The first part of the collection “Chernysh Syndrome” includes 23 stories by Dmitry Bykov - both previously published and completely new. The author of six novels and two voluminous literary biographies has a special relationship with them. He believes that “writing a good story is almost as difficult as living a good life.” And he compares his stories with dreams - “mine or others, sometimes funny, but more often scary.” In the second part of the collection, D. Bykov speaks in a new way for himself as a playwright. In the plays, as in his other literary works, satire coexists with lyricism, the grotesque with reality, and acute relevance with philosophical reasoning.