编者按：这是一篇颇堪玩味的小说。作者在两个性格迥异的民族的代表间的对话中，对俄罗斯人的“国民性”作着鞭辟入里的痛切的分析。这绝不是出于庞大帝国的解体和连年的社会动荡而产生的民族自卑感，恰恰相反，伊斯坎德尔的这种自我剖析的勇气源于一个民族的自信心。主人... Editor’s note: This is a very pondering novel. In the dialogue between representatives of two different nationalities, the author made a sharp analysis of the “national character” of Russians. This is by no means the national inferiority resulting from the disintegration of the massive empire and the social turmoil in successive years. On the contrary, Iskander’s courage in this self-analysis stems from the confidence of a nation. the host...