From one of the greatest Russian writers of the past half century comes a metaphysical mystery novel that defies categorization and confounds expectation. Andrei Bitov\"s The Symmetry Teacher presents itself as the echo of an older British novel......

In this collection, centred on the theme of Childhood, we offer two early stories by Andrei Bitov which reflect the growing awareness in children of life\'s mystery and beauty; a story by Andrei Platonov, bearing the stamp of his inimitable style; Ludmilla Ulitskaya\'s perspicacious insight into the complex relationship between twin sisters; an imp...