David Bergelson (1884–1952), one of the founders of Soviet literature in Yiddish, created his own special impressionistic style of storytelling. The novel “Retreat” is about the destinies of two friends who were educated in a big city and participated in the revolutionary movement. One of them, after exile, comes to the small town of Rakitnoye and opens a pharmacy there, and then unexpectedly dies. His friend is trying to investigate his death. The novel was begun by the writer in 1913, during the period between two revolutions, when there was a lull, but the ferment of minds continued.