Samuil Marshak (1887–1964) was a highly prolific and acclaimed Soviet writer, translator and critic, best known for his children's books.
Works by Marshak with their own pages on this wiki:
Tropes featured in Marshak's works:
- Break the Haughty: In The Cat's House, the Cat is a Rich Bitch and her doorman/butler Vasily isn't much better, until their house burns down and all their high-class friends refuse to help them.
- Evil Aunt: The Cat in The Cat's House shuns her little orphaned nephews who come begging for some food and to be warmed up a little. Laser-Guided Karma doesn't take long to arrive when her house burns to ashes the same night and the two kittens are the only ones who agree to take her in.
- Fair-Weather Friend: The Cat's wealthy friends in The Cat's House act incredibly nice at first, but the moment she loses her house and riches, they turn their backs on her.
- Forgetful Jones: Up to eleven in What an Absent-Minded One. The character can easily forget anything, up to and including what clothes are his or even what clothing looks like (in a hurry, he once puts on a frying pan on his head instead of a cap).
- Hired Help as Family: Vasily in The Cat's House is de jure the Cat's employee, but even as her worst Rich Bitch self, she treats him more like family, and he doesn't desert her even after she loses all her belongings in a fire.
- Insane Troll Logic: In The Baggage, a rich lady's puppy runs off from the train before it even leaves. The baggage handlers notice it several stations later, and their solution is to grab a huge stray dog and shove it into the car. When the lady discovers it after arriving at her destination, they explain that the dog has simply grown up during the journey.
- Ironic Echo: In The Cat's House, when her little nephews come begging at the door, the Cat coldly says that for starving kittens, the town has orphanages. When the Cat and Vasily come begging at the kittens' door, one of the kittens informs them that for wandering cats, the town has homeless shelters.
- Nursery Rhyme: Marshak has written many short, simple poems for children.
- Spoonerism: The eponymous character in What an Absent-Minded One can easily get confused about which letters go where.
