For the first time in Russian - a new novel from the author of The English Patient, an amazing bestseller that captivated readers on all continents, was awarded the most prestigious Booker Prize in the English-speaking world and served as the basis for a famous movie that received nine Oscars. Once again we have before us a subtle and poetic love story, or rather, three whole stories, endlessly fascinating and resonating on different levels. Their characters are torn from their shared past, but maintain a connection with each other, highlighting the meaning of what it means to be in a family or alone in the whole world. The narrative is imbued with the idea of a double, two personalities in one shell, and therefore a Californian farm is reflected in an old French estate, the events of the First World War echo with television reports about the war in the Persian Gulf, and a card sharper seems to merge with a gypsy guitarist on the other side of the Atlantic...< /p>