El último paraíso

by Antonio Garrido

En 1929, el joven y avezado Jack Beilis conducía su propio automóvil, vestía trajes a medida y frecuentaba los mejores clubs de Detroit. Pero la brutal crisis que aquel año azotó América lo arrojó, junto a millones de compatriotas, al hambre y la desesperación. Desahuciado y perseguido por un oscuro crimen, embarcará junto a su amigo Andrew hacia la legendaria Unión Soviética, el idílico imperio en el que cualquier hombre tenía derecho a trabajar y ser feliz, sin sospechar los extraordinarios avatares que les tenía reservados el destino.Inspirada en hechos reales, con El último paraíso Antonio Garrido funde magistralmente thriller, amor y novela histórica en la dramática epopeya de un superviviente en un mundo dividido. Un formidable fresco de una época convulsa que dio un nuevo rumbo a la historia.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Russia, Novels, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

504 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2015

About the author

Es Ingeniero Industrial y reside en Valencia, en donde trabaja como profesor del Master de Diseño de Transporte en el Centro de Formación de Postgrado de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia y profesor de la Escuela Superior de Diseño Industrial en la Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU. Es director de una empresa de consultoría de diseño de automóviles, y escribe artículos en prensa especializada. Es también profesor invitado del taller literario de novela histórica del Instituto Valenciano de Estudios Clásicos y Orientales.

De momento se ha orientado a la novela histórica.

Reviews

[Gabriel Nita · Rating 2 out of 5]

The interesting part about this book was learning about the American workers who traveled to the Soviet Union after the 1917 Russian Revolution, in search of a better life. But unfortunately I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, because of the poor writing, shallow characters, cheesy comments and the completely unplausible plot. Just as an example, check this profound scene where the American hero, a humble car factory worker that will get to play the role of a lawyer in front of Stalin himself, torn between the love of 2 equally beautiful young girls, an American and a Russian one, is finding some comfort in the tea drank with his soup:
"He made some tea and began to sip it along with the soup. The drink comforted him, not so much because of its flavor, but because its heat reminded him of the warmth he always felt from Natasha’s smile."
I rest my case, do yourself a favour and don't waste your time...

[Lora J Rahe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad I didn't pay for it!

Though the mystery of uncovering the real bad guys kept me reading, it was more of a chore than a pleasure. The writing style reminded me of a high schooler's first attempts. There was too little character development and too much predictability. However, setting the story in Russia during the US depression era was unique, and I haven't read anything about the unusual immigration of Americans to Russia before, so I did learn something.

[R.G. Phelps · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Historical Fiction with well researched true history

The Last Paradise by Antonia Garrido, although from true historical essays, was both repetitious and unrealistic that an intelligent young man from the United States, born in Russia, could actually put himself into such controlling positions. It was the repetitious of Jack's always positioning himself to be able to gain such control over Soviet officials that finally got to me. Antonio chose to give some characters such polished abilities that, to me, took away from the historical significance of his novel. Also, I'm not sure that the Russian leaders of that time would be role playing with Stalin, at an extended trial. The book was interesting and I had not known about Henry Ford being so interested in helping Russia, so that was a special treat. Two stars may be a stretch but at this point you decide...

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This months kindle first offering was a story of people so desperate during the Great Depression that they emigrated to Russia, the "workers paradise." I had never heard of this and was struck by how bad of an idea it was and how hopeless you had to be to move to Russia (then, later, now, ever!).

The story is mostly about poverty, communism, bribery, lies, murder; and as you can guess, not much fun. But I found the light threads of love poignant as a contrast that ultimately shaped the point of the book. The characters must confront what's really important in life.

There is sort of a happy ending so I'm giving it three stars. I don't regret reading it.

[Mª Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5⭐

[Marta Querol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garrido mantiene en esta obra su maestría en la elección de tramas interesantes y originales, pero aporta como novedad una mayor dosis de realismo dramático. La historia es muy atractiva: como cuenta la sinopsis, fueron muchos los americanos que tras la Gran Depresión partieron a trabajar a la URSS con la esperanza de salir de la miseria. El autor nos va a contar esa epopeya y qué fue lo que se encontraron, a través de las aventuras de un joven ambicioso y superficial, más preocupado por llevar buenos trajes y disfrutar de la vida que de sus semejantes, y que se ve forzado a emprender esa difícil travesía. A lo largo de la novela veremos evolucionar a Jack Beilis, aprender, madurar, conocer lo que es el amor verdadero, la traición... La ambientación está muy conseguida y las tramas relacionadas con los sabotajes que se suceden en la planta de automoción mantienen la intriga y el interés hasta sospechar de todos sin saber quién está detrás de esos accidentes. Una obra con el sello inconfundible del buen hacer de Antonio Garrido y que le valió el XX Premio Fernando Lara de Novela. Aquí la vídeo reseña en Youtube. "El último paraíso"

[Mi Camino Blanco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una muy acertada recreación de unos hechos históricos de los que yo desconocía prácticamente todo: los años en que ciudadanos norteamericanos emigraron a Rusia escapando de la gran crisis que atenazaba al país durante los años 30. La mayoría viajaban engañados por consignas propagandísticas en busca de un mundo mejor y más justo (el paraíso del título) para encontrarse con una realidad bastante poco halagüeña y la imposibilidad añadida de poder regresar.

Con el trasfondo de un hecho real como la implantación de una gran empresa estadounidense como representante del capitalismo más feroz, en territorio soviético, dónde la forma de enfrentarse al mundo es totalmente diferente, el autor consigue desarrollar una historia tristemente humana de superación y sueños rotos en la que la moraleja final es que no hay diferencias cuando se trata de la explotación del más débil. Da igual la bandera o la ideología, siempre pierden los mismos.

En estos tiempos que ahora corren y dónde el tema de la inmigración vuelve a estar desgraciadamente presente, la reflexión que suscita esta novela merece la pena.



https://www.micaminoblanco.blogspot.c...

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

I was intrigued by the setting and time period of this book, but a bit leery of the author since I didn't care for the Corpse Reader, one of his earlier works. This was my Kindle First selection, so I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a chance. Was I glad that I did! It's as if this book was written by a different author than Corpse Reader. The characters are well developed, the story is believable, and there is plenty of action and intrigue. The book gives you a close look at the early days of Stalin's rule in 1930s Soviet Union, and how the workers lived under that rule. I won't say more so as not to spoil the story. This novel has it all: romance, mystery, history, treachery, heroism, betrayal, hope. Read it. You won't be sorry.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Musings

Fascinating look at a terrible time in history. I never knew that Americans traveled to Russia during the Great depression. I did struggle with many of the characters. They were so self-serving, t has a difficult time admiring them, except he Natasha. Glad I took the time to read this book. Happy ☺reading 📚!

[Narjess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce roman est une véritable plongée historique, économique et sociologique dans l'union soviétique après la grande dépression de 1929. C'est un voyage de découverte du régime communiste au travers des personnages américains rêvant d'un monde meilleur, où la justice prône, les droits sont préservés et les richesses sont équitablement réparties entre les citoyens..
Une très belle lecture!
PS: D'habitude je ne note pas les romans ou les livres que je lis mais là je fais exception car c'est un livre qui le mérite grandement

[Fco Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro entretenido y bastante fácil de leer, la primera parte te atrapa y me encanto el desarrollo, el final ya me gusta menos, aún así muy recomendable,, el libro es muy ilustrativo para hacerse una idea de lo que tuvo que ser aquella Rusia de principio de siglo, y sus excesos comunistas.

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story

I found this story engaging and thought provoking. A lot of twists and surprises. The end still has me baffled. Enjoyed this one.

[Si Braybrooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this as my Kindle First book for March and its perhaps one of the best books I've read in a long time. It transforms a point in history into an enthralling story about love, loss, ego and the pursuit of dreams.

Set in depression era America it tells the story of Jack, his friends Walter and Sue and some of the others who left the poverty of the US for a new, richer life in the Soviet Union. However, once they reach Russia it's not the paradise they'd been promised and life working at the Avtozavod is far from happy.

With corruption, hate, poverty, love, laughter and more this book really does take your emotions on, a great read!

[Bradley Neer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Well written.

I loved the book. Wonderful story of the depression and Soviet revolution. Can't wait to read the sequel. Hopefully, it will be soon.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but not special

I liked this book alright, interesting plot, but the ending kind of drifted off the rails to me. A few too many twists.

[Sue Snobeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling

With most great novels I read, I almost hate to come to the end of the story. This novel, I felt that I couldn't read it fast enough. Not because I wanted to get done with it, rather because I was in such suspense for the characters that I could hardly stand the anxiety of their situations. This author did an excellent job of making all the characters come to life and knowing that it has a strong basis in historical accuracy, only increased their vivid, and often life-threatening situations. I chose this novel as a "Kindle First" offering, but, after having read it, I would have gladly purchased it, even though it is somewhat outside of my usual choice of genre.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Review of the book “The Last Paradise” by Antonio Garrido, (translated by Simon Bruni) by Anthony T. Riggio


I purchased this book in the Kindle format from Amazon, and it was about 420 pages in length but it seemed too short for me, once I got into it.

The Last Paradise, written originally in Spanish, is a story about a young man (the protagonist) in New York City in the early 1930's who is a Jew who lost his job in the auto industry, in Detroit Michigan, simply for being a Jew. Almost destitute he returns to New York City to live with his father, who recently lost his wife (the young man's mother). His father's shoe repair business is a victim of the depression and because of his wife's death, seeks solace in the bottle. Both the father and the mother are immigrants from Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution. The description of the life of this family during the depression is vivid and somewhat shocking to those who have never heard stories about the effects of the great depression.

Because our hero “Jack” is destitute he contacts a friend from high school, who has a checkered past but has a ready solution to Jacks problems and that is to emigrate to Russia where the Russians are looking for Americans to live in “paradise” and take part in the people's revolutionary growth, as advertised in the New York Times.

The book, which is a historical fictional novel is predicated on real events as there really was a campaign to recruit Americans suffering the pains of the Great depression to come to Russia. Through great efforts based on circumstance that occurred after his father's suicide, Jack, with the help of his friend and his girl friend make the trek to Russia. Jack, because of his experience in the auto industry befriends an American Ford Motor executive and his niece in transit to Russia.

Consequently, notwithstanding the repressions and negative economic realities, American immigrants are initially treated like royalty and Jack is able to amass a significant amount of money while his fellow American travelers seem to stagnate under the increasingly harsh treatment by the Russian government.

The book, as the reader quickly realizes is that this hoped “rags to riches” dream is a figment of desperate hope. Escape back to America is a dream not possible because of their current reality.

The book is well written and draws the reader in, as most good books do and is nearly impossible to put down. I caused my self to read into the early morning hours as I could not put the book down.

This book is a historical fiction with just the right amount of romance and intrigue to satisfy those who are dismissive of historical novels. There was a tremendous amount of research conducted by the author who made suffering in both the United States and the Soviet Union quite vivid. His style of writing, as translated, was captivating and compelling to the reader. I will certainly look to read other works by this author.

I gave this book five stars (because five was the maximum I could rate it) and unhesitatingly recommend it to all of my reader friends.

[Nissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought the concept was really cool, and I loved the characters. They felt very real, even when the situations felt less so. I was able to download a copy of this book for free from Kindle Unlimited.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, Antonio Garrido's novel, The Last Paradise, was highly absorbing. In fact, the book was difficult to put down, and it successfully kept the reader's interest. In addition, I found that the author spent a great deal of time researching his subject, which included an extensive bibliography at the end of the book. As the reader, I was enlightened to the history of American immigration to the Soviet Union during the Great Depression. Furthermore, the book was well written, or should I say well translated, since I read it in the translated English from the original Spanish text. Scenes were well described, and conversations were believable.

Notwithstanding all of the positive factors I discovered in the book, I simply didn't care for the characters, particularly the primary protagonist. Without going into too much detail and ruining this interesting novel for others, I felt that the hero was driven more by his libido than by his conscience or his principals, if he had any. In fact, he always seemed to be controlled by others, rather than controlling his own destiny. He never seemed to make any proactive decisions, and was constantly concerned about how any actions would affect his own personal well-being, safety, affluence, or pleasure. As an example, the author states about the main character in one part of the book that "most of all he pitied himself." That really seemed to describe the character throughout the novel, except when he was basically forced to do the right thing. In addition, other characters, including the primary character's several love interests, were either so antagonistic, malevolent, or insignificant that there possible ruin didn't really seem to matter.

Furthermore, the novel, to me, failed to teach any lesson or moral. it was simply a story about people trying to survive, but, it seemed like they would have been the same after the trial ended. In other words, the incidents in the novel seem to fail in changing their moral code for bad or good. I, for one, need to have characters who eventually learn the importance of becoming better as they experience hardship. I didn't see that happening in this book. Finally, to me, the ending simply wasn't plausible. I will say no more about that, however, for fear that it will ruin it for other readers.

All in all, this was a good engaging book. It simply was not a great book due to its lack of character development and lessons taught.

[Maria João · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classificação: 4,5 estrelas

Um suspense histórico ambientado na década de 30 entre dois países que anos mais tarde dividiriam o mundo em dois blocos: os Estados Unidos da América e a União Soviética.
A história aborda a crise económica dos anos 30 e como esta afectou a condição sócio-económica dos Estados Unidos da América. A população americana viu-se envolta numa degradação social muito grande, cuja a sua "esperança" de superação passava por emigrar para a União Soviética, que nessa época era tida como um império utópico de igualdade entre todos os cidadãos. Estava apresentada a porta aberta para a Prosperidade na vida daqueles que outrora já a tinham vivido, contudo, "nem tudo o que luz é ouro" e a personagem principal viverá muitas peripécias insólitas.
A narrativa está muito bem encadeada quer na caracterização dos factos históricos da época, quer na componente ficcional, escrita numa linguagem escorreita, realista transmitindo muita autenticidade aos personagens e à própria acção.
Foi sem qualquer dúvida uma boa leitura e recomendo-a sem restrição.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable, nightmarish story, March 3, 2017

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Last Paradise (Kindle Edition)

A well written, well edited, well translated novel by award winning Spanish author, Antonio Garrido. But don't let that award winning European author bit scare you off. This novel is also interesting and entertaining with characters who seem so real that I tried to find the Ford Motor Company executive on the internet. I then discovered, at the back of the book, Mr. Garrido's explanation about his use of fictional characters to tell a realistic and historically accurate story. He also relates the history upon which he based his novel. He tells of the difficulty in researching existing records because so many of them were written with bias in favor of and often extolling the Soviet workers paradise. Others were written by those who were opposed to the Bolsheviks. It is apparent now that the truth is that the Americans who were lured to Russia by promises of a workers paradise were treated badly & many were executed. Still, I recently read a modern leftist apologia for the workers' experiences in the Soviet gulag. If you are a vehement leftist or progressive as they now like to be called, you may not like this novel.

But there is no explaining away what happened. Most of the American workers who remained in Russia after 1935, and many were forced to remain, were executed or imprisoned in the labor camps where many more died. But this is not primarily a political novel. It focuses on the people as they struggle to survive in appalling and frightening circumstances.

[Allen McDonnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a badly written book, and it was translated from its original language into English, however I found the main character to be a very unlikable fellow. He is very much in the mold of the down on his luck snob who sees himself as better than everyone else until he suddenly realizes who he 'really is' late in the novel. I actually started this novel months ago and finally finished it just to get it off my reading list, but I am glad I did because the last two chapters did much to redeem the book and leading character in my eyes.

Set in 1933 the story begins in New York City but quickly transitions to Gorky, Russian Federated Socialist Republic, leading state of the USSR. It is the story of how hope and fear can outweigh your common sense and lead you into making serious and potentially fatal mistakes. The redemption effect at the very end does much to demonstrate that even bad decisions can lead to better than feared outcomes. I don't want to be more specific as it would spoil the novel for those who go on and read it. After starting the novel and struggling to get into it I bought the audio version to see if the narrator could make it more intriguing to me but I did not enjoy the narration style and quickly gave that up for a lost cause and returned to the printed kindle text.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I think about this book. I got it via Book Bub, so it was a cheap deal, but it intrigued me. The story revolves around Americans caught up in the Depression, who decide to emigrate to the USSR and work in the car plant set up by Henry Ford. Our protaganist is full of anger, lust and is struggling to find direction and purpose in life other than making money, not easy in Satlin's Russia. He falls in lust twice and finally in love and thankfully, finds his way. The premise is based on fact, the characters are fictional mash-ups between real people. I'm not sure if it is because the book is tranlsated from the Spanish, or if it is just the way it is written, but it didn't flow smoothly for me. However, I gave if 4 stars because it is a page turner albeit it with an odd ending. It finished and then the Epilogue seemed to leave more questions rather than tying up loose ends.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Engrossing Novel

I am so glad that I chose this novel for my monthly Kindle book. Having traveled to Russia and having read many non-fiction books about the country, I found this novel to be completely engrossing. The author has done an excellent job in writing a believable fictional story of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin. I give it five stars.

[skip thurnauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up because it was a special Amazon Kindle offering and I'm glad I did. Garrido tells the story of a group of Americans suffering hardship during the Depression who seek a better life in the "workers' paradise" of Soviet Russia. Jack Beilis, an out-of-work American autoworker, flees the US after a violent altercation with his landlord. He signs on to work in an auto factory built by Henry Ford in the Soviet Union. While onboard ship, en route to Russia, Jack uses his familiarity with Ford machinery to aid Wilbur Hewitt, the Ford executive who will manage the Avtozavod plant. This enables Jack to assume a more elevated managerial position and a better standard of living than his American counterparts. Hewitt asks Jack to become his eyes and ears in the plant, to learn the source of numerous accidents and possible acts of sabotage. Soon, scarcity, hardship, and famine plague Soviet and American workers alike. Jack's boyhood friend and true believer in Communism takes a different direction from Jack, becoming a party operative. Romance enters the picture for Jack, first with Hewitt's beautiful niece Elizabeth, and later with the attractive Dr. Natasha. There are numerous obstacles that Jack must overcome to learn who is sabotaging plant operations and why Americans are disappearing from the "American Village". You will have to read "The Last Paradise" to learn who wins Jack's heart, will the Americans make it back to the US, who is the source of the industrial sabotage, and more.

I enjoyed reading "The Last Paradise" and was curious how much was fact-based and how much was the author's creation. Garrido answers this question by providing "A Genuine Story" at the conclusion of the novel. Here he recounts his research and sources. I was glad that he added this information because it answered my big question, "Did Americans really go to Russia to help build cars?" as well as other questions I had about the story. Yes they did.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise about Americans going to the USSR during the Great Depression to work at a Ford plant there, was wasted. Clearly, most of the main characters were capitalists. All were hoping for more consumer goods, that is why they went to USSR from their situations in Depression Era America. Like our protagonist, Jack, they “yearned to wear tailored suits again, …to taste a tender steak once more, at a restaurant with linen tablecloths.” Any philosophical torment the characters expressed over wanting a better life, wanting more, and wanting everyone to be treated the same became tedious—of course they wanted more. The truly committed also wanted more—for those that did not have enough. Quite frankly that element of the storyline and the many plot twists became annoying (and sometimes inane) as our hero, Jack, became a “Jack of All Trades.”

Jack knew how to do everything from fixing Buicks, recording on gramophones, responding to the psychological needs of most of the population, speaking and reading Russian, to understanding the intricacies of criminal minds. The only thing he could not do was figure out when someone lied to him. He seemed to be convinced by the last person he talked to. Garrido manages to create good men out of his two lead criminal suspects and turn a character of such unlikely ability as to be senseless, into the true villain (and Communist wanting material things).

After slogging through to the end, the reward was the ‘Author’s Notes’ and Garrido’s explanation of his inspiration. This section produced the best line of the book that Garrido was quoting from another person: “And because if reason is what makes us human, then feelings are what make us people.”

[Kit Crumpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Last Paradise” is a good historical novel; one that I recommend. Historical novels, like this one, gives the reader a walk through someone’s past. The characters are robust so that I attached myself to their experience. They went through very difficult times and changed as events forced them to respond to their challenges. All this during a depression in America, a run from the law and decisions to travel abroad to Russia with hopes in a future in Stalin’s government.
Boy, were they surprised!
I loved experiencing the dawn of Russia’s Communism and the ideology of people who were part of Russia’s revolution. Turns out the hierarchical social structure still existed in the midst of hope for its end. The laborers still went hungry. Due process was not cleanly vetted in the Communist paradigm and so people were incarcerated and executed with alacrity. Fear ruled; a Russian-early-twentieth-century tough world.
Through all the machinations, Jack Beilis survives like a gambler. People rely on him.
I did get a bit lost in the Machiavellian plots that were being considered in Jack’s mind as he looked for the truth mired in clues about factory sabotage.
It surprised me when events moved too quickly, the clues added up to different conclusions at different times and this made me struggle a bit as a reader. But I was already hooked into the story needing closure for a sweet end – which turned out to be not so sweet – but closure nonetheless.
The hallmark of a good book, for me, is when I walk away having been moved with a deeper perspective of historically accurate human struggle. This book did not disappoint me.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second of the three books that Mr. Garrido has written, for which I have read. He continues to follow the premise of intrigue, espionage, corporate greed, murder & mayhem. Once the first page is imprinted to memory, all thought of other projects are abandoned. All you want is to lose yourself in the plot, your favorite character; whether it the villain or the hero-heroine. He studied the originality, the politically correctness, and the historical relevancy as it related to the plot.
This story of desperation during the Great Depression of the late 1920-1930's was a time of abandoned dreams soon after the industrial revolution America went through. Many careers and areas of expertise were lost. Americans lost faith in their country, attempting to find it anywhere else in world. Russia was a market ripe for the picking. Russia has just gone through its revolution, replacing the Tsar and the Royal with equality of the masses, one ruler, one rule; Stalin and the Proletariat. They were determined to be a power player in the world of industrialization.
So, if this is something you think you would like to get lost in, you will enjoy it with the immensity and desire that Antonio Garrido most likely felt once this story began to form. History, intrigue and worldly stature is a topic I enjoy, I'm sure you will too!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a Kindle First selection a few months back and just finished reading it. I enjoy historical fiction books as they often bring a life and feel for historical events. This book gives readers a look at the early days of Stalin's rule in 1930s Soviet Union, and how the workers lived under that rule. I had previously been unaware and found it interesting to learn about the American workers who traveled to the Soviet Union, in search of a better life to escape the suffering of the Great Depression. It is a story of people so desperate during the Great Depression that they emigrated to Russia, the "workers paradise." This was something I had never heard of and I was struck by how hopeless they had to feel to make this move. The book does a great job of keeping you engaged because you feel the anxiety and emotions of the characters difficult circumstances. My personal great disappointment is that it seems authors have lost the ability to communicate love and affection without it translating to sex. This was not something that added to this novel in my opinion and a reason I did not rate it more highly. I waffled between giving it a 3 or 4 star rating and decided to give it the higher rating just because I was so thoroughly engrossed in the story and had to reach the end to find out how things concluded for the characters in the story.

[Monte Dutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took too long for me to read this fine novel because I've been working on my own writing. Buried in finishing a first draft and editing another manuscript, my reading time was often relegated to doing so during blowout baseball games and waiting for meals at restaurants.
The Last Paradise is a title of hope and betrayal. Set in the 1930s, an American -- destitute and on the lam in the depth of the Great Recession -- flees to the Soviet Union, hoping in vain for opportunity.
Jack Beilis is no communist. Desperation enables his recruitment by a lifelong friend, Walter, and Walter's wife, Sue.
In the Soviet Union, Jack finds love and a market for his skills. He also encounters ideological ruthlessness, a level of hopelessness even worse that what he had left in New York, and betrayal lurking around every corner.
The greater Jack's sense of doom, the less his chance of escaping it.
For a long time, I thought I was going to rate this 4-star, not 5-. I thought the ending figured to be too obvious. I thought it was setting up one way when, in fact, the narrative was leading elsewhere.
Set your politics aside. Just read it. You'll learn something about the really desperate times. You'll consider human nature at its most threatened.
You'll think about it often when you're done.