In the alternative reality of Alexandra Shalashova's new novel, the Soviet Union has not collapsed, but its signs are not too noticeable to the heroes - they are experiencing a deep internal crisis and are immersed in memories of a catastrophe that happened to them in the past. However, the border between “remember” and “forget” in this world is unsteady and conditional: here everyone can be exposed to the Reader, a neurocorrection device, and find themselves forgotten by everyone. They say that ‹…› that a person who is interrogated with the help of a Reader is forgotten by everyone . He simply falls out of memory, as if he never existed. They say that it is merciful that the wife will not remember her husband in prison, and therefore will not suffer. They say that this is one of the most important inventions of our time. Therefore, all significant people in a person’s life are certainly called to the court as witnesses. In the center is the story of a complex and painful relationship between a teacher and a student. The teacher promises Lesha a new life outside the orphanage and creates a community of children united by the ideas of freedom and universal equality outside the state. Lesha becomes deeply and sincerely attached to his teacher, until one day he commits betrayal. It seems that only the Reader can help forget about betrayal. But what if the machine malfunctions and it becomes impossible to part with the past forever? The hero faces a difficult choice: to remain an ordinary person or to continue the path of his teacher? The reader, seeing his clearly open book, allows him to make this choice. What is happening to his memory. It’s as if a puddle of darkness rose from the floor and covered him when he was not expecting it. And you need to think, train yourself even in the darkness - but only how can you do this when It doesn’t include me either, when I disappear on my own? For whom For a wide range of readers: everyone who is interested in modern Russian-language prose.