Vladimir Kantors Povest-parable recounts a Christmas story of imposed sanctity. Philosopher Boris Kuzmin falls ill with a severe ulcer attack before Christmas, finding himself on the brink of Hell. The hospital ward forms a chaotic microcosm, with helpless patients facing the tyranny of unethical medical staff. The three-headed hydra of doctors sees themselves as fanatics of Russian sacrifice, sacrificing innocent lives for the greater good. The philosophers nightly vigils and the executioner named This, That, and The Other, draw parallels with V. Nabokov and Kafka. Against them stands Boriss wife-owl, representing enlightened Christianity and resembling Beatrice.
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