The Unpossessed City

by Jon Fasman

A gripping novel about the dangers and draws of contemporary Russia--from the author of The Geographer's Library

With The Geographer's Library , Jon Fasman made an "inventive and spirited" debut ( The New Yorker ) that landed him on The New York Times bestseller list. Every bit as dazzling, The Unpossessed City takes readers into the Wild East that is Russia today. There we meet Jim Vilatzer--an American expat whose Russian language skills land him a job interviewing former inmates of the Gulag and ensnare him in a web of deceit involving the CIA, Russia's Interior Ministry, and Central Asian arms dealers selling the most dangerous technologies to the highest bidder. From its brooding portrayal of Moscow to its riveting pace, The Unpossessed City is an atmospheric triumph in the tradition of Donna Leon's novels of Venice.

Genres: Fiction, Russia, Thriller, Espionage, Mystery

339 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2008

About the author

I am the author of "The Geographer's Library" (2005) and "The Unpossessed City" (2008), both published by The Penguin Press.

Reviews

[ambimb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't recommend this book. The story is interesting, but very poorly executed. The book is like a half-edited draft. Some of the characters are well developed, some of the plot works smoothly and flows from one event to the next; on the other hand, some characters are barely developed and therefore incredibly implausible, parts of the plot barely make sense and completely break all bounds of plausibility. The book's strengths as far as I can tell are its commentary on life in Moscow, Russian traditions and character, and its development of its main character, which is the only thread that kept me reading. But at base this is supposed to be a sort of political thriller but it lacks any thrill because the pieces of its political puzzle are so poorly put together that they cannot be believed. I'd like to be more charitable, but there you go. Perhaps the author's first book, The Geographer's Tale was so good his editor just didn't pay enough attention to this one. I don't know, but I'd say pass on this one...

UPDATE: After thinking about this for a couple of days one thing about this book has stuck with me more than I'd expected. It's a greater appreciation for the details of Russia and the narrator's observations about how Russian culture and life differs from that in the U.S. For example, the narrator observes that: "American life, especially the suburban American life into which Jim was born, tends to flatten out the extreme -- one can go years seeing no infraction more serious than running a stop sign, but receiving from strangers nothing friendlier than a professional tight-lipped grin in a store. Here, though, if you occasionally saw a thug send a beggar sprawling, you also had strangers who pulled you out of harm's way. And in truth, while events of the former class make better stories, those in the latter are more common" (166).

I do not know what Russian life is like, but this seems to be an accurate description of the difference between the lives of different classes the world over. As you rise in class, in wealth, you move further from extremes of violence and anger and many other things. Life for those in the middle and upper class can seem very flat in many ways. Of course, I suppose people in extreme poverty might think the same of themselves -- that their lives are flattened out into the extremes of poverty, hunger, violence, danger. But the point is that when life is all at one end -- extremely dangerous or violent or extremely safe and free of conflict -- it's flat and much less interesting.

I don't know what to do with this idea, but it's the best one to come from this book so I wanted to remember it...

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Fasman's first novel, The Geographer's Library, and was looking forward to his next book.

Unfortunately, The Unpossesed City did not live up to my expectations. It's about an American on the lam in modern-day Moscow who unwittingly becomes involved in an espionage ring with some very corrupt Russians and a beautiful woman.

I didn't mind the formula, but the plot was completely disjointed. Villians introduced in the first couple of chapters didn't reappear until so much later that I had completely forgotten who they were and what they had done.

There is too much back story of the reasons the protagonist had fled his home in Maryland and this subplot kept interfereing with the action and pacing of his adventures in Russia.

I think Fasman is very talented and certainly knows the contemporary Moscow scene, but he did the confused-young-man-with-the-unreliable-girlfriend thing much better in The Geographer's Library.

Makes me wonder which book was really written first.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only vaguely remember the Geographer's Library, and I am guessing there is a reason why: it was kind of boring. I did finish it, however. I could not get into this book enough to finish it, though. I liked the description of Moscow and Russia, but the plot was flimsy and the characters were not interesting (to me). Perhaps if I had made myself keep reading, it would have improved, but since I am writing a dissertation, that's not an option.

[Garryvivianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

An uninspired-going nowhere guy has to flee his home in Maryland where he lives to get away from some gambling debts. He decides to go to Russia as he knows the language. He ends up really liking being there, but becomes entangled in a case of espionage (unbeknown to him). So he has to decide what to do next. It was an ok read.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was completely disinterested in the book until page 188...shouldn't an author try and hook you a little sooner.

I suppose I'll slug it out until I'm finished, but I can't recommend this to anyone. Go read Le Carre instead.

[Victor Frenkel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as his first book. Kinda dragged on. I put it down ans moved on to another title p

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

very enjoyble! at first it’s confusing - the first few chapters each focus on a different character, and the characters are not yet connected - it takes some time but then the book settles on one character, and then it takes more time for things to begin to happen. Some people have complained about this in their reviews but I found the book interesting and enjoyable from the start. As a fan of Dostoevsky I enjoy novels that feature Moscow, and indeed, the city and its inhabitants really come to life in an engaging way. The plot is fun; I liked all the characters; the dialogue is clever; and the ending is quite satisfying.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this mentioned somewhere and resisted putting it on my "to read" list because I am so often disappointed with novels set in post-Soviet Russia. Then I found it on the new books shelf at my Arlington County (VA) branch library and decided it looked like it might be good.

The story is around 2000 - a version of Russia that I know better; I spent more time there then. (I haven't been in Russia for several years.) The action starts in Rockville, MD and then moves on to Moscow for most of the remainder.

The American author who has a background (descended from Russian Jews) much like his lead character and who speaks Russian chooses as do many Americans writing about foreign settings to include far more details about the different places mentioned in Moscow than necessary - almost enough that it begins to interfere with the story's progression. He does the same thing for the Rockville locations at the beginning, which is amusing.

I guess this is a thriller. The story development was good and the characters believable until about half way through when everything he thinks he knows is right begins to be revealed to be wrong. An innocent forced to participate in a nefarious plot in order to save himself - and a girl, too, of course. And the girl's grandfather. And his parents. The second half was too unbelievable for me, I'm afraid.

In the first half of the book, in addition to dropping numerous references to different Moscow locations to demonstrate he visited them, the author makes observations about Russian life at that time, mostly as asides or via the descriptions of different characters. These all rang true and some were interesting; anyway, these kept me into it. Such observations weren't so frequent in the second half and the unbelievable main story line made it harder to enjoy them.

In the acknowledgments the author mentions that he has no experience with Embassy types or spy types - well great, but he has 180 pages of a novel heavily describing the activities of such characters and perhaps that is why that part of thing reads the way it does. (Not that I know anything about spies.)

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written and paced, and so descriptive. While it's termed an "international thriller," I honestly felt that this was much more a character study of Jim, and a look into Post-Soviet Russia itself; with the thriller part thrown in for extra interest. One particular quote really caught my interest, as it's very descriptive of how I feel about my job sometimes. I've come back to it several times now: Jim is talking of his boss and how she deals with the survivors of the Russian labor camps, and he thinks, "it posed a particular problem of soul-steerage: cry over every tragedy and you would have no time left to do anything else. Ignore them all and you would rot from the inside."

[Daniel Baran · Rating 1 out of 5]

Given the other reviews, which differ from mine substantially, I feel I should explain. It was a decent book, written with empathy and experience. But I felt that it was bouncing between journalism and literature from one paragraph to the next. In fact, it could have been two books: the story of Jim purely from his perspective, OR the story of contemporary Russia (and more specifically Moscow, which is practically a different country from St. Petersburg) told through the many intricate characters with whom Jim interacts. So my rating is less a function of how much I enjoyed reading it as much as it is a rating of what I feel this novel could have been.

Either way, I thank the author for an absorbing story.

[Sharon Raphael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book now and enjoying it. It is about a 32 year old guy from Washington, DC area. One minute he is working in his Dad's delicatessen and the next he is on his way to Moscow for a job interviewing former political prisoners of the former Soviet Union. It is full of characters who will intrigue you. I will let reader know my score and whether I really liked the book when I finish it. I am savoring the book and not devouring it as I usually do with books. The Unpossessed City: A Novel

[Marjanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was a little bit mystery, a little bit thriller, and a couple of other things I can't quite put a name on. The main character was fairly likeable, and there were some interesting secondary characters. At first it was little difficult for me to keep track of who was who, but it became easier and more clear as the story went on. Like most other books that I have read with Russia as the setting, it makes me want to travel there, but it also scares me to travel there. Overall, a pretty interesting story.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice read, especially if you like to read about 'Moscow' and Russia. A few nice twists in the book, but the first half was slow going, but then it really picked up in the second half. The main character was from Rockville, Maryland, which also gave it some attraction in that I lived there twice during my moves with GE. When you know an area it certainly is easier to visualize the environment. Also got an inspiration from the novel to check out a few things, which is a 'secret' project for the moment.

[Readersguide · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, perhaps even more than it deserves, which was true of his last book, too. The plot in both cases is sort of a flimsy thing, upon which is hung something atmospheric and interesting. The love interest, in both cases, is more of an idea than an actual person. The narrator, though, in both cases, convinces you that there's more to him than is ever revealed, and I think that's why I like these books.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story has interesting premise but I was a little disappointed in that the story to me differed from what the book cover led me to expect. Also, there was one character that I didn't like and their interactions with the protagonist didn't seem believable. I was slightly dissatisfied with the ending as well. Overall, I would give this just an ok.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest fan of "thrillers", but I am a fan of "loveable loser" or "just plain losers" and that's what I liked about this one. Guy on the run from gambling debts goes to Moscow to work on a project collecting oral histories from labor camp survivors. The descriptions of Moscow are really interesting...and make me never want to visit there.

[christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was an OK book. It started to get really interesting about 2/3 of the way through and (without giving too much away) I wish the author further developed the storyline that added that twist at about that point. I also was left a little unsatisfied - I didn't feel that the author took us full circle where I really wanted him to. I didn't feel there was a good ending.

[Ben Guilfoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lavishly written, often times even gorgeous. But calling it a "taut" thriller is almost a joke. Practically nothing happens in this book and any semblance of plot doesn't come together until well over 100 pages in. It's great at fleshing out its characters and setting, but then it merely casts those characters adrift in that setting without giving them a sense of purpose. A shame.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look into today's Russia as seen by an American-Russian man trying to escape his debts due to card playing and start over again in a new place and a new job.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me want to pick up DeMille's Charm School again, not really anything like it except for the Russian aspect. Very good young writer.

[Cami]

You know, it's really too cold outside to be reading about Russia in the winter.

[Chaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that provides a nice feel for Moscow and Russion culture

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't agree with all the people on gr who had problems with this book. I found it to be a very accessible and (towards the end) fast-moving Russian corruption/spy-ey type book. I give it a big Dah!

[Papalodge]

pg 52

[Elizabeth]

If this book is half as good as Fasman's first book (The Geographer's Library) it will be a major enjoyment.

[Steve Shpall · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable different read

[Cmf46 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

[Kruser2013 Deubrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got that Cold War feeling, it kept me guessing until the end, btw I finished this book 3 years ago, just forgot my password.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

it felt like a trip to moscow... didn't make me want to go, but I did enjoy the vicarious ride

[Alicia Ouellette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just so meh. Neither here, nor there.