Customer Reviews

The Exile: Sex, Drugs, and Libel in the New Russia

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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As the subtitle might indicate, this is not a book for the faint of heart, nor is it a straight-up history, though the portrait it paints of post-Soviet Russia from the early '90s to 1998 is pretty vivid in all its pornographic, bloody, vomitous, sexist glory, making it a pretty damned good history anyway.

The book is divided into eight chapters, four written by Ames and four by Taibbi. Many readers have complained that Ames' sections of the book are Waholianly dull, too petty, personal, splenous, what have you, while praising Taibbi's sections for their directness, adherence to and expressed admiration for basic journalistic principles and (false, false, false) relative modesty. But I will go on the record as admiring both.

Ames... poor Ames. A lot of his stuff will make readers cringe, but for every one of his self-pitying narratives about scabies or his girlfriend or his dependence on speed whenever left to get an issue of the eXile out by himself, there are still gems of hilarious realism like the following:

"What people forget in every article ever written about drugs is one simple, basic fact. PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS BECAUSE THEY'RE FUN. That's it. There's no mystery to the drug thing. Peiople drink water to quench their thirst, they have sex because it feels good; and they do drugs because they're fun...

Even Hunter S. and William Burroughs couldn't stait it that plainly;: they elevated drugs to the mythical level, keeping mum on the single most obvious, dangerous fact. So I'll repeat: PEOPLE DO DRUGS BECAUSE THEY'RE FUN. It's no different from alcohol or roller coasters except that drugs are A LOT BETTER."

Co-author Taibbi observes later in this book, after a brief reflection on his childhood growing up in the newsrooms of Boston and New York, that "If, as a consumer, you want good newspapers, you're not going to get them if the reporters are people who only reluctantly tell you the truth. Ideally, you have a bunch of people who are outcasts, even sociopaths, who get off on telling people the whole truth because that's the point: The other parts of society - government, business, etc. - have to be able to function while trusting the public to know the worst."

In these two quotes we can find the eXile, and this book, in a nutshell. Ames and Taibbi are two people who get off on telling the truth, and make no bones about the fact that they do get off on it. Hence their infamous "Death Porn" section, their version of a police blotter, in which the goriest crimes they could find in Russia that week are recounted with mocking slapstick horror, in true tabloid fashion, complete with cartoons illustrating basic, recurring story elements, i.e. a little Thanksgiving turkey to indicate the victim was "carved up like a turkey", a piece of Swiss cheese to indicate "riddled with bullets," a hamburger bun with a human haand sticking out of it to indicate cannibalism (quite prevalent out in the provinces where people, still waiting lo these many years for the goverment to pay their back wages, have little to do but hack each other to pieces and eat each other) and, my favorite, a squad cap next to a vodka bottle to indicate an "investigation ongoing."

But Death Porn and little drug and scabies excursi notwithstanding, why should you read this book? Because it also tells the story of a newspaper that has been a huge pain [...] to an expatriate community in Moscow that has done little to actually help convert Russia to a free-market economy or to prepare its citizenry to live in such an economy. Those whom Ames and Taibbi have skewered over the years in their paper have been both highly-placed Russian oligarchs who have taken state corruption to unbelievable new levels (I would refer readers especially to Taibbi's in-depth look at Anatoly Chubais and his loans-for-shares program which should have been a global scandal but was deemed "too complicated" to cover in the western press), and American and British consultants who lived the high life spending foreign aid money on luxuries for themselves, investing it with each other's mutual funds, and creating scandals like the Investor Protection Fund, meant to bail out poor Russians whose first forays into private investing led to their being defrauded (to date the IPF has not paid out one rouble to any bilked investors - but it made one mutual fund manager a lot of money for many years!).

But this book is not to be read as an exercise in schadenfreude: most of the worst villains in the eXile's hall of shame are Americans, and it is a theme throughout the book that once Americans are in any way freed from the usual constraints on their behavior, they are the most corrupt, scaly lizard-beasts one can find anywhere. Even an ordinary suburbanite, once she lands in Russia, winds up threatening gangland hits on the authors [...].

And it could happen here, if we ever cease to keep an eye on each other, on our elected officials,and on our press. For, as Taibbi notes with dismay, the age of those outcast sociopaths is gone; today's "reporters," at least in the western press in Moscow, have become "a bunch of corrupt, cheerleading patsies," largely because there is no longer any competition between papers, magazines, networks, what have you, and thus there's no one paying attention to the accuracy, fairness, or relevance of what is coming out of those Moscow bureaus - and thus no reason for western journalists in Moscow to work very hard at all.

The authors leave open the question of whether this might not be true in other parts of the world or back home, but it does make me wonder about what I'm reading about what's going on in Kabul, in Israel, and in Cheyenne.

I know too many reporters to be able, truthfully, to say that nothing like that can happen or has happened here. I've done it myself, run stories without double-checking facts, accepted sources' words as gospel because of my personal fondness or respect for those sources, left out story elements I didn't think my readers would understand... I just never got called on it.

I fervently wish that there could be more papers like the eXile in the world, while knowing that there can't be: it is only Ames and Taibbi's unique position - out of the reach of American libel laws and unread by the officials whose corruption they expose in Russia because they print in English - that makes the eXile possible.

But in a perfect world, there would be an eXile in every city, Death Porn, pornographic club reviews and all. [...].

Perhaps one of the reasons (in a sort of cause- and-effect logical warp) that this book should have been written is some excerpts of its reviews on its own back cover: "Brazen, irreverent ... the eXile struggles with the harsh truth of the new century Russia" (CNN), "...welcome to the life on capitalism's new frontier..." (Newsweek). One can't get much blah-blahnder than that - seemingly playing along the book's irreverence and channeling it into safe acceptable notions.

Following any standards is not what authors had in mind. Among their goals - if any - they proclaim "... is protecting Russia from going the way of Prague. From becoming a domesticated, obedient member of the Global Village".

One of the more astute observations in "The Exile" is about Moscow numerous "expats" community, for which the authors readily have inexhaustible amount of scorn and derision. By the early '90-s there wasn't a shortage of Westerners, particularly Americans, plodding Moscow streets. Romantic idealists, careerists wishing to nail a fashionable piece of "emerging markets" on their resumes, fly-by-night sleazebags and crooks, hopeless losers of various sorts trying to make it "on the new frontier" and then running back, tail between the legs, and writing ridiculous "revelations" like "Moscow Madness". One of the most conspicuous crowds were the hordes of Western young MBA consultants and advisers, the likes of what is known as "Andersen androids" and similar telling nicknames. It was a peculiar bunch. They mostly stuffed "...publicly funded businesses and organizations that were guaranteed profits, independent of any competition or accountability of performance, while supposedly furthering the capitalist values of competition and fair play... Looking at their bright, happy faces, you'd never guess that these were the people who'd have the balls to tell millions of Russians that their jobs and benefits needed to be sacrificed for the sake of 'competitiveness'."

The book goes a long way to explain why reports of western correspondents from Russia often feel like stale bottled water taken from the same puddle, chlorinated and carbonated and slapped with a familiar label. In short - because mostly these expat reporters are indeed a closeted inward-looking insipid crowd, less interested in understanding and accepting a new country than in fitting and truncating new reality to familiar forms - and making a career out of it. Ironically, the "official" pedantic expatriate outlet "Moscow Times", hilariously scewered all over this book, came out with not one, but two reviews, both patiently explaining why "The Exile", while so blah-blah irreverent and provocative, is not such a big deal and perhaps should not be taken too seriously.

"The Exile" unashamedly (and exploitively) revels in Moscow bursting sexuality, so missing in US, either from real city streets or from plastic-looking flesh and toothy smiles of innumerable "sexy" TV shows. Of course, the book is far from flawless. Some of author's pranks are sophomoric (but others are excellent), there are factual errors and some of its political insights are laughable. But to nitpick on the book for this is to completely miss its point. More likely the real bummer - they still don't get the word "dinamit`", as when one's party (repeatedly) skips a date - until one gets the point. The word

originates from "dynamics", with at least a hint of a game - chase and rejection, rather than "dynamite" as in "blow up something". What a bunch of dopes.

Despite enjoying this book as no else I've read recently, I won't give it full 5-star clip. That would smack of a kissassination job of the likes the authors so gloriously trashed in their book. But I'll keep reading "eXile" to feed on its visceral, shameless energy and mockery of things safe and proper.

As a former Moscow resident, I was in many a run-in with authors Ames and Taibbi, and not always on friendliest of terms. Indeed, no small amount of the titular libel in "the eXile: Sex, Drugs, and Libel in the New Russia," their tell-all book about the decadent glory days of mid-90s Moscow, is directed toward yours truly and the boys' longstanding feud with myself -- so it seems they're still earning points at my expense! Even if most of what they say about me is exagerated, if not falsehood, I hold no grudges. For in spite of all their showy spleen and venting of frivolous personal vendettas, Ames and Taibbi can't help but write about the Moscow they love with a warmth and glow that is unmatched anywhere. From the get-rich-quick schemes, to the shady deals, to the fast living and fancy cars and, yes, the prostitutes, this book describes it all to a T -- with wit, compassion, and honesty. Of course, if you were there in Moscow in the mid-to-late 1990s you probably don't need to read the book -- you lived the dream. But for all others, this book is as close as you'll probably come to having been there in the flesh. My Moscow gone by... I miss it so.

At times in this book I wanted to go and wash my hands, but then realize I prefered to turn the page and see what happened next. Although couched in an easily readable prose, I didn't care as much about the internal strife and difficulties it took to start and sustain an alternative newspaper, but the glimpse of post-Soviet Russia was something which is hard to find elsewhere.

This book made me take a step back and re-analyze the schlock that "major" newspapers are willing to print. I may not have wanted to be fast friends with Ames or Taibbi, but it's good to know there are yellow journalists out there willing to put their lives on the line to challenge the status quo. This book seemed to encapsulize exactly what the eXile was about -- the humor of those who take themselves too seriously, the outlandishness of excess, and ultimately the truth of what lies behind a carefully sculpted facade of Western media spin.

Kudos to Grove/Atlantic to have the fortitude to publish this controversial work!

Brutal, dark, sickening, funny... and usually correct. Ames and Taibbi will take you on a personal tour of better-than-fiction shenanigans, crimes, and follies that typify today's catastrophic Russia. Better writing of Russia's darker side doesn't exist. Although set in ultra decadent Moscow, this book is written for anyone with a gripe against those totally accepted cultural norms we in the West come to question only after leaving the country. Be ready to challenge our great pillar institutions of sex (or sexlessness), drugs (as in "war on"), government aid, and of course feminism. As a bonus, you will be swept into their petty feuds with rivals from all walks of life. Keep a copy in your toilet. Every page is a ker-plunk of one-sided dialogue with counter-culture at it's finest!

Both me and my wife had read this book, and we both agree that this is by far the best account of life in Russia in the 1990s. The book is so interesting and so well written it is impossible to put it aside once you start reading it. It coveres wide range of topics from politics/corruption to the evolution of moscow drug scene. I lived in Moscow and later studied many of the same events in university, so I know that what the authors are telling is pretty much what happened. It was fascinating to read about the expat community and the way foreign journalists worked in Russia. It explains many of the articles I read in LA times!

To answer question of the previous reviewer, the reason why both authors spend some time describing their own lives, is so that you can understand what drove them to Russia. It is very important to understand the huge difference between the mentality of Russians and most Westerners.

Also, be prepared that this book is far from being politically correct. If you're a woman, most likely you will be offended by some of the passages. There are some extremely sexist things in this book. However, I think one should study them because they
reflect the untold feelings of many men.
Enjoy!

I never write reviews of books but this one deserves it after all the middlebrows have come out to attack it lately (first reviews were all glowing, later reviews all horrified). It's always a sign of a great book and courageous author (or authors in this case) when you have people either loving or hating a book, as they do this one. These days journalists and academics are all looking like Eddie Bauer catalogue models, and trying to live those safe lives. That's probably why some people hate this book, in which the authors/journalists get into the filth of corrupt Russia and corrupt journalism and don't try to make themselves out to be decent regular fellas but rather tell it like it is. Not for the faint-of-heart... If your idea of courageous intellectual pursuit is proving that Satan doesn't exist or that we live in a world where everyone respects each other, stay away from The Exile. If you want to read journalism as it should be done, diving head-first into the filth in order to get closer to the truth (like Dostoevsky taught), then take a chance. I know more than a few aspiring journalists and writers who said that this book changed their lives. Ok, most were male, but males have rights too!

Ames' and Taibbi's writing style can be noxious for female readers, but their commentary on the spectrum of life in Russia (which includes all characters - the someones & noones, the Russians & Expats) is really more on the mark than any other articles/books on the same subject. Parts of the book and reprints of articles from the Exile are truly sharp and funny, although the authors are not always as brilliant as they seem to think they are.

Can anybody tell me why so much of the book covers their own life history? I mean, who cares?

...but it is funny. Ames and Taibbi, established for some time now as Gadflies-in-Residence in Moscow for both their foreign and domestic readership alike, continue to prove that political and social analysis doesn't have to be performed by hacks who don't know how to chase a story or take some risks. No, these might not be the guys to bring home to your parents (unless they happen to own an opium den), but the substance of their commentaries ring brutally true. They broke the story of Russia's disasterous economy long before the New York Times or the Washington Post would even allude to it and their paper trail weaves through chapters in this book with a shocking humor not seen since Swift wrote his Modest Proposal.

This book is a brutally honest view of Russia in the 90's. Although some stunts and text may offend some readers, I would never ask the authors to tone down or censor any of their thoughts. The authors rip apart correspondents from America and Europe and you get a true understanding of why you won't read an accurate account of any event in Russia from America's big city newspapers. The tragedy is that those journalists haven't changed and continue to write much of the same swill.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with a desire to invest in Russia or anything Russian. You have to read this book.