In the book of confessional prose by Valery Popov, the reader will relive the cheerful sixties, the bronzed seventies, the chaotic eighties, and the intriguing nineties. And the tricky ones today, when the author, by his own admission, finds it increasingly difficult to assert that “life is a success.” And yet – it was a success! If, of course, we consider life to be an eternal pursuit not for money, but for the fullness of sensations, and to prefer the luxury of human communication to material luxury. With an inimitable, “trademark” intonation, Valery Popov talks about his friends and acquaintances: both about famous people - V. Aksenov, A. Bitovo, I. Brodsky, A. Kushner, F. Abramov, S. Dovlatov, and about all those , who only by their presence in the author’s life helped him create a bright mosaic of several decades. The book "Burning Sleeve. Prose of Life" was included in the "long list" of the literary award "RUSSIAN BOOKER" - 2006