Katayev Valentin. A Mosaic of Life or The Magic Horn of Oberon. Memoirs of Russian Childhood

London, Melburn: Angus and Robertson Publishers, 1976. - 447 c.
Translated by Moira Budberg and Gordon Latta.These recollections of turn-of-the-century Russia by the distinguished author of Squaring the Circle, The Grass of Oblivion and many other works, are an enchanting experience, evoking with rare charm and humor a world that is now lost and was even then in the process of change. This is history in its most readable and enjoyable form. In a letter to his granddaughter at the beginning of the book, Katayev writes:
I will try to concentrate on my memories in exactly the way that Tolstoy advised: in no particular order, just as they come, as I remember them, never forgetting, however, that art does not tolerate self-consciousness. From now on, may I be inspired by imagination and feeling.