Olya

Olya is the main character of "Horse Soup." At the start of the short story, Olya is traveling with her boyfriend Volodya and her friend Vitka. While the friends are eating together on the train back to Moscow, a man named Boris engages them in conversation. Like her friends, Olya is confused and discomfited by Boris's manner. Her demeanor, however, begins to change when she realizes how much power she has over Boris. Boris is indeed enamored with Olya, particularly with the way that she eats. He therefore offers to pay her if she lets him watch her eat. This one-time arrangement soon turns into a full-time gig, when Boris asks her to meet with him once a month to perform the same ritual.

Over the course of the following 14 years, Olya meets with Boris on the first Monday of every month. At his apartment, she lets him...