country experienced revolution hard times. Everything a person lived with lost its meaning. People had to not live, but literally survive, maintain their existence and try to take care of their children. The atmosphere of hunger, war, and devastation was taking its toll. People inevitably became bitter, such universal human values ​​as kindness, nobility, attention to one’s neighbor, interest in one’s own inner world and the inner world of their children faded into the background. The need to get a piece of bread and somehow feed themselves and their children came to the fore. This is all cruel reality era. One person could not do anything about it, so the Personality faded into the background, the person turned into a particle of the crowd, insignificant and unimportant.

In the 30s, during a terrible period of repression, universal human values ​​were also not held in high esteem in the Soviet State. People were deprived of spiritual support, children grew up in an atmosphere of cruelty and indifference. Of course, one cannot say that kindness, love, tenderness completely disappeared. They simply began to seem like something unnecessary, they were ashamed of the manifestations of such feelings, they tried in every possible way to hide them. In addition, the ideology of the country insisted that the main thing was to work for the good of the Motherland; it was forbidden to think about oneself, it was considered almost a crime.

In the 40s, the country had to endure a difficult ordeal - the Great Patriotic War when a person's life was worth absolutely nothing. After the war, the country rose from ruins for a long time. There were, of course, issues of universal human values, kindness, nobility, and decency. But again, they were understood in a very unique way. It was believed that a decent person is one who devotes himself entirely to work and production. This is exactly how almost everyone lived. People huddled in tiny rooms in communal apartments and dormitories; it was considered unacceptable to think about their personal comfort and coziness. The children were raised in a similar way.

However, a person is designed in such a way that sooner or later he begins to analyze everything he sees around him. The country gradually eliminated the consequences of the war, material well-being already in the 60-70s it began to be perceived as the norm, and not as a pathology. The advent of the 80s marked the beginning new era, when Soviet people practically did not remember terrible years war, famine, devastation. A new generation has grown up, whose childhood and youth were spent in conditions of a calm, peaceful life.

It would seem that all people can do is live and rejoice. However, this was not the case. Astafiev shows in the story “The Sad Detective” the deepest moral degradation. People are surprised and hostile. Maybe it will seem to someone that the writer is deliberately exaggerating, because life cannot be so hopeless. However, Astafiev does not sugarcoat anything. He simply states a fact, depicts the life of a small provincial town, of which there were more than enough in the Soviet Union.

In the 80s, the connection between city and countryside began to be lost. The villagers dreamed of moving to the city. Life in the city, from the point of view of a person from the village, seemed simple and easy. After all, a city dweller does not need to take care of the household, and this is sometimes not easy. In addition, during those years people began to follow fashion in their own way. There is already a desire to decorate your homes, acquire new furniture, buy imported clothes. It is no coincidence that Astafiev repeatedly draws attention either to the sheepskin coat of the impudent man who attacked Leonid Soshnin at the entrance, or to the jeans, which were perceived as a symbol of special well-being. If you look at it from the position modern man living in early XIX centuries, the desire of people to improve their lives seems quite normal. However, in Astafiev’s story, the desire to make life more comfortable comes at the expense of spiritual development. People are losing moral guidelines, it is difficult for them to understand what is good and what is bad.

For example, the wife of the main character Leonid Soshnin, Lera, is just an example modern woman 80s She dresses fashionably and considers herself cultured and educated. But she can do absolutely nothing around the house, the most simple, necessary things, including caring for own child, for her - backbreaking work. And this, despite the fact that she grew up in the village, her parents are simple village people. At first glance, indifference to housekeeping may not seem like a big drawback. But if you look closely at Lera, then the outstanding spiritual qualities: kindness, tenderness, care and attention towards loved ones - we do not notice. Because of the slightest disagreement, she leaves her husband and goes as a child to a dormitory, official, uncomfortable. But she considers her behavior completely normal, regardless of the fact that she leaves her my own daughter without a father. What is this if not selfishness and indifference?

Other people in Astafiev’s story also appear indifferent and selfish, this applies even to completely normal ordinary people. Crimes are committed next to them, and they take the position of observers. The main character of the story, Leonid Soshnin, reminds us of Don Quixote, fighting windmills. The writer shows us everything that is happening in a small town: murders, rapes, crimes - through the prism of Leonid’s perception. What can a simple policeman do? Just fulfill your duties honestly. That's exactly what he does. It is noteworthy that all crimes are committed by ordinary, “normal”, from the point of view of ordinary people. They were born and raised in a normal environment, their psyche was not subjected to any monstrous tests. What is the cause of moral degradation? The writer poses this question with all severity. And we sadly note that the very atmosphere of hypocrisy, hypocrisy and indifference gives rise to dangerous and cruel monsters.

The main task of literature has always been the task of relating to and developing the most pressing problems: in the 19th century there was the problem of finding the ideal of a freedom fighter, at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries - the problem of revolution. In our time, the most pressing topic is morality. Reflecting the problems and contradictions of our time, wordsmiths go one step ahead of their contemporaries, illuminating the path to the future.

Victor Astafiev in the novel “The Sad Detective” addresses the topic of morality.

He writes about the everyday life of people, which is typical for peacetime. His heroes do not stand out from the gray crowd, but merge with it. Showing ordinary people suffering from the imperfections of life around them, Astafiev raises the question of the Russian soul, the uniqueness of the Russian character. All the writers of our country have tried to solve this issue in one way or another.

Unique in content: the main character Soshnin believes that we ourselves invented this riddle of the soul in order to keep silent from others. Peculiarities of the Russian character, such as pity, sympathy for others and indifference towards ourselves, we develop in ourselves. The writer tries to disturb the reader's souls with the fate of the heroes. Behind the little things described in the novel, there is a problem posed: how to help people? The life of the heroes evokes sympathy and pity. The author went through the war, and he, like no one else, knows these feelings. What we saw in war can hardly leave anyone indifferent, or not cause compassion or heartache. The events described take place in peacetime, but one cannot help but feel the similarity and connection with the war, because the time shown is no less difficult.

Together with V. Astafiev, we think about the destinies of people and ask the question: how did we get to this?

The title "The Sad Detective" doesn't say much. But if you think about it, you will notice that the main character really looks like a sad detective. Responsive and compassionate, he is ready to respond to any misfortune, cry for help, to sacrifice himself for the benefit of complete strangers. The problems of his life are directly related to the contradictions of society. He cannot help but be sad, because he sees what the lives of the people around him are like, what their destinies are. Soshnin is not just a former policeman, he brought benefit to people not only out of duty, but also out of his soul, he has a kind heart. Astafiev gave a description of his main character through the title. The events described in the novel could happen now. It has always been difficult for ordinary people in Russia. The time period of which events are described in the book is not specified. One can only guess what it was after the war.

Astafiev talks about Soshnin’s childhood, about how he grew up without parents with Aunt Lina, then with Aunt Granya. The period when Soshnin was a policeman was also described, catching criminals, risking his life. Soshnin recalls the years he has lived and wants to write a book about the world around him.

Unlike the main character, Syrokvasova is far from a positive image. She is a typical figure in modern fiction. She is tasked with choosing whose works to publish and whose not. Soshnin is just a defenseless author, under her power among many others. He is still at the very beginning of his journey, but he understands what an incredibly difficult task he has taken on, how weak his stories are, how much the literary work to which he has condemned himself will take from him without giving anything in return.

The reader is attracted to the image of Aunt Granya. Her tolerance, kindness and hard work are admirable. She devoted her life to raising children, although she never had her own. Aunt Granya never lived in abundance, did not have great joys and happiness, but she gave all the best she had to the orphans.

At the end, the novel turns into a discussion, a reflection of the protagonist about the fate of the people around him, about the hopelessness of existence. In its details the book is not tragic, but in general terms it makes you think about the sad. A writer often sees and feels much more behind the seemingly ordinary fact of personal relationships. The fact is that, unlike others, he analyzes his own feelings more deeply and comprehensively. And then a single case is elevated to a general principle and prevails over the particular. Eternity is expressed in a moment. Simple at first glance, small in volume, the novel is fraught with very complex philosophical, social and psychological content.

It seems to me that the words of I. Repin are suitable for “The Sad Detective”: “In the soul of a Russian person there is a trait of special, hidden heroism... It lies under the cover of the personality, it is invisible. But this is the greatest force of life, it moves mountains... She merges completely with her idea, “is not afraid to die.” This is where her greatest strength lies: “she is not afraid of death.”

Astafiev, in my opinion, does not let the moral aspect of human existence out of sight for a minute. This is probably what attracted my attention to his work.

Leonid Soshnin's childhood, like almost all children of the post-war period, was difficult. But, like many children, he did not think about such complex issues of life. After his mother and father died, he stayed to live with his aunt Lipa, whom he called Lina. He loved her, and when she began to walk, he could not understand how she could leave him when she had given him her whole life. It was ordinary childish selfishness. She died shortly after his marriage. He married a girl, Lera, whom he saved from pestering hooligans. There was no special love, he just, as a decent person, could not help but marry the girl after he was received in her house as a groom.

After his first feat (capturing a criminal), he became a hero. After this he was wounded in the arm. This happened when one day he went to calm down Vanka Fomin, and he pierced his shoulder with a pitchfork.

With a heightened sense of responsibility for everything and everyone, with his sense of duty, honesty and fight for justice, he could only work in the police.

Leonid Soshnin always thinks about people and the motives of their actions. Why and why do people commit crimes? He reads a lot of philosophical books to understand this. And he comes to the conclusion that thieves are born, not made.

For a completely stupid reason, his wife leaves him; after the accident he became disabled. After such troubles, he retired and found himself in a completely new and unfamiliar world, where he was trying to save himself with a “pen”. He did not know how to get his stories and books published, so they lay on the shelf for five years with the editor Syrokvasova, a “gray” woman.

One day he was attacked by bandits, but he overcame them. He felt bad and lonely, then he called his wife, and she immediately realized that something had happened to him. She understood that he always lived some kind of stressful life.

And at some point he looked at life differently. He realized that life doesn't always have to be a struggle. Life is communication with people, caring for loved ones, making concessions to each other. After he realized this, his affairs went better: they promised to publish his stories and even gave him an advance, his wife returned, and some kind of peace began to appear in his soul.

The main theme of the novel is a man who finds himself among the crowd. A man lost among people, confused in his thoughts. The author wanted to show the individuality of a person among the crowd with his thoughts, actions, feelings. His problem is to understand the crowd, to blend in with it. It seems to him that in the crowd he does not recognize people whom he knew well before. Among the crowd, they are all the same, good and evil, honest and deceitful. They all become the same in the crowd. Soshnin is trying to find a way out of this situation with the help of the books he reads, and with the help of the books he himself tries to write.

I liked this work because it touches on the eternal problems of man and the crowd, man and his thoughts. I liked how the author describes the hero’s relatives and friends. With what kindness and tenderness he treats Aunt Grana and Aunt Lina. The author portrays them as kind and hardworking women who love children. How the girl Pasha is described, Soshnin’s attitude towards her and his indignation at the fact that she was not loved at the institute. The hero loves them all, and it seems to me that his life becomes much better because of these people’s love for him.

Forty-two-year-old Leonid Soshnin, a former criminal investigation operative, returns home from a local publishing house to an empty apartment, in the worst mood. The manuscript of his first book, “Life is More Precious than Everything,” after five years of waiting, has finally been accepted for production, but this news does not make Soshnin happy. A conversation with the editor, Oktyabrina Perfilyevna Syrovasova, who tried to humiliate the author-policeman who dared to call himself a writer with arrogant remarks, stirred up Soshnin’s already gloomy thoughts and experiences. “How to live in the world? Lonely? - he thinks on the way home, and his thoughts are heavy.

He served his time in the police: after two wounds, Soshnin was sent to a disability pension. After another quarrel Lerka's wife leaves him, taking with her his little daughter Svetka.

Soshnin remembers his whole life. He cannot answer his own question: why is there so much room in life for grief and suffering, but always close to love and happiness? Soshnin understands that, among other incomprehensible things and phenomena, he has to comprehend the so-called Russian soul, and he needs to start with the people closest to him, with the episodes he witnessed, with the destinies of the people with whom his life encountered... Why Russian people Are you ready to feel sorry for the bone crusher and bloodletter and not notice how a helpless war invalid is dying nearby, in the next apartment?.. Why does a criminal live so freely and cheerfully among such kind-hearted people?..

In order to escape from his gloomy thoughts at least for a minute, Leonid imagines how he will come home, cook himself a bachelor’s dinner, read, sleep a little so that he has enough strength for the whole night - sitting at the table, over a blank sheet of paper. Soshnin especially loves this night time, when he lives in some isolated world created by his imagination.

Leonid Soshnin's apartment is located on the outskirts of Veysk, in an old two-story house where he grew up. From this house my father went to war, from which he did not return, and here, towards the end of the war, my mother also died from a severe cold. Leonid stayed with his mother’s sister, Aunt Lipa, whom he used to call Lina since childhood. Aunt Lina, after the death of her sister, went to work in the commercial department of Veyskaya railway. This department was “judged and replanted at once.” The aunt tried to poison herself, but she was saved and after the trial she was sent to a colony. By this time, Lenya was already studying at the regional special school of the Internal Affairs Directorate, from where he was almost kicked out because of his convicted aunt. But the neighbors, and mainly Lavrya’s father’s fellow Cossack soldier, interceded for Leonid with the regional police authorities, and everything turned out okay.

Aunt Lina was released under an amnesty. Soshnin had already worked as a district police officer in the remote Khailovsky district, from where he brought his wife. Before her death, Aunt Lina managed to nurse Leonid’s daughter, Sveta, whom she considered her granddaughter. After Lina’s death, Soshniny passed under the protection of another, no less reliable aunt named Granya, a switchwoman on the shunting hill. Aunt Granya spent her whole life taking care of other people’s children, and even little Lenya Soshnin comprehended in a peculiar way kindergarten the first skills of brotherhood and hard work.

Once, after returning from Khailovsk, Soshnin was on duty with a police squad at a mass celebration on the occasion of Railway Worker's Day. Four guys who were drunk to the point of losing their memory raped Aunt Granya, and if not for his patrol partner, Soshnin would have shot these drunken fellows sleeping on the lawn. They were convicted, and after this incident, Aunt Granya began to avoid people. One day she expressed to Soshnin the terrible thought that by convicting the criminals, they had thereby ruined young lives. Soshnin shouted at the old woman for feeling sorry for non-humans, and they began to avoid each other...

In the dirty and spit-stained entrance of the house, three drunks accost Soshnin, demanding to say hello and then to apologize for their disrespectful behavior. He agrees, trying to cool their ardor with peaceful remarks, but the main one, a young bully, does not calm down. Fueled by alcohol, the guys attack Soshnin. He, having gathered his strength - his wounds and hospital “rest” took their toll - defeats the hooligans. One of them hits his head on the heating radiator when he falls. Soshnin picks up a knife on the floor, staggers into the apartment. And he immediately calls the police and reports the fight: “One hero’s head was split on a radiator. If so, don’t look for it. The villain is me."

Coming to his senses after what happened, Soshnin again remembers his life.

He and his partner were chasing a drunk on a motorcycle who had stolen a truck. The truck rushed like a deadly ram through the streets of the town, having already ended more than one life. Soshnin, the senior patrol officer, decided to shoot the criminal. His partner fired, but before he died, the truck driver managed to hit the motorcycle of the pursuing policemen. On the operating table, Soshnina’s leg was miraculously saved from amputation. But he remained lame; it took him a long time to learn to walk. During his recovery, the investigator tormented him for a long time and persistently with an investigation: was the use of weapons legal?

Leonid also remembers how he met his future wife, saving her from hooligans who were trying to take off the girl’s jeans right behind the Soyuzpechat kiosk. At first, life between him and Lerka went in peace and harmony, but gradually mutual reproaches began. His wife especially did not like his literary studies. “Such Leo Tolstoy with a seven-shooter pistol, with rusty handcuffs in his belt...” she said.

Soshnin recalls how one “took” a stray guest performer, a repeat offender, Demon, in a hotel in the town.

And finally, he remembers how Venka Fomin, who was drunk and returned from prison, put a final end to his career as an operative... Soshnin brought his daughter to his wife’s parents in a distant village and was about to return to the city when his father-in-law told him that there was a drunk in the neighboring village A man has locked old women in a barn and is threatening to set them on fire if they do not give him ten rubles to cover their hangover. During the detention, when Soshnin slipped on manure and fell, the frightened Venka Fomin stabbed him with a pitchfork... Soshnin was barely taken to the hospital - and he barely escaped certain death. But the second group of disability and retirement could not be avoided.

At night, Leonid is awakened from sleep by the terrible scream of the neighbor girl Yulka. He hurries to the apartment on the first floor, where Yulka lives with her grandmother Tutyshikha. Having drunk a bottle of Riga balsam from the gifts brought by Yulka’s father and stepmother from the Baltic sanatorium, Grandma Tutyshikha is already fast asleep.

At the funeral of grandmother Tutyshikha, Soshnin meets his wife and daughter. At the wake they sit next to each other.

Lerka and Sveta stay with Soshnin, at night he hears his daughter sniffling behind the partition, and feels his wife sleeping next to him, timidly clinging to him. He gets up, approaches his daughter, straightens her pillow, presses his cheek to her head and loses himself in some kind of sweet grief, in a resurrecting, life-giving sadness. Leonid goes to the kitchen, reads “Proverbs of the Russian People” collected by Dahl - the section “Husband and Wife” - and is surprised at the wisdom contained in simple words.

“Dawn was already rolling in like a damp snowball through the kitchen window, when, having enjoyed the peace among the quietly sleeping family, with a feeling of long-unknown confidence in his capabilities and strength, without irritation or melancholy in his heart, Soshnin stuck to the table and placed him in a spot of light Blank sheet paper and froze over it for a long time.”