Dear Team:

I would like to share with you all a letter Evgueni sent me in 2001 while he was translating my work. As you can see this was quite a challenge for Evgueni and I appreciate to this day having the privilege of working with him.

May he come back to us at a later date....

Michael

Michael,

I got all the lexicons and manifestoes, the mail works perfectly. All the pictures and all the forwarding messages.

The Little Monk feels very different. It seems to be easier to translate but I know the feeling is deceptive. First it was like a motorbike ride after a pick-up ride. =)

But seriously, the story is more "palpable" on the one hand, on the other it is a good balance to the rich texture of the Harvest. It is not as intoxicating as the Harvest but its clarity is like Hemingway's in _The Old Man and the Sea_. Clear-cut depth.

Irkutsk, Russia
This is where I was born: http://www.friends-partners.org/irkutsk/

Gizycko, Poland
This is where I live: http://mazury.info.pl/fotogaleria/jatkowski/gizycko.html

A good gallery, however the town is grim and dull in winter.

Alex and I were discussing the translation of the title. The one we agreed is "Brilliantovyye dorogi". Literally, it means "Roads of Gems/Diamonds". Except being suggestive for those who has read _On the Road_, it has another familiar ring.

It is the title of a very popular song by Nautilus Pompilius; its lyrics is widely known among the target reader audience.

The song itself can be heard at http://user.exit.mytoday.de/zaboj/Nau/mp3nau.html

Choose song 11. It's about 3.5MB

The lyrics are at http://www.nautilus.ru/SONGS/s07_07.shtml

I'll translate it and will send it to you within half an hour.

Evgueni