Selected Stories

From the book jacket:

"I have always lived the lives of my characters, always tried to find their good points..."

This statement of Konstantin Paustovsky (1892-1968), who gave more than fifty years' service to literature, is a most apt comment on the main idea behind this collection -- the author's desire to show the fine moral fibre of his contemporaries, to reveal their characters in joy and sorrow, love and creative work.

The book contains some of Paustovsky's best stories written at different periods. Vera Panova, the writer, once remarked: "I think the reading public likes Paustovsky because he so generously dispenses good...A person can fight for good in many ways. One way of serving it is by cultivating the finer feelings. This is the way Paustovsky chooses.