简介：Eddieisaworking-classteenagerin1959Kharkov.Hehangsoutwithshadycharacters,butisalsoagiftedpoet,albeitonewhouseshistalenttodistractcrowdswhilehisfriendpicks-pockets.Hepursuesalocalbeauty,Sveta,promisingheradateinarestaurantwiththeimplicitassumptionthatshewillrepayhimsexually.WhenhecatchesSvetakissinghisfriend,Edshowsupatherflatwithaknife,butrunsoffbeforesheopensthedoor.HewandersthesnowystreetsandnearlycommitssuicidebeforehismotherfindshimandhashimputintheSaburka,aninfamouspsychiatrichospitalwhosepatientshadincludedtheartistMikhailVrubel’andthefuturistpoetVelimirKhlebnikov.ThereEdbondswiththeothermaltreatedpatients,oneofwhomintroduceshimtotherichnessofRussianliterature.Afterabriefescape,duringwhichheclimbsachurchtowerandpraysfor‘aninterestinglife’,Edisrecommittedtotheasylum,whichpromptshismatestostagea‘storming’ofthehospital(àlathestormingoftheWinterPalaceinOctober1917)inprotest.Whenheisfinallyreleased,hehaslearnedhardtruthsabouthisplaceintheworldasasonandanartist.…