Alexander Stesin, "New York Bypass," Moscow: NLO, 2024

This book has already been reprinted several times and recently saw another. In "New York Bypass," physician, poet, and novelist Alexander Stesin recounts his experiences working in city hospitals, but reveals a much larger world. New York City, in all its diversity, becomes a source of observations on both human nature and humanity in general: various national, intellectual, and religious traditions are intertwined in stories organized geographically: one section per neighborhood. Oncologist Alexander Stesin tells stories of victories and defeats, the departures and returns of those who, with him, grapple with the ultimate human question—life and death. 

"Among the patients in our department, there are those old enough to be my fathers, and those old enough to be my fathers. But seeing your own birth year listed on a patient's medical record is particularly jarring."