The Little Angel and Other Stories (Paperback)

1915. A collection of stories that seem to be tinged with even more than the ordinary tone of sadness found in the works of Russian writers. An abstract idea is the germ of each of his tales. Andreyev's story, Silence, serves as an example of his method: The silence of the frightened girl, dying with her secret, and of her mother, stricken, through shock, with paralysis, crushes the pride of the priest whose training has so stiffened his nature that he cannot express or welcome affection. He cries for help; he entreats them to show him pity. His daughter lies dead; his wife motionless. Contents: The Little Angel; At the Roadside Station; Snapper; The Lie; An Original; Petka at the Bungalow; Silence; Laughter; The Friend; In the Basement; The City; The Marseillaise; The Tocsin; Bargamot and Garaska; and Stepping-Stones.