"Never again". Sounds scary? But there is a word that can sound even more hopeless: "late." It is with this sad meaning that the work "Telegram" is literally saturated. The summary of this book, written by the great Soviet writer Konstantin Georgievich Paustovsky, we will consider today in our article.

about the author

Konstantin Paustovsky, born in 1892 in Moscow, is well known both at home and abroad. Romanticism and sentimentalism are the main genres in which the author writes. Paustovsky became especially widely known thanks to numerous stories and stories about nature for children. In his works, the writer skillfully uses the power and richness of the Russian language, he easily and gracefully conveys to the reader his view of the beautiful and noble nature of his beloved Motherland.

Paustovsky had to live in difficult times. He survived two world wars and two civil revolutions in the country. They did not pass him by, they had to actively participate. This could not but leave a serious imprint on his soul. And at the same time, nothing could ruin his talent and craving for beauty. He continued to write and create great things. World fame came to the writer shortly after the end of the Great Patriotic War, which gave him the opportunity to draw new impressions and inspiration from traveling around the world.

Paustovsky "Telegram": a summary

This small work is emotionally very capacious and affects deep human feelings. The topic of the relationship between parents and children is close and familiar to most people, so few people can remain indifferent after reading the book "Telegram". A brief summary of it can be contained in just a few sentences.

In a distant and remote village, a lonely elderly woman is living her last days. The old woman is so lonely that during the day she has no one to talk to, and even sleepless long nights and it’s not at all clear how to endure, how to live until morning ...

From old age she became quite weak and infirm, her eyesight weakened. Strangers, neighbors and fellow villagers take care of her. In the meantime, the native daughter of this lonely woman lives quietly in Leningrad. She does not often trouble herself with memories of her own mother, occasionally sends money, but she never writes letters that her mother would be so happy about.

And so, in one cold rainy autumn, the old woman, feeling that she could not survive the winter, and her age was coming to an end, wrote a letter to her daughter, asking her to come and visit her in the end. But she, busy with her own affairs, is in no hurry. At this time, she actively helps complete strangers. And with her mother at this time there are people who sympathize with her, trying to alleviate her longing for her daughter.

One of these people (watchman Tikhon) sends a telegram to Leningrad - a short message with the words that the mother is dying. But it's too late, the daughter does not have time, and the woman dies without waiting for her beloved blood.

It would seem that the whole story "Telegram" fit in a few lines. A brief summary, of course, can also impress a sentimental reader and touch him to the quick, but only after reading the entire book, a person will be able to feel the whole tragedy of this work. After all, the daughter, who seems so insensitive, also knows how to be sympathetic. And later she fully realizes her guilt and mistake. It's just too late... And with this heavy load, she will have to live on.

Screen adaptation of the story

Undoubtedly, the great author was Konstantin Paustovsky! The "Telegram", a brief summary of which we will consider in our article, struck the minds and hearts of many people. One of these people was the Soviet director Yuri Shcherbakov. In 1957, he made a short film of the same name based on the book.

The length of the film is just over half an hour, which is slightly longer than it takes to read the story itself. However, this film in black and white film adaptation is capable of deeply touching the soul. In terms of importance and emotionality, it is quite possible to put it on the same level as the story, they are in no way inferior to each other.

Marlene Dietrich and Paustovsky "Telegram"

Her wish was destined to come true - in 1964, at her concert in Moscow, she met 72-year-old Paustovsky. The writer was after another heart attack, but still went on stage to the singer at her request. He kissed her hand, and she knelt before him, confessing that after reading this book she felt that she simply had to kiss the hand of such a wonderful person. And she added in the end: "I'm happy that I managed to do it." Indeed, after all, Paustovsky died 4 years after this meeting.

About the book

Paustovsky wrote his story "Telegram" (a brief summary of which we will consider later) in 1946. A little later, the author will talk about what was the impetus for writing this work. In 1956, in his book "Golden Rose" (chapter "Notches on the Heart"), Konstantin Georgievich admitted that at one time he occupied a room in the same house with one unfortunate abandoned old woman - Katerina Ivanovna. She had a daughter, Nastya, who had gone to Leningrad and had not visited her mother for four years. The only support for the elderly woman was the neighbor girl Nyurka and the kind old man Ivan Dmitrievich, who visited her daily and helped with the housework.

And when Katerina Ivanovna fell ill, Paustovsky personally sent a telegram to her daughter in Leningrad. But the daughter did not have time and arrived only after the funeral.

As you can see, the writer has changed little in this life story. He even kept the names of some of the heroes. Obviously, this incident left a deep mark in his heart, the so-called notch.

Story structure

"Telegram" (Paustovsky) - a short work. In printed form, it takes literally 6 sheets, that is, 12 pages. And on average, it will take no more than 20 minutes to read this entire book - K.G. Paustovsky "Telegram". We will now consider a summary of the chapters. Although formally the story does not have such a division, however, when reading, several semantic parts can be conditionally distinguished:

part one - "Mother";

part two - "Daughter";

part three - "Telegram. Under a gloomy sky";

part four - "I didn't wait";

part five - "Epilogue. Funeral".

Each of the parts we have identified carries its own semantic load and is important in its own way in the structure of the book. We will consider all of them separately, this will allow us to put together a single picture.

"Telegram" Paustovsky. Synopsis: "Mother"

It is an unusually rainy and cold autumn. Loose clouds are dragging from behind the river, from which annoying rain is pouring. Katerina Petrovna is getting more and more difficult every day - her eyes and body are weakening, it is becoming more and more difficult to get up in the morning, and taking care of herself and the house turns out to be an overwhelming task. And even her voice is so weak that she speaks in a whisper. And exorbitant loneliness only exacerbates her situation, because she doesn’t even have anyone to talk heart to heart with. The description of the surrounding nature and the house in which the woman lives show that her life is long behind her.

But there are people who sincerely sympathize with the old woman and help her. This is the neighbor's girl Manyushka and the middle-aged watchman Tikhon. Manyushka visits her grandmother every day, brings her water from the well, sweeps the house, and helps in the kitchen. Tikhon, out of sympathy, also tried to help as much as he could: he chopped dead trees in the garden, chopped firewood for the stove.

From loneliness, Katerina Petrovna often cries, does not sleep at night and hardly waits for dawn. Her only daughter, Nastya, lives far away from her, in Leningrad, and three years have passed since her last visit. Once every couple of months, Nastya makes money transfers to her mother, but does not find time to write a real letter.

One night, Katerina Petrovna hears someone knocking at her gate. She gathers for a long time and with great difficulty reaches the fence. Then she realizes that she fancied herself and on the same night she writes a letter to her daughter asking her to come and visit her before her death. "My beloved. I won't survive this winter. Come at least for a day." Here is an excerpt from her touching and saddened letter. Manyushka takes her message to the post office.

"Telegram" Paustovsky. Synopsis: "Daughter"

And Nastya, her own daughter, worked as a secretary in the Union of Artists. Her responsibilities included organizing exhibitions and competitions.

She received a letter from her mother at work, but did not read it. These letters gave her mixed feelings. On the one hand, relief: the mother writes, which means she is alive. But on the other hand, each of them was like a silent reproach.

After work, Nastya goes to the workshop of the young sculptor Timofeev. He works in rather bad conditions, the room is cold and damp. The sculptor complains to Nastya that all his efforts go unnoticed, and he himself is unrecognized.

Looking at the sculpture of Gogol, Nastya for a moment feels a pang of conscience: a letter from her mother lies unopened in her purse.

Having seen the talent in the sculptor Timofeev, she decides that she will pull this man out into the world by any means, and goes to the chairman to organize an exhibition for him. She managed to agree and the next two weeks Nastya is busy preparing. The letter has been shelved. Thoughts of the trip, memories of the mother and her inevitable tears, only caused annoyance.

The exhibition is a success. Visitors admire the sculptor's work, Nastya also gets a lot of flattering words, who was able to show sensitivity and care for the artist and helped to bring Timofeev into the world.

And now, in the midst of the exhibition, the courier Dasha hands her a telegram, in which only three words are written: "Katya is dying. Tikhon." Nastya is so passionate about what is happening in the hall that she does not immediately understand who she is talking about and decides that it should be that the message is not addressed to her. However, after reading the address, he understands that there is no mistake. The news comes at such an inopportune moment for her that she crumples the telegram, frowns, and continues to listen to the speakers.

At this time, laudatory words are heard from the pulpit. A noble and respected in the circles of artists, the man Pershiy personally conveys words of gratitude to Nastya. He thanks her for her care and attention to the undeservedly forgotten author Timofeev. At the end of the speech, the speaker bows to Nastya, calling her Anastasia Semyonovna, and the whole audience applauds her for a long time, embarrassing her to tears.

At this moment, one of the artists asks Nastya about the telegram crumpled in her hand: "Nothing unpleasant?" To which she replies that it is so ... from one friend.

"Telegram" Paustovsky. Summary: "Telegram. Under a gloomy sky"

Everyone is looking at the speaker Pershin. But Nastya for a long time feels someone's heavy and piercing gaze on her. She is afraid to raise her head, it seems to her that someone has guessed. Looking up, she sees Gogol looking at her - a statue made by the sculptor Timofeev. The figure seems to say to her through her teeth: "Oh, you!"

At the same moment, an epiphany descends on the heroine. Having dressed hastily, she runs out of the hall into the street, where sleet is falling, and the gloomy sky is descending and pressing on the city and Nastya. She recalls the last letter, the warm words addressed to her by her mother: "My beloved!" Late enlightenment comes to Nastya, she understands that no one loved her as much as this abandoned old woman, and that she will never see her own mother again.

The girl rushes to the station in the hope of getting to her mother as soon as possible. All her thoughts are about only one thing: just to be in time so that her mother sees her and forgives her. The wind blows snow into your face. She's late, all tickets are sold out. Nastya hardly holds back her tears. But by some miracle, that same evening, she leaves by train for the village.

"Telegram" Paustovsky. Synopsis: "I Can't Wait"

While Nastya was fussing over the exhibition, her mother took to her bed. For 10 days she did not get out of bed, and strangers were with her. Manyushka spent days and nights near Katerina Petrovna. During the day, she stoked the stove, which made the room more comfortable, and then the grandmother mentally returned to those times when her daughter was still around. These memories bring her to a lonely tear.

Meanwhile, the good watchman Tikhon, in the hope of alleviating the expectation of an elderly woman, decides on a little deception. He negotiates with the local postman, takes a telegraph form and writes a message in it in clumsy handwriting. Arriving at Katerina Petrovna, he coughs for a long time, blows his nose and betrays his excitement. In a cheerful voice, he says that it is good that snow will soon fall and frost will strike, that this will make the road better and Nastasya Semyonovna will be easier to drive. After these words, he hands the telegram to his grandmother. Telegram, the summary of which is as follows: "Wait, left."

But the woman immediately recognizes his deceit, thanks for the kind words and care, hardly turns away to the wall and seems to fall asleep. Tikhon sits in the hallway, head down, smoking and sighing. After a while, Manyushka comes out and calls the old woman into the room.

Paustovsky, "Telegram". Summary: "Epilogue. Funeral"

The next day, Katerina Petrovna was buried in the cemetery, which was located outside the village, above the river. It got cold and snow fell. Guys and old women gathered to see her off on her last journey. The coffin was carried by Tikhon, the postman Vasily and two other old men. And Manyushka and her brother carried the lid of the coffin.

An important point is the appearance of a young teacher. When she sees the funeral, she remembers that she had the same old mother in another city. She cannot pass by and joins the procession. The teacher escorts the coffin to the very grave. There, fellow villagers say goodbye to the deceased, bow to the coffin. The teacher also comes up to the body, leans over and kisses Katerina Petrovna's withered hand, and then moves away to the brick fence. After that, she remains in the cemetery for a long time, listening to the conversations of the old people and the sound of earth on the lid of the coffin.

Nastya arrives in Zaborye the next day after the funeral. She found only a fresh grave mound in the cemetery and her mother's cold room. Nastya cried all night in this room, and in the morning she hurried to quietly leave Zaborye, so that no one would meet her and ask uncomfortable questions. She understood that no one, except her mother, could remove her heavy and indelible guilt.

Conclusion

So we sorted out the whole story "Telegram". A summary of the chapters illuminated the plot of the book for readers almost completely and, perhaps, even made them think about many things. But in order not to miss the important details that were invested by the author in literally every line of the book, of course, it is worth reading the entire work, especially since it will not take much time. Perhaps this short story "Telegram" will remind the reader that in the daily bustle and worries, in no case should we forget that there are the most important people in our lives - our relatives and friends. So that it won't be too late.