It’s a vast village close to mountains made of recycled materials, like bricks, wooden boards, plastic, and galvanized iron. Everything is built haphazardly, but everyone manages to find a spot, and Gloria says that we’ll be living in clover. I don’t want to contradict her, but I think that the Complex was much better than Souma-Soula. “Come on, Monsieur Blaise,” Gloria makes fun of me, “don’t annoy me with your French manners, and help me hammer this roof.” We become friendly with the Betov family, the one that was walking with a cart on the road. There is the father, the mother, the grandmother, and the five children. They are our new neighbors. They lend us a hammer and nails, and their son, Stambek, helps us carry what we need to build a shed. Now Gloria and I have to get busy. I learn to mix dirt, straw, and stones to fill in the gaps between the pieces of wood. I dig and flatten, I plant and lift. Gloria is very clever with her hands, thanks to what she learned at Vassili’s: she covers a window opening with plastic and puts a latch on the door so that it closes.
What do You think about A Time Of Miracles (2010)?
