This collection of Gazdanov’s short stories, four from the 1930’s and two from the 1960’s, is a decent read but a little uneven. Philosophical themes that ponder life’s meaning (or lack thereof) are a common thread, some with an optimism and upbeat attitude in spite of it, for example, in ‘Happiness’ while others, such as ‘The Beggar,’ signal a sad rejection of not only life’s obligations, but the point of it all. It was remarkable to me that he wrote with such insight into the views of life that evolve with age in ‘Deliverance’ in 1936 when he was 33. Unfortunately ‘The Mistake’, ‘The Beggar’, and ‘Ivanov’s Letters’ suffer from premises which simply aren’t engaging enough. Overall not bad, but I prefer his novels instead – ‘The Buddha’s Return’, ‘The Flight’, and ‘The Spectre of Alexander Wolf’. ( )