For the first time in Russian - a new novel by the Booker Committee's favorite Andrew Miller, the author of the books "Thirst for Pain", "Casanova" and "Oxygen" already familiar to Russian readers. Clem Glass (yes, the parallel with Salinger's stories about the Glass family is not accidental) - famous photojournalist. He returns from Africa to London, having lost faith in his profession, having lost faith in humanity itself. When his sister, an art critic, ends up in a clinic after a nervous breakdown, he takes her to the Glass family’s “family nest” - the village of Colcombe - and in his care for her he slightly intoxicates her. But the rural idyll does not last long, and Clem is called first by Toronto, then by Brussels, where he will try to pacify the ghosts that have tormented him since his African business trip... “The Optimists” was named book of the year by TimeOut magazine.