Denis Sobolev’s new novel “Legends of Mount Carmel” immerses the reader in the exciting, enchanting and terrible world of the Eastern Mediterranean and human existence. Sobolev writes about the search for the past to which we are all doomed, a changing past, often almost elusive, but at the same time so significant. This is a book about the human soul, immersed in a history beyond its control, about the passage of time, about the inescapable tragedy of human life, about what exists and what has not come true, about hope, self-deception and the loss of illusions, about finding something meaningful. This is a book about a city and a place. For two thousand years, different eras and cultural worlds pass through the city and are reflected in its legends, dreams and fantasies. Over the past few years, Sobolev’s prose has acquired new relevance and consonance for the Russian reader. His “Legends” return to seemingly long-discarded problems of soul and word, humanity and compassion, loyalty and self-interest, peace and war, to the fine line between the need to defend one’s country and the excesses of verbose patriotism. The novel's chapters tell not only different stories, but also different ways of seeing, thinking, and talking about the world. They require both attention and a critical eye from the reader. This unusual book refuses to think for the reader, but strives to think with him.