A plague on both your houses : a novel in the shadow of the Russian mafia

A plague on both your houses A novel in the shadow of the Russian mafia

Robert Littell, 1935-

Book - 2024

"On Christmas Day, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev delivered a ten-minute televised speech announcing his resignation as Soviet president. Moments later, with little pomp and less circumstance, the red flag was lowered from its floodlit perch atop the Kremlin, and the Soviet Union ceases to exist. Into the vacuum--before a new democracy has time to put down roots--surged the Russian mafia, supplying what the new state could not: krysha, or "roof"--protection for the privately owned businesses sprouting up across the country. Rivalries turned bloody as Moscow's Jewish mafia battled the Ossete vory v zakone (literally "thieves-in-law") for control of the city. Caught up in the mayhem, Yulia, only daughter of the Jewish m...afia godfather, and Roman, only son of the Ossete mafia godfather, navigated the minefield of a star-crossed love affair as they attempt to escape a destiny that appears preordained. A Plague on Both Your Houses is the fictional story of one bloody episode in Moscow's Great Turf War, when clans fought brutally in the streets and the future of the Russian nation was anything but assured."--Inside front jacket flap.

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Subjects
Mafia > Russia > Fiction.
Man-woman relationships > Fiction.
Historical fiction.
Genres
Historical fiction
Published
Ashland, OR : Blackstone Publishing 2024.
Language
English
Main Author
Robert Littell, 1935- (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
219 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN
9798212227711
Contents unavailable.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Romeo and Juliet meet the Russian Mafia in this bloody saga. Mikhail Gorbachev resigns, and the Soviet Union becomes the Commonwealth of Independent States. But with communism suddenly gone, capitalism faces enormous hurdles. Anyone trying to start a new business must pay criminals for a roof, or, in Western parlance, for protection. Two major gangs vie for control of the Moscow turf. Timur the Lame, a veteran of Strict Regime Corrective Labor Colony No. 40, is said to descend from Tamerlane. But the "Israelite pakhan Naum Caplan is the new boy in town." Pakhan is the honorific given the senior vor, or thief. Timur's gang happens to hate Jews--international Jewish conspiracy, yadda yadda--but they would probably kill each other over the lucrative turf anyway. Roman Timurovich Monsurov, Timur's son, is attracted to Yulia, Caplan's daughter. The pull is mutual and mostly physical, though it could develop into love if they were given a chance. A suspicious Timur warns, "Beware of tying knots with Jewesses, my darling son." But then one of Timur's thugs shoots one of Caplan's thugs in the knee, Caplan decides to repay the offense with interest, and a war is on. Meanwhile, Osip Axelrod is chief of the Organized Crime Control Department, and his boss wants him to deliver Timur's scalp on a platter. Literally. "Help them kill each other off when you can!" boss man says; "What Mother Russia needs to become great again…is more funerals." Romeo and Juliet--sorry, Roman and Yulia--decide to escape all the mayhem if they possibly can. The Shakespearean plot would be clear even if the lovers' names had been Boris and Galina, but the author lays it on thick with several references to Willy Shake Shaft. Duh, hit me over the head again, Mr. Littell! That said, the author illuminates the turbulence in post-communist Russian society, a perfect venue for a crime yarn. Star-crossed lovers and warring gangs: Methinks the Bard would love it. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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