Memory of Alexander Garros

Galina Yuzefovich tells about the writer and his friend

In Israel, the journalist and writer Alexander Garros died on April 6. The death of Garros on Facebook was reported by his wife, writer Anna Starobinets. Garros was 41 years old. The fact that he was sick with cancer became known in September 2015; The family collected money for his treatment through social networks. Together with Alexei Evdokimov, Garros wrote four novels - “(head) Bruske” (2003 National Bestseller Award), “Gray Mucus”, “Factor of the truck” and “Chuchhe”. In 2016, a collection of his journalism “Unperemitted Play of Words” was published. The literary critic of Medusa Galina Yuzefovich recalls Alexander Garros.

In my life, writer Alexander Garros entered hand in hand 15 years ago with writer Alexei Evdokimov - his co -author, friend, classmate. In 2002, they, both Rigaians, editors of the culture department of the Russian newspaper “Hour”, wrote a basting romance romance about an office clerk, dumbfounded from the monotony of their right, routine life, and transformed into a city predator-dangerous, unpredictable and delightful. That year I was a member of the Great Jury of the National Bestseller Award-then the new and fashionable, and mine, including the enthusiasm helped the “puzzle” first to enter its short list, and then get, in fact, a reward.

Then Garros-Evdokimov had a short and brilliant strip of literary glory, a chic interview with Leonid Parfyonov (that is, the main TV star of Russia) on the picturesque St. Petersburg roof, the second novel “Gray mucus” (somewhat less successful). And then Alexander Garros suddenly changed and somehow matured in surprisingly: from the novelist, young talent and Anfan-Terrieg, he was rapidly re-qualified in a deep and completely mature publicist, a thin and wise editor, a wonderful screenwriter. And he married the most, perhaps, talented writer of his generation Anna Starobinets, their daughter was born, and then, just two years ago, a son.

Writers are non -public people, they rarely find themselves in the focus of universal attention with their personal life, with their love, family, children, and tragedies. Garros and Starobinets became heroes, so to speak, a secular chronicle, a year and a half ago, when Alexander was given an oncological diagnosis. Charity funds were powerless - they sacrificing adult patients reluctantly and little, and the treatment was required quickly, and the treatment is very expensive. And then Anna asked for help directly to the inhabitants of Facebook. She managed to write about Sasha, about her love, about her fear and hope so honestly, simply and piercing that suddenly he and Garros became relatives for thousands of completely strangers. I remember that Anya then said that an unfamiliar woman approached her on the street, asked if she was not a writer Anna Starobinets by chance, and having received an affirmative answer, gave 200 rubles - all that was found in the wallet.

Sasha was collected for the treatment of Sasha in Germany with the whole world - and raised. The whole world was worried and monitored by operation, chemistry, and rehabilitation. And after that they were also happy when the treatment turned out to be effective, remission came, and Anya with Sasha and the children-a barso-bars (as a 13-year-old Sasha-Jr. was nicknamed the family) and a very small penguin (under this name lives the son of Garros and Starobinsky Leva)-went to travel. Well, then, already last fall, all together hid their eyes from each other and did not know what to say when it became clear: the remission was short. The story of Ani and Sasha, their love and is very strange to write it, but it is time to get used to it - Sashina’s death has become the rarest of universal unity in our days, and today, with Anna, Starobinets mourn the entire Russian Facebook and neighboring territories.

Sitting in Israel and indulging, as he himself said, treatment, Garros asked me to send him e-books, and I did something that I never did: I sent him book layouts that publishes supply me. I think all the publishers would be happy to send him their new products themselves, but for some reason Sasha was shy to ask. Russian novels, translated, non-fiction-Sasha was a passionate, attentive and in a good way of omnivorous. Sometimes then he came to discuss them with me in a chat-he grumbled more often (completely fair-his literary taste was always flawless), but sometimes he was happy with something-so, he liked Tobol Alexei Ivanov.

At the Sashina request, I bought for him at the Non-Fikhn Fair, Alexei Gedeonov’s book “The Random Guest”-her Sasha wanted to read it on paper. The book was heavy, large, dear, and Sasha, the proud Georgian man (Latvian, Russian and Georgian blood really flowed in Sasha’s veins), was very worried that he introduced me to the consumption - he wrote, worried, tried to transfer or send me money. And I laughed it off, said that I would only take it personally, from his hands, and only in Moscow, where he, I was sure, would return after recovery. I had a “random guest” for a couple of months, and when she nevertheless reached the addressee, Sasha did not come to talk to her with me. And then I realized that his time was running out.

The death of Alexander Garros from those things that should not occur. It sounds indecent banality, but it was so good - so kind, noble, talented, loving and loved, which simply should not have had the right to die. Such people do not die in the age of 41, we were all sure - both those who knew Sasha personally, and those who read his texts, and those who learned about him from the anin -merciful posts. Despite everything, we continued to believe that he would be cured, that Anya and Sasha will certainly grow a badger and penguin, that both of them will be published new books. Until the worst recent days, the reports of which on Facebook by Ani are similar to open wounds, we believed in a miracle (and those who can pray, prayed for him). We were arrogant in our confidence: the creature, which penetrated into Sashino, was stronger than Anina of love, and our hopes and prayers.

Sasha has a wife in our world (now we need to say a “widow”, but it seems to me that you can postpone it), two children, parents, friends. And he also had a book - a collection of his journalism "Unperemitted Play of Words." “Suddenly what will happen,” said the wise editor Elena Shubina, in a hurry to release the book last summer, so that Garros would necessarily hold it in his hands, “and the book will be.” So it happened: Sasha is not, but there is a book. It is hardly such a good consolation, but this is a very, very good book - almost as good as Sasha himself. I don’t know about your plans, but I personally plan to start re -reading it right now.

Galina Yuzefovich