Albert Likhanov is a children's writer. Today we will present you one of his most famous works, more precisely, his summary. Last Colds is a story he wrote in 1984. The book makes a truly amazing impression. It describes the growing up of a person, as well as a terrible, brutal war. We can assume that this story is specifically on military subjects. Only this is not so. This story is not about people in the rear and the heroism of soldiers, it is a story about children in those terrible years.
Summary: "Last cold"
The book begins with the fact that the boy Kolya recalls the teacher, Anna Nikolaevna, who taught him school lessons, as well as life lessons.
Then it was 1945, there was a war. The narrator was supposed to graduate from elementary school a year and 2 months later.
Constant hunger
The following is a summary of The Last Colds, which tells you that you are hungry all the time. In general, all the guys could conditionally be divided into 3 groups: simple, punks and jackals. Simple guys were afraid of everyone else. Jackals took food from everyone, while the punks simply inspired fear with all their looks, while it caused a feeling of a completely dumb crowd.
At some point, when Kolya was eating, he left the soup (itās unthinkable for the narrator, since his mother always taught me to eat everything, even if he didnāt like the food). One of the jackals hooked up to him imperceptibly for him, and began to beg for the rest of the soup with his eyes. At this moment, the narrator hesitated, although he gave him food. He noticed this boy, calling himself yellow-faced. In addition, he noticed one guy from the punks, who made his way out of the line among the small ones. He called him Nose.
A few days later, eating again, he again saw a yellow-faced man who stole bread from a very young girl, which caused a terrible scandal. After that, the Nose gang decided to beat the yellow-faced, but it turned out that, in general, they really didnāt know how to fight, they were noisy. Then the yellow-faced Nose grabbed his throat and began to choke. The gang fled in horror. And the yellow-faced walked to the fence. There he fainted. Seeing this, Kolya began to call for help, and the boy was brought to his senses. It turned out that he had not eaten anything for 5 days, and stole bread for himself and his sister Mary. Then the narrator found out that the name of the yellow-faced is Vadka.
Heroes
It is necessary to tell about the heroes, making up a brief summary for this story. āLast Coldsā show us completely different children during the war years. So, the storyteller lived with his grandmother and mother, his father fought. At home, his women were āwrapped in a cocoonā, as he said, sheltered from any troubles. In general, he did not starve, he was always shod and dressed, did not miss classes.
But Marya and Vadka lived very differently. Their father died at the very beginning of the war. Mom was with typhoid in the hospital, and there was little hope of recovery. The girl lost somewhere food coupons, so her brother was forced to jackal, get food with his cunning. At the same time, they did not fall morally. Children constantly thought about their mother, always lied to her in their letters so that she would not worry at all. They lived in a very poor house. The storyteller found out all this by talking with Vadka.
Help children
Describing the summary (āThe Last Coldsā), it is worth noting that the storyteller was drawn to Vadka like a magnet. He respected this strange, yellow-faced boy. At some point, it turned out that Vadka did not have enough money, and in order to survive in the cold, he asked the narrator for a while for a jacket. He went home and talked with his grandmother, whom he told about Marya and Vadka, as well as about their difficult situation. But the grandmother did not allow him to give the jacket. But the narrator went against her will. He took the wardrobe and ran to the guys on the street. A little later, the narrator's mother approached them. He told her what was the matter, but the mother, unlike her grandmother, reacted to the children with sympathy, fed them well, and they fell asleep at the table right from satiety.
School walking
Albert Likhanov described the life of these children in a very interesting way. āLast Coldsā is a story about true friendship. So, the next day the three of us gathered to go to school. The girl went, and Kolya and Vadka skipped school for the first time. The yellow-faced and the narrator, who got caught up with him, went to seek food. At first, Kolya was very indignant, because Vadik was well-fed, and their grandmother and mother invited them to visit again in the evening, so why look for food? He asked the boy this question, and he said that the narratorās relatives were not required to feed him. He acted nobly, did not want to sit on someone else's neck.
Cake
Vadik and Kolya beg for a meal, went to the market. The yellow-faced talked about his own "survival technology."
Mothers
Composing a summary of the story āThe Last Coldsā, you need to tell about the relationship of children with their mothers. So, when Kolya was with Vadim, he very actively compared them. The narrator was always under the auspices of his mother, he did not spare her in any way, he was not afraid for her. And Vadikās relationship with his mother was completely different: he himself said that he was very afraid for her, that after the death of their father she had changed a lot. Such an attitude to a loved one speaks of the boyās already matured age; he, unlike Kolya, has already seen a lot in life. Even wrinkles appeared on his face, sometimes he resembled an old man.
Returning from school, Marya scolded Vadik for skipping classes, and said that she was given food stamps. The children finally ate in the dining room, but the girl was taken away the second, after which her brother drove off the offender.
The main characters (āLast Coldsā) leave the dining room, laugh, joke. Vadik's coat was torn with a knife, the girl cried. The yellow-faced goes to school, because he was called to the headmaster, while Kolya escorts Marya home. Here they wrote a letter to her mother, while a not-so-talkative storyteller was suddenly attacked by a writing spirit, perhaps because he introduced himself in the place of the children.
Then they went home to Kolya, did homework there, ate. A yellow-faced man with textbooks and a whole portfolio of food came in ā he was transferred to him through the director of the teacher. Vadik accuses the storytellerās mother of having been called to the director, as well as of these handouts. But mom says she has nothing to do with it. She seats the boy at the table, he reluctantly, but agrees. They start talking about the bath. It turned out that Vadik and Marya, after her motherās hospitalization, washed once because of the terrible constraint of the girl to go to the public bath, and she herself could not wash, it was difficult. The narrator says about his childhood that you seem to be free, but this is not so, you are not free. At some point, you will definitely need to do something that your soul resists with all your might. And at the same time they tell you that it is so necessary, and you, suffering, struggling, resting, do all the same what is required.
When Marya and Vadka leave, mother Kolya scolds for skipping classes, by the way, the first in his life.
May 8th
After some time (May 8), Kolya in the behavior of his mother notices a strange fuss, and there are tears in her eyes. He suggests that something happened to his father. But she says that everything is in order, after which she suggests that he go to visit Vadka and Marya. There, the mother also behaves unnaturally. The narratorās suspicions about dad are intensified, only with him is everything really in order.
9th May
Victory Day has arrived. The whole country rejoices, people seem close to each other, because they are all united by great joy, as Likhanov described. āThe Last Coldsā (the contents are presented in brief in this article) expresses with this description an amazing pride in their country.
At school, no one could sit still. Anna Nikolaevna told her students that some time would pass, and all of them would become adults. Everyone will have children, then grandchildren. More time will pass, and those who are now adults will die. Then only they will remain, children of the past war. Their children and grandchildren of war will not know. Only they will remain on Earth, people who will still remember it. It may happen that the guys forget this grief, this joy, these tears ... And she asked them not to allow this. Do not forget yourself and do not let others forget.
Mother's death
The narrator went to the house of Marya and Vadim. There was no light in their apartment, but the door was open. The girl lay in clothes on the bed. Vadik was sitting beside her on the floor. He said that their mother died a few days ago, and they only found out about it today. May 9 was a holiday not for everyone.
They were sent to an orphanage. The narrator visited them once, only the conversation they somehow did not work out. He has not seen them since, since the children were transferred to another orphanage.
End of work
The story āLast Coldsā ends with the words that sooner or later the war will end. But much slower than the enemy, hunger recedes. And tears do not dry for a long time. And dining rooms were opened with additional food, where jackals live - hungry, small, innocent children. This must not be forgotten! So ordered Anna Nikolaevna.
"The Last Colds": review
It is very difficult to leave a review about this work. We are well-fed people, we did not know war and hunger. And itās very scary to imagine the fear and despair of people of those years, small, innocent.