"Dry Valley" was regarded as another huge step forward for Bunin. While "The Village" dealt metaphorically with Russia as a whole in a historical context, here, according to the author, the "Russian soul brought into the focus in the attempt to highlight the Slavic psyche's most prominent features." "It's one of the greatest books of Russian horror, and there's an element of liturgy in it... Like a young priest with his faith destroyed, Bunin buried the whole of his class," wrote Gorky.