From the Reminiscences of Private Ivanov

Although his literary output consists of only about 20 short stories, Garshin was a very talented writer with great moral sensitivity and compassion for human suffering--qualities that were given special stimulus by his army experiences during the 1877 war with Turkey. These times are reflected in "Four Days" (1877), a popular story of a wounded soldier who, for four days, remains on the battlefield next to the putrefying corpse of a Turk.

In spite of his literary success, Garshin grew increasingly morbid in his last years and ultimately committed suicide by throwing himself down a staircase. Of his stories, the best are the romantic "Attalea Princeps" (1880), a fable about a palm tree, and "The Red Flower" (1883), about an inmate of an insane asylum.

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