The Russian Nurse

By: Brian Friedkin

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In this short 5,225 word novelette's first page Violetta, the Russian Nurse, runs into a friend, Rosa Green, who says to her: “Life has lost its meaning for me. I am going into this drug store here to buy sleeping pills to kill myself.” “What? You are going to kill yourself?” Violetta asks. “Yes, life has no value for me.” “Well, in that case, Mrs. Green, why not kill yourself like we do in Russia?” “How do you do it in Russia?” “First of all you drink some vodka. Then you eat big dinner. Not just normal dinner, but very good meal—a feast. Then you drink more vodka and eat more good food. Then you drink more vodka and then you kill yourself.” Mrs. Green looked pensive and said, “The Russian way sounds like it is a good way to kill yourself.” The tale that continues is a suicide feast with the two women eating and drinking and having conversations ranging from the absurdity of life to Violetta's parents' ordeals during the Nazi siege of Leningrad. This novelette is based on a true story.