4. "Last Watch" by Sergei Lukyanenko

Sergei Lukyanenko concludes his "Day Watch" series with Last Watch. Like the previous novels, this one consists of a mini-trilogy, three connected stories that contribute to a larger narrative. 

Anton Gorodetsky, our narrator and a Higher Magician on Moscow's Day Watch, travels to Edinburgh, Scotland, to investigate the murder of a young Russian man by what appears to be a vampire. Sent by Gesar, head of the Day Watch, Anton is surprised and wary to also receive offers of help from Zabulon, head of Moscow's Night Watch. When Anton arrives in Edinburgh, he discovers a complex conspiracy formed by a Light One, a Dark One, and a Higher Vamipre, who are seeking to find and use a spell created by Merlin. Not only are they willing to shed blood, but if they unleash the spell, they have the potential to destroy all Others (those with magic powers and/or natures). 

As usual, the world of the Others fails to fall into simple Light/Dark, Good/Bad binaries. Anton struggles with his own sometimes ruthless boss, as well as his compassion for human beings and his protective instincts as a father and husband. A foray to Uzbekistan adds a somewhat exotic flavor to the tale and fleshes out the character of Gesar more comprehensively. 

This may not be the best entry in the series--I think the first novel, Day Watch, was the strongest--but it's an entertaining and essential read for fans of the previous books. For anyone who hasn't read the earlier novels, though, I'd advise doing so before tackling this one.

41. "Kashtanka" by Anton Chekhov

Awhile back, I found a hardcover picture book at Goodwill--my new favorite place to buy books--with a waif-like dog on the front cover. I try like anything to avoid books with sad-looking animals on the covers, but this one turned out to be written by Anton Chekhov. And since I'm obsessed with anything Russian and Gennady Spirin's illustrations tugged at my heartstrings, I flipped through the pages to make sure nothing bad happened to the dog before I decided to buy the book.

Anyway, this tale is called Kashtanka. It's the story of a dog who loses track of her master, a cabinetmaker, starts to fall asleep in the snow, and is rescued by a fat stranger who also has a goose, a pig, and a cat. It turns out that he trains animals for the circus, where he works as a clown. He trains Kashtanka to join the act, but on her first night, she hears her name from high in the stands. The cabinetmaker and his son have come to the circus and immediately recognize her. The crowd helps a jubilant Kashtanka reach her family, and she goes home with them, happy and already forgetting the disruption in her life.

It's a sweet and whimsical tale. When I checked on Amazon for the link just now, I discovered that this edition--published in 1995--is apparently out of print. Ergo, I've used the cover of the French version just to show the illustration that made me take notice of the book. And now that I know it's out of print, I'm even more glad to have snagged a copy.