Vérification de la porte opposée brings together two collections of short stories by Sylvain Tesson published by Phébus in 2002 and 2004 as Nouvelles de l’Est (News from the East) and Les Jardins d’Allah (The Gardens of Allah), but significantly expanded with one hitherto unpublished text. In these twenty-odd stories, whether the author is describing post-Soviet Russia or the ravages of Islamic fanaticism, he is actually always talking to us – indulgently, melancholically, and humorously – about the lack of comprehension between East and West in particular, and different cultures in general. The previously unpublished short story, Les Naufragés de l’E19 (The Shipwrecked/Stranded of the E19), a dire Christmas tale, reveals society’s cynicism. As though Sylvain Tesson wanted to remind us, without really seeming to, that wherever you are, life is always confounding.