All characters are fictitious and any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental. The book contains the first two chapters of the novel: “Cherry Petals” and “White City”. Short stories, called clips by the author, tell about the hero’s childhood and youth, his relationships with parents, peers and nature. The formation of his character is shown. The novel, consisting of 10 chapters and more than 150 clip stories, deals with the difficult fate of an ordinary person living in an unusual time in our extraordinary country. The photo on the cover was used from my personal archive.