King of Odessa: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A cleaver and imaginative novel
Review: Rosenstone examines a well known literary character, Isaac Babel, and creates a novel that is quite magical. Babel, who is already a famous writter, goes back to his hometown of Odessa, leaving behind a wife and child in France. While there, he encounters much excitement and intrigue with the many people and places he encounters. Using the letters, postcards and knowledge of the life of Isaac Babel, Rosenstone weaves together fact, fiction and farce, and creates a book which is as ejoyable to read as it is beautifully written. Up until the last pages, the reader is unaware if what he/she is seeing is fact, fiction or both, or if it really does not make any difference in the end. A must for anyone interested in intelligent literally fiction with a unique twist.

Rating:
Summary: terrific debut novel
Review: Rosenstone takes on the daunting task of imagining the life of Soviet writer Isaac Babel, whose literary reputation was lost/destroyed during the Soviet regime's darkest and most repressive days. In this fictitious re-creation of Babel's return to his hometown before being arrested and executed as a spy, Rosenstone creates the possibility that Babel was actually involved in a plot to help political dissidents flee. This is a tragic cautionary tale, a must-read for those interested in the genre.