About the book: 2019 / The new collection of stories by Ulyana Menshikova is always sincere, full of both funny and sad, always non-fictional, sometimes phantasmagorical everyday life writing. Persistent love of life, mockery mixed with good nature, love for people, self-irony and, most importantly, good spirits - the author extends to the reader the hand of a good comrade and a cheerful interlocutor. BBK 84(2Ros=Rus)6 ISBN 978-5-9500470-6-0 IS R19-819-0692 Approved for distribution by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church © Ulyana Menshikova (https://www.facebook.com/menshikova.yulia) © “Alavastr” (http://www.alavastr.com) © On the cover is the painting “Concert in the Egg”, artist Hieronymus Bosch “The rarest luck, called the Gift of God, has always been a sign of the spring purity of truly Russian Literature, completely devoid of false-mannered literary development. I will gladly accept this in the old and new “stories” of Ulyana Menshikova - extremely simple, sincere, full of both funny and sad, always non-fictional, sometimes phantasmagorical, everyday life writing.” Yuz Aleshkovsky, Russian prose writer, poet and screenwriter, singer-songwriter of songs “Reading can be different. Sometimes it is intellectual work, sometimes it is emotionally exhausting workload. But often a person needs consolation. You need someone to cheer you up, to dispel your blues, to simply send a signal “hey, don’t be sour, you’re not alone here.” In such a state, there is no better reading than the stories of Ulyana Menshikova. Persistent love of life, mockery mixed with good nature, love for people, self-irony and, most importantly, good spirits - Menshikova extends to the reader the hand of a good comrade and a cheerful interlocutor.” Avdotya Smirnova, Russian screenwriter, film director, publicist “Ulyana Menshikova writes about people. There is very little of her in the book. I once remembered how two smart women gave advice to one young poetess: “Try to think about others. Tell us about them. Believe me: there is nothing interesting in all of us (us, you, old, young). And they have it!” Ulyana was not given this advice, but she follows it.” Dmitry Vodennikov, poet, essayist