MADE IN CYLAND

Yuz Aleshkovsky is said to have made the following schedule for his son’s edification:

8:00 wake up

8:05 brush teeth

8:15 reflect on life

8:30 have breakfast

And so on.

In the work Reflection on Life No. 125082 the numbering is provisional; let’s say that it starts from the date of birth No. 0, and the image in the Reflection on Life No. 1 should probably be seen upside down, the way a baby is supposed to see it…

Do the “exercises of reflection on life” make us better, wiser or kinder? I don’t know. Let’s leave that to Aleshkovsky’s son.

I still think that Reflection on Life No. 1 is akin to Reflection on Life No. 125082; needless to say, this is true if one doesn’t delve into the RULES OF THE GAME that by now have been committed to memory. — Anna Frants