Sin puka

At the time when Valentin Kataev wrote this story, the topic of war and children had not yet been exposed so much, so the work aroused great interest. But even now it remains special, atmospheric and causes a sickening feeling in the soul.

One situation inspired the writer to create this story. In 1943, he saw a boy dressed as an adult soldier. Everything was as it should be, only it was clear that the clothes were sewn for a child. The boy said the scouts found him in the dugout, lonely and hungry, and took him away. So he started living with them. The hero of this story is similar to this boy in many ways. He lost his father in the first days of the war, his mother was killed by the Germans. Left completely alone, he wandered the woods for about three years until he was found.

This story makes you see the war through the eyes of a child, it evokes mixed feelings, but mostly sad. It hurts so much to watch children calmly deal with death and cruelty. It's hard when a child doesn't have a childhood, when blood and pain become familiar. The writer makes you feel in every word, on the one hand, admiring the boy Vanja, and there were many similar to him, on the other hand, who sympathize with him.