"How I truly did love the stories!... As before, they show a genius for a vividly detailed narrative, at times very funny and other times profound. The translation is a gift to the English-speaking world... I was transfixed by the story "Ten Past Ten," which I selected at random from the table of contents. I found it riveting and richly textured. The story changes how we view the world. It tears the two-dimensional canvass of an ordinary and common view and fits us with a prism through which we see things from a vivid and deeply different, multi-dimensional perspective. The story is evocative and, like a dream, delicate. Apply too much logic (ordinary perspective) and it crumbles into madness, defying rational understanding. Dreams, like a veil of smoke, are too ephemeral to grasp. The reader must learn to read on and allow a confluence of his own stream of consciousness with that of the boy's. Perhaps, then, the reader, too, will die and be reborn to a new urgency of the need to understand who he is and why he is here."
-- Larry Stammer

"Splendid writing! Your narration is full of charm. Your Russian-American language (syntax, use of terms, an so on) can become "a style". A "New Style", able to attract many new readers."
-- Marco Mascardi, Italian writer

"In one of the grand traditions of Russian literature, Brook attempts to transform rather sordid slices of life into art with powerful, fantastic imagery."
-- From Library Journal. Jim Dwyer, California State Univ., Chico

"The author has a very well-developed imagination and sense of fantastic... He has a unique style!"
-- Writer's Digest
2000 National Self-Published Book Awards

"I did enjoy reading your book. You are an excellent writer! I wish you well with " Hotel" and all your future work. You certainly deserve success."
-- Patrick Smith

"The six stories of Brook's fantasy-rich collection (his first to be translated into English) revolve around traditional Russian themes of loneliness and despair, transposed to foreign locales and flavored with a touch of poetic whimsy. After a few strong drinks, the depressed Russian village schoolteacher, the protagonist of the title story, watches a kaleidoscopic world of fantastic imagery unfold as he brazenly envisions searching for "paradise on earth" alongside Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Some stories' exotic settings disguise simple plots. In "A Ceiling with Lizards," a Russian man seeks shelter in a guesthouse in India where a young American teacher lives. He expects a romantic interlude, while she's desperately trying to escape a life of predictable expectations. "A Veranda for Showers," also set in India, features an American businessman with the uncanny ability to observe precise moments in life when "everything comes together." But when he tries to capture paradise by photographing a woman bathing under his hotel window, he is cruelly punished for his arrogance. Other stories rely less heavily on reverie. "Vodka and Broads," the humorous final tale, tells of a Russian businessman who immigrates to America and plots to achieve an independently wealthy life without ever actually working. Brook's prose is lyrical and evocative, with the intense, stop-motion energy of music video montage."
-- Publishers' Weekly

"You are, indeed, talented!.... I am green with envy.  What a feast of a language, description, and invention!  How fresh, natural, and skillful everything is!  What tender sadness and inimitable anguish!  In other words, I am choking from delight.  All the everyday scenes and dialogues are piercingly exact -- the very juice and taste of life."
-- Lev Lenchik, Russian-American writer

"I was surprised by the originality of Victor Brook's prose.  God only knows why and how such exotic and remarkable individuals appear in the midst of our diverse literary milieu."
-- Vladimir Salimon, Russian poet

"Indeed, Brook's prose is not only excellent, tender, and surreal, but from time to time it penetrates and pierces your heart."
-- Nikolai Klimontovich, Russian writer

"Victor Brook's novella The White-eyed Saleswoman may be expected to make its author famous in the nearest future."
-- From a review of the literary journal "Golden Age"

  TESTIMONIALS BY READERS (posted on www.amazon.com )

"As a student of the Rollins College, I took the course "Great Russian Writers". Victor Brook's collection of short stories has been my favorite, definitely the most entertaining and thought-provoking Russian literature I have read so far. Can you imagine?   I am currently writing a paper on the recurring theme of happiness in many of Victor Brook's works. Will his characters find happiness or will they simply pursue it in vain? Thank you, Victor Brook, for the great stories."

"These are stories for study, for re-reading, for analysis, for plumbing the depths of both human experience and the art of writing. Especially, these are stories for sharing with other lovers of REAL literature, those who are able to undertake an analysis of the nature of reality. Challenge yourself!"

"Coupling beautiful imagery with eloquent stream of consciousness writing, Victor Brook explores life and humanity in a way that is both refreshing and captivating. His ingenious insights will undoubtedly make a lasting impression on every reader. This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand life in a new and profound light."

"Victor Brook's stories talk about things that concern all human beings: loneliness, wasted lives, breaks in communication between men and women, misunderstanding of different cultures, broken dreams, and many other serious subjects. However, the stories are not "dark;" a spark of humor, a fanciful dream, or a beautiful description often softens their seriousness. Readers need not fear that the stories will relate and appeal only to Russians. On the contrary, Brook's works are universal and his characters could have been born in any country. This is great literature written in a style that will appeal to many readers."