The Eighth Dwarf

by Ross Thomas

An ex-spy and his sidekick hunt for a rogue assassin of Nazi war criminals--"Thomas is without peer in American suspense" (Los Angeles Times). Nicolae Polscaru, a three-and-a-half-foot-tall dwarf, is tossed into a Hollywood swimming pool by four drunken screenwriters, who take bets on how long he can tread water. Minor Jackson, his OSS training still fresh a year after World War II's end, beats the bullies senseless and pulls Nicolae from the water. A friendship is born. Jackson is broke, his spying days over, and Nicolae offers him a job. A former spy himself, the globetrotting Romanian has a commission to find Kurt Oppenheimer, an expert assassin of high-ranking Nazis. Kurt won't stop killing, no matter what the bloodshed will do to the fragile world peace, and the Soviets, the British, and the remains of the Nazi High Command all want his head. Jackson will beat them all to finding Kurt--unless his new friend betrays him first.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Espionage, Audiobook, 20th Century, Historical Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Ross Thomas was an American writer of crime fiction. He is best known for his witty thrillers that expose the mechanisms of professional politics. He also wrote several novels under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck about professional go-between Philip St. Ives.

Thomas served in the Philippines during World War II. He worked as a public relations specialist, reporter, union spokesman, and political strategist in the USA, Bonn (Germany), and Nigeria before becoming a writer.

His debut novel, The Cold War Swap, was written in only six weeks and won a 1967 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Briarpatch earned the 1985 Edgar for Best Novel. In 2002 he was honored with the inaugural Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award, one of only two authors to earn the award after their death (the other was 87th Precinct author Evan Hunter in 2006).

He died of lung cancer two months before his 70th birthday.

Reviews

[Marty Fried · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all Ross Thomas books I've read, I liked this a lot. Mostly, I like the conversations and wit; the story was not as good as most of his other books I've read; the ending seemed a bit crazy, but it was still humorous, so I liked it. Most of his books are about people trying to make easy money fast, and there was a bit of that, at least for one of the characters.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second Ross Thomas book, after The Seersucker Whipsaw. I don't think it's QUITE as good as Whipsaw, but I still really enjoyed it. Thomas is one of those writers who makes me want to read his dialog and descriptions out loud all the time.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ross Thomas wrote a couple of dozen clever books about the worlds of spies and criminals. "The Eighth Dwarf" is about the middle of the pack. It shares the snarky dialogue and mordant cynicism of the rest. It's central plot mechanism is an international hunt for a particular proficient hit man just after World War II and just before the creation of the state of Israel. Among the hunters are Minor Jackson and Radu Florescu, the dwarf of the title. Both are cyncical to the max, and Florescu is a world class liar, but they are nice guys compared to all of the others among the hunters and hunted. Once in a while the snarkiness gets hard to bear, largely because of its nonstop nature.

[WendyMcP · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little romp around post World War II U.S. and Europe with unsavory yet lovable characters who blur the lines between "good guys" and "bad guys."

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly competent post-ww2 thriller by the always professional Ross Thomas, but one that spends a lot of time on the set-up and then rushes through the denouement, much to my disappointment. Still, as usual, the plot was completely unpredictable and there were more than a few of the notes of mordant humor that Thomas is known for.

The set-up: A brilliant but unbalanced German Jew whose family fled the country before the war stayed behind and spent his time killing top Nazis. Now that the war is over, he's come back to keep doing it, tracking down the ones who are hiding under new identities. His sister and father hire an unlikely duo to track him down so, she says, she can take him to a Swiss sanitarium to get better -- but meanwhile the intelligence agencies of the U.S., Britain and Russia are hunting for him for their own nefarious reasons, mostly involving the Israeli independence movement in Palestine.

The unlikely duo are the dwarf of the title, a Romanian with a deep voice, a cunning mind and a way with women, and a former OSS agent with a laconic, cynical air who is pretty sure he can't trust the dwarf, even though he saved the guy from certain drowning at a Hollywood party.

You might think the ex-OSS guy is the hero just because of who he is, but Thomas treats him as just one of the many players in this boiling plot, even to the point of signaling the reader that he's not a major character by calling him Minor Jackson. Instead, Thomas follows several characters as they compete with each other and dupe each other and tail each other trying to find the assassin first.

I did wish, after all the time Thomas spent setting up everything, and letting us in on the many conversations speculating on everyone's motivation and professionalism, that the ending hadn't suddenly developed a gallop and raced for the finish line quite so fast. Still, it was a fun ride while it lasted.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ross Thomas is known for his wry sense of humor and clever skewering of domestic and international US politics. He may have outdid himself with this one. A throwback to the very end of World War II in which everyone is trying to establish themselves following the bloody mess the Axis powers made, Thomas creates a caper in which the world’s major powers and some up-and-coming nation’s are looking for an elusive assassin with a penchant for killing Nazis.

Perhaps most famously done in Inglourious Basterds, Thomas doesn’t have lantern jawed Gentiles and Jews teaming up to operate behind enemy lines. Instead, chasing the elusive spy are a ridiculous cast of characters headlined by the worst ex-operative ever produced by the OSS and his companion, the well-connected, manipulating, avaricious, lust-fueled descendant of a Romanian count who has dwarfism (I don’t think it’s appropriate to refer to little folk as “dwarves” so I won’t). Nick, the Romanian, has to be one of the more fun characters of Thomas’ oeuvre: he’s witty, clever, a perfect counterpart to the wry, cynical America.

Amidst it all, Thomas gleefully punches all sides: from the living wreck that is the German population to America’s constant and hilarious need to be liked overseas, to the British futilely trying to maintain their grasp on global affairs. This is the book The Quiet American wishes it was and it’s twice as hilarious.

The plot spins its wheels a little in the middle. There are a couple of characters that don’t serve much of a function. It’s almost as if Thomas had an imaginary (or perhaps real) page count to hit so he inserted some unnecessary B and C stories. But whatever. This book is too much fun to dwell on that. And the ending is hilarious. This is a good gateway if you want to learn about Thomas’ style.

[Mike Zickar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ross Thomas! This was a mediocre work by a great writer!

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one of those Thomas books that make you wish he'd started a series. Who wouldn't want to see more distasteful adventures of these two knuckleheads in the post-war wasteland?

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six-word Review: Well plotted, great characters, Satisfying conclusion.

Full disclosure: I have never read a Ross Thomas book I didn't love.

Kurt Oppenheimer, Jewish sharpshooter and anti-Nazi assassin is running around postwar Germany. His father and sister living in Mexico as refugees would like to get Kurt to a shrink. They hire ex-OSS man Minor Jackson and an amoral Romanian dwarf Nicolae Ploscaru to find Kurt. They have competitors. British lntelligence wants to keep Kurt from going to Palestine where he might enlist in the Irgun and start killing British occupiers. The Russians, on the other hand, would love to have Kurt add to the Mid-East bloodbath. The Americans are caught up in the drama trying to support the Brits and foil the Russians.

The characters, as in all Ross Thomas's stories are delightful, particularly Ploscaru who tells anyone who will listen that he is not to be trusted and has a well-deserved reputation as a lover. The dialogue is comic and fast-moving. Thomas's descriptions of the weird postwar atmosphere in Germany added to the confused actions of the occupying forces lends a light and welcome touch to what could have been a depressing story.

Thomas keeps the reader guessing as to the next outrageous development as the plot unfolds but in the end, it all comes together. If you are not familiar with his work, this volume is a great introduction.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic spy thriller from Ross Thomas that spends far more time than usual on the internal states and relationships of its characters. This introspection offers a refreshing change from his other novels of the period, which tend towards action and economics. The Eighth Dwarf contains well-drawn characters, a typically complex plot that resolves three pages before the end of the novel and a beautifully rendered postwar Germany, where cigarettes are the most stable currency, the roads have yet to be cleared and everyone is on the take. An absolute ripper, The Eighth Dwarf currently rests among the top 5 Ross Thomas novels I have read.

[Dave Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ross IS the master of the espionage/crime thriller, hands down. Nobody does it better. This was fabulous and as I listened to the audio book I can say it was the finest narration I can remember, even the touch of Dracula in the Romanian's voice didn't go over the top. Spy thriller is not my cup of beer, but Ross, Ross and his dialogue and especially characters who are not really spies and assasins (that would be boring pablum) and spot-on background cannot be topped. I am a sucker for realistic and early cold war era stuff and as this set in Germany in the late 40's it can't get colder than that; Literally too with the coal shortage.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly better-than-average Thomas, which makes it pretty darn good.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much in the noir style.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerizing. Thomas could put together a cast of outcasts and make them work like a well oiled machine. Great stuff.

[Sean O · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun spy thriller. I'll definitely be reading more Ross Thomas

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never had a clear view of post WWII Berlin until reading this wonderful tale.

What did the hero's girlfriend do with those little whips anyway?

[Nick Arnstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun read. Great story! Ross Thomas was the best.

[Lee Witbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great spy story stuff. Good characters, great setting, excellent pacing, all good all around.

[Efranken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post WW II German thriller

[Jeffrey Powanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ross Thomas claimed that an editor took him aside once and offered the following writing tip: “Two things you never want to write about: dwarves and Chinamen. Nobody wants to read about dwarves or Chinamen.” After that, Ross defiantly wrote Chinaman’s Chance (1978), one of his best novels. He followed that book with this novel, The Eighth Dwarf (1979).

That story may be apocryphal, but it says a lot about Thomas. He didn’t tolerate bigots, and he didn’t need advice on writing.

The Eighth Dwarf is a nostalgic post-war thriller set in 1946, unusual for Thomas, who usually set his stories in the present. The title character is a devious, lusty, corrupt Romanian dwarf named Nicolae Ploscaru, who worked for British intelligence during the war. He teams with a laconic former OSS agent with the unusual name Minor Jackson. Both of them are hired by a family of Jewish refugees in Mexico to track down a family member named Kurt Oppenheimer, a lone assassin who is busy knocking off former Nazis in Germany. They aren’t the only ones trying to find Oppenheimer. The British, the Russians, and the Americans are all trying to locate him, with objectives that concern Palestine and the Israeli independence movement.

This book features all the hallmarks of a Thomas thriller: a rogue’s gallery of charming scoundrels, Thomas's mordant wit and cynical worldview, wonderfully entertaining banter, improbably-named characters, concise and vivid exposition, moments of surprising and chilling violence, and a complicated and unpredictable plot. Given that multiple characters with conflicting interests seek to find the Nazi-killing Oppenheimer, you can expect numerous double-crosses. It’s a wonderful portrait of the chaos of post-war Germany, where American cigarettes are the principal currency and everyone is looking for a way to profit from the black market. The book builds to a suspenseful conclusion in the small city of Bonn, although the resolution is a bit hasty.

Thomas employs limited third person point of view, avoiding the head-hopping annoyance of an omniscient narrator. In any chapter or scene, Thomas limits the point of view to one character only. But Thomas shows a lot more than he tells, so his narrator rarely reveals his characters' thoughts. He does it only to highlight emotions or insights that are difficult to show and that often surprise his characters. For instance, here's a revealing passage that shows Minor Jackson, the ambivalent former-OSS agent, allowing himself to be seduced by Leah Oppenheimer, the assassin's sister:

She had done something to her hair, although he was not quite sure what except that it was no longer worn in her usual maiden-lady fashion. Instead, it fell in soft waves almost to her shoulders. She also had done something to erase the evidence of her tears—perhaps a skillful application of makeup, Jackson thought, but wasn’t sure, because there was no evidence of makeup except for the faint touch of lipstick that she had added.

The dress helped, too. It was a plain black dress. Your simple, basic black, Jackson decided, which probably cost a hundred dollars. It was cut low and close enough to show off her breasts to good advantage, and for the first time he wondered how it would be to go to bed with her. He was faintly surprised that he hadn’t wondered about that before, because, like most men, he usually speculated about it shortly after meeting a woman. Any woman.

Thomas starts the novel from Jackson's point of view, which perhaps fools some readers (including me) into thinking that he's the main character. Nope, he's not, which is why Thomas gives Jackson the first name "Minor." He's a minor character. The main character is Ploscaru, the title character. It's a shame Thomas didn't write more novels featuring Ploscaru and Jackson. They'd make a great team for a thriller series.

I enjoyed The Eighth Dwarf as much as other Thomas books I’ve read. It may not be Thomas's best work, but it's better than most other thrillers. He was a consummate professional, and his novels always supply several hours of entertainment.

Note: I’ve added a star because this is the book I needed for these covid-19 times. In “normal” times, it may have garnered only four stars.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another very entertaining novel from the great Ross Thomas, who blended just the right amount of cynicism, wry humor, and intelligence into virtually everything that he wrote. Published in 1979, before the term commonly ascribed to people suffering from dwarfism became politically incorrect, The Eighth Dwarf is a standalone novel that takes place in Germany in 1946. The war has just ended; the victorious powers are competing to divide the country, at least temporarily, and scrambling for every advantage they can get. It's an ideal setting for corruption, double-dealing, and for those who wish to get rich quickly, most often illegally.

Enter Minor Jackson, a former officer of the OSS, and a Romanian named Nicolae Ploscaru, who, at three and a half feet tall, is a person of short stature. The two of them meet by chance, and Ploscaru offers Jackson the opportunity to make a quick ten thousand dollars--not an inconsiderable sum in 1946.

In the wake of the war, a German Jew named Kurt Oppenheimer has become a highly skilled assassin, targeting former Nazi party officials and others who supported the party. Oppenheimer's family believes that he is mentally unstable and the family wants to get him into a sanitarium so that he can get the help he apparently needs. Oppenheimer's sister promises to pay Jackson and Ploscaru handsomely if they can find her brother and return him safely to the bosom of his family.

Inevitably, this will be easier said than done. Given the assassin's level of skill, several other parties, including the British, the Soviets, the Germans and the United States would all like to capture Oppenheimer and utilize his skills for their own purposes. Thus a devious cast of characters, including Jackson and the tiny but powerful Ploscaru, find themselves scrambling through post-war Germany, crossing and double-crossing each other, in an attempt to grab the prize for themselves.

The result is a very entertaining story that still holds up very well forty-five years after its original publication. Ross Thomas had a very rare gift as an author, and The Eighth Dwarf is a further testimony to his talents.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written tongue-in-cheek spy thriller. The action takes place mostly in Germany immediately after WWII and Thomas creates a vivid and depressing setting, filled with desperate people surviving by any means. The story revolves around a German Jew who is assassinating ex-Nazis in the American and British controlled areas of Germany. American Minor Jackson, once part of OSS, is sent to Germany to find the assassin, and is teamed up with a Romanian dwarf. The British are also looking as is some third party - the Russians, probably. No James Bond, Minor Jackson and the book's other main characters stumble around and follow the same clues to a house in Bonn, where double crosses and violence ensues. The dialogue is excellent and each character is interesting with a distinct voice. The pace of the book is swift but not confusing, because the number of primary characters is relatively small. The story never goes in exactly in the direction you might think and author Thomas' imagination has fun with the cold war mess in post-war Germany.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ex-spy and his sidekick hunt for a rogue assassin of Nazi war criminals. Nicolae Polscaru, a three-and-a-half-foot-tall dwarf, is tossed into a Hollywood swimming pool by four drunken screenwriters, who take bets on how long he can tread water. Minor Jackson, his OSS training still fresh a year after World War II’s end, beats the bullies senseless and pulls Nicolae from the water. Jackson is broke, and Nicolae offers him a job. A former spy himself, the globetrotting Romanian has a commission to find Kurt Oppenheimer, an expert assassin of high-ranking Nazis. Kurt won’t stop killing, no matter what the bloodshed will do to the fragile world peace, and the Soviets, the British, and the remains of the Nazi High Command all want his head. Jackson will beat them all to finding Kurt—unless his new friend betrays him first. A Mystery Guild selection.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun book by the reliably clever Ross Thomas. Here he partners a retired and at loose ends American soldier with a Romanian dwarf, and has them go on a mission to locate and persuade a maverick assassin of ex-Nazis to come back to his loving father and sister. Predictably, others are also in pursuit of the assassin. It may sound crazy, but the story develops as only Thomas can do it, and the dwarf is priceless. Light reading to be sure, but also contains some interesting observations about post-WWII Europe.

[MuxKatzenjammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

1947. Minor Jackson vertreibt sich die Zeit in Kalifornien, seit er beim Nachrichtendienst der U.S. Armee den Dienst quittiert hat. Dort trifft er auf Nicola Ploscaru, der Zwerg, der ihm einen Job anbietet. Er soll Kurt Oppenheimer für dessen Familie ausfindig machen. Doch schnell kommen Zweifel an Ploscarus Version der Geschichte auf. Der englische Geheimdienst spielt Jackson Informationen zu, dass Oppenheimer während des Krieges Nazis tötete und nach dem Krieg munter damit weiter machte. Da wittern die Amerikaner die Chance, Oppenheimer für ihre eigenen Zwecke zu nutzen. Um dort die Briten hinauszuwerfen, wollen die Amerikaner ihn nach Palästina einschleusen. Die Briten sind von dieser Vorstellung nicht begeistert und dementsprechend auch mit von der Partie. Und die Russen, wie könnte es anders sein, melden natürlich auch Interesse an. So verkomplizieren sich Jacksons Angelegenheiten zusehends in den Ruinen Nachkriegsdeutschlands.
Gerade wegen all der verzwickten politischen Intrigen, die Ross Thomas in seinem Roman ausbreitet, bleibt er bis zum Ende unterhaltsam. Die entlarvenden Spitzen, die Thomas gegen alle Beteiligten austeilt, treffen immer wieder ins Schwarze. So ekelt sich z.B. ein Geheimdienstmitarbeiter vor dem Geruch, der ihm beim Betreten des Pentagons entgegenschlägt — ein Geruch nach “Angst, schlechten Nerven, schlechter Verdauung und zu viel Mundhalten.”
Ross Thomas’ Romane, darunter auch Der Achte Zwerg, erscheinen zum ersten Mal ungekürzt in der Neuauflage des Alexander Verlags.

[Diogenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally well-told tale of post-WWII Europe with bizarrely fun characters, clever dialog and some excellent suspense. The internecine jousting between the allied powers is fascinating and may not be irrelevant in today's world.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the best book Thomas wrote. The characters are eccentric but believable, the plotting is surprisingly tight given the many moving parts, and the ending satisfactory without being a blood bath.

If you like Thomas and his mordant wit, make sure you read this one.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only the cynical survive in post-war Germany as various groups search for a Jewish assassin murdering hidden Nazis, mostly so they can get him to come and kill for them. Leading the charge is an ex-OSS man and his treacherous friend the Romanian dwarf. Thomas writes slick, fast, twisty thrillers.

[Jak60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of Thomas's books, but being a Thomas's book this was still highly readable and enjoyable. The book's merits are the usual (engrossing characters, engaging dialogues, subtle humour), the main flow here was the plot, that was somewhat of a long shot.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackson doesn't really trust the dwarf, but when you're working together tracking down a Nazi assassin who has gone rogue, who cares about trust?