Customer Reviews

The Rich Russians Guide to Sex, Shopping and Revenge: A Novel

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She, Serge and their nine years old daughter lived the good life of the Russian nouveau riche in the upscale Rublyovka section of Moscow until her spouse was gunned down just outside their luxurious apartment. Stunned and grieving with no satisfaction from the police, who initially suspect her, the wealthy young widow is determined to maintain their high standard of living while also avenging the murder of her loved one.

As she plans to keep the business running smoothly, she turns to Oleg, who can navigate places that the police would fear entering. She wants to hire him to find her husband's killer, whose composite picture she has seen at the police station and has previously met at the restaurant. However, she will soon learn more than she wants to know about how Moscow's ruthless business world operates; her late spouse's real trade; and especially Serge's darkest secrets.

This is an intriguing look at Russia's nouveau riche especially those of high society who live in the exclusive Rublyovka neighborhood like Yeltsin. The story line is driven mostly by the lead female, but supported by her contacts with the upper class elite and the lower class minion as she works both sides of the street. Fans of deep dramas in which the locale is the star will enjoy this solid character study starring an affluent Russian woman with two divergent goals.

Harriet Klausner

Even though Casual is Oksana Robski's first novel, she proves her mastery, wit, and writing talent easily. Originally written in Russian and first published early in 2005, this book is about the elite of the Moscow society. It describes in minute details the life and intrigues that go on among the residents of the posh Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway (a place where such people as former president Yeltsin own villas). It is a life filled with high-class cars, $50,000/day shopping sprees, vacations in Courchevel, houses with heated marble floors and dinners with caviar and Cristal. Although the book angered many Russians (probably for the sole reason that it described such an unattainable life and people who profit off others), it is written brilliantly. The original Russian version is extremely witty and shows how well Robski can use the language.

The heroine of the book is a woman whose husband, a rich businessman, was just murdered. She is left with a posh estate, money, 9-year old child, and a bunch of questions about her husbands real life. As she tries to answer these questions and get over her grief, we learn about her attempts to establish her own business, the brutality of the Russian reality, relationships between "rich" and "poor" people, and her husbands little secrets.

At first it might look like a snob wrote that book. Believe me, it is nothing like Paris Hilton's "All About Me" book. Robski is very insightful and seems to know a lot about life outside of Rublevka.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone - Russian or not. You will learn a lot about living large in Moscow. I would also recommend her other 2 books: "Day of Happiness: Tomorrow" and "Pro Ljuboff/on" ("About Love [Loff]/on").

I was in Russia when this book came out and it was a real sensation. The title of the Russian original is in English, and there was something shocking and transgressive about seeing it on the spine among the other Russian books. I found this English translation on a remainder table, having not heard that it had been translated. I suspect that the story, while interesting for an English-speaking reader, is not nearly as fascinating as it would be for a member of the Russian intelligentsia who has only seen the New Russians from the outside.

The book has a fast-paced plot about a woman whose husband is killed over a business deal and how she has to deal with getting revenge, his pregnant mistress, starting a new business of her own, and a bunch of friends who are in a constant state of crisis.

It's a fast and engrossing read, but at the end I was struck by the emptiness of it. The narrator is the only one who is shown as competent and not evil. Everyone else is needy and dependent on her or out to get her. This may indeed be the experience of many New Russians, but there's something unsatisfying about this in fiction.

The narrator's female friends are all the same, although they're in different situations. I wasn't able to keep them straight in my head, even though I'm familiar with Russian names. I think this is because their characters were the same - ultimately passive.

For the narrator, life is a constant struggle for survival. She ends up triumphing, but I wasn't particularly moved by this.

If you've always wondered if there any any trashy Russian novels, you should give this a try. Those who study the New Russians will also find an interesting perspective from the inside here. However, it's a pretty empty feeling inside.