Pit

"Pit" — the most tragic work of Kuprin, which at the time made an effect like a bomb exploding among readers and critics, and even now stuns with its power and ruthless realism. The sad story of the inhabitants of a mid-level brothel is told with almost photographic accuracy. The characters of the "night butterflies," their clients, and the only friend — a journalist, whose image has autobiographical traits in Kuprin's work, impress with psychological depth and brightness. The novel captivates not with the piquancy of the theme, but with the author's honest, unprejudiced, and human attitude towards the fate of the girls whom circumstances led into the "Pit".