Customer Reviews

Mother Russia

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I was laughing, loving, and otherwise utterly hooked from the moment the main character, Robespierre Pravdin, began his sales pitch for Q-Tips. (It sounds lame here, but once you read the book you will never think of Q-Tips, or for that matter feminine deodorant or depilatory cream, the same way again). He crashes parties, he writes exceedingly quotable graffiti, and he says exactly what he thinks. He speaks a little Latin (though people always say, "is that Jewish?") and a little Hebrew (though people ask, "is that Latin?"). In the background, convoluted conspiracies and bureaucratic absurdity make his life as hellish as possible, eventually certifying him insane because can't be manipulated by them. This Catch-22-esque novel is a hilarious look at Communism: not condemnatory or hopeful, just irreverent.