Mosaic (Paperback) | Released: 26 May 2013

Mosaic is a collection of all the episodes of my youth from the early days of 1920's to 1930's in Odessa, USSR, that have been retained in the folds of my memory. I've arranged these episodes in chronological order, one that has settled into a colorful image much like a mosaic. Some of these are snippets of 5 to 10 lines. Others - a couple of pages or more. Several bare witness to significant events: the scenes of famine on Odessa streets during the Collectivization period. Or the bombing of the Confederated Orthodox Cathedral during the "Anti-Religion" campaign. Other episodes were then only of interest to me personally. But each segment proved necessary to paint a vivid portrayal of a life. We can't remember everything; we retain only separate episodes, tiny fragments of the past. They may be separated considerably by time, whether months or mere minutes. They do not have a unifying plotline. They are suspended in space. This space the writers of memoirs fill up with conjectures that may closely resemble what had been, but which can never be the same. This is similar to adding chlorinated tap water to pure cold crystal-clear spring water. There will be more water, but what kind of water will that be!All this peculiarity of "Mosaic" distinguished from memoirs of my contemporaries who have written about their childhood in those distance 20's and 30's. The episodes written about in "Mosaic" are what were. I have added nothing and subtracted nothing. I do not tell about it but rather I show them in what may be called pictures made not but with words.This is second important peculiarity of "Mosaic".There is more. I am describing some children's play.Like the other children whose parents were away at work during the day, I grew up in the courtyard of a large communal building. Hundreds of people lived in the annexes that surrounded the rectangular courtyard. Every resident knew everyone else's business, so did I. When I grew up a bit I discovered the street. The street "knew" a lot, and I learned from street. That's why the readers of Mosaic are introduced to so many characters and scenes in the fragments. I was engrossed in childish concerns and these have a significant place in Mosaic. The children's passionate involvement in play that may rival the most dedicated baseball fans' at a ballpark? In this aspect, Mosaic is also different. To add, a genuine work of literature must bring to life both the time and the people, and the manner in which this is conveyed is particularly important. If George Leclerc's saying "The style is the man himself" is just, then its essence will be reflected in my memory fragments.