We don’t need complicated subjects and plots - We know it all, whatever you give us. For instance, I think our Penal Code Is better than any book on earth. And if I’m restless and can’t sleep Or if I’m dead from a hangover, I’ll open the Code on any page, And I can’t help but read it to the end. I never gave my comrades advice, But I know robbery is a great honor with them. Well, I just read about this: "No less than three, no more than ten." Just think about these simple lines, - Why do we need the novels of all times and lands? There’s everything in them - barracks as long as terms, Scandals, fights, cards, and betrayal. I wish I’d never seen these lines in a hundred years - Behind each one I see someone’s fate! And I’m happy when the section isn’t too bad: Someone may yet get lucky. And my heart beats like a wounded bird When I start reading my own section. And the blood in my temples bursts and pounds so, Like when the cops come to get you.
© Sasha Volokh. Translation, 2004