Over the years I have read many short stories, and one of the things that has led me to prefer the novel by no small margin over the short story is that so many short stories seem to say so little. They always ended before the story line and characters had developed into anything.

Today, I still prefer longer prose works, but reading this collection of stories by Vasily Shukshin was a revelation. Despite their brief length, the author manages to establish genuinely palpable characters and a sense of completeness and significance so often lacking in the short story. 'In the Autumn' and 'Styopka' are both remarkably poignant pieces. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys literature in any form.