From the publisher A lyrical and satirical novel in letters. Two St. Petersburg residents, one very middle-aged, the other not so young, both writers, both journalists, but from different circles, from different corners, gossip carelessly, as God bestows, about the mores of the street and the elite, about the tastes of the people and bosses, about the wickedness of the political day, about the meaning of classical texts... Humor argues with wit: whose style is easier? - and both are trying to joke with the mistresses of life - Stupidity and Vulgarity - realizing, however, that this is a hopeless matter.