Novelist and short story writer Alexandr Ivanovich Kuprin (1870-1938) was one of the most widely read authors of his time. Nabokov called him the Russian Kipling for his stories about people who are often “neurotic and vulnerable”. Many films and radio programs based on his works have been produced. These 15 short stories, typically “artful studies of abnormal states of mind”, were selected from various sources. The collection includes “Easter Day” (a chance meeting); “The Picture” (intense envy); “Hamlet” (a fading actor); “The Last Word” (a psychotic confession); “Dogs’ Happiness” (strays in jeopardy); “A Clump of Lilacs” (a wife’s ingenuity); “Anathema” (a curse); and “Tempting Providence” (homeward bound). “The White Poodle” and “The Elephant”, appropriate for all readers, were intended by the author to be read aloud to children. ( Lee Smalley)     [chương_files]