The Unpossessed City: A Novel [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Jon Fasman (Author), John Farrage (narrator) (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2008

In this taut, atmospheric novel by the author of The New York Times bestseller, The Geographer’s Library, a young American finds himself adrift in Russia amid murderous bureaucrats, Central Asian mobsters, and a conspiracy to sell Soviet bioweapons to the highest bidder. Jim Vilatzer was going nowhere—working in his parents’ restaurant, sleeping in his childhood bedroom—until he ran up gambling debts that forced him to go somewhere far away—fast. He uses his Russian-language skills (learned from his émigré grandparents) to cadge a job in Moscow finding and interviewing survivors of the Gulag. At first, he only finds that they are well hidden and leery of sharing their horrific stories, but he also discovers that he’s falling in love with their homeland. He is intoxicated by Moscow’s brooding, ironic atmosphere, its vast reservoir of entrepreneurial energy, its otherworldly churches and majestic subways. On any given day, petty indignities are more than offset by random acts of kindness. Jim’s taste for gambling is satisfied merely by living in a city that teems with risk and promise. So he blithely accepts a big win when a chance meeting with a lovely aspiring actress leads not only to romance but also to her grandfather, a concentration camp survivor who does actually want to share his story. Soon Jim is on a roll, scoring interviews with four other survivors in as many days, learning harrowing and fascinating things about bygone atrocities and feeling like he has finally found where he belongs. But his apparent success has earned him the attention of Russia’s Interior Ministry and the CIA. Jim has become an unwitting cog in a scheme to spirit Soviet scientists and their deadly secrets out of Russia and into the hands of the highest bidder. Pursued ruthlessly by both sides, he must flee again, this time to the lawless border country, where an economist-cum- mobster is preparing to peddle the world’s most dangerous technologies to whichever terrorists can muster the cash first. Like Donna Leon’s novels of Venice or John Burdett’s Bangkok series, The Unpossessed City makes of its setting an intricate, irresistible character. With taut, ingenious plotting and incisive prose, Fasman engages our most visceral fears and throws brilliant light on our most primal drives—to feel that we belong, to find love, to become better than we are.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Fasman, whose well-received debut, The Geographer's Library (2005), was set in Da Vinci Code territory, takes a compassionate look at the hard truths of modern-day Russia in his absorbing second novel. After a failed romance, 32-year-old Jim Vilatzer is working in his father's Rockville, Md., restaurant, trying to earn enough cash to pay off a $24,000 gambling debt. In an attempt to earn more money, Jim uses his Russian language skills learned in college to get a job in Moscow with the Memory Foundation to interview and record the stories of former political prisoners. A series of interviews draws him into a far-reaching scheme involving the abduction of retired Russian nuclear and biotech scientists. The bio-thriller aspect of the plot provides a loose frame for Fasman's real concerns: Jim's personal, romantic and espionage relationships and, more importantly, the trials and tribulations of the new Russia itself. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Thirtysomething Jim Vilatzer lives at home and works in his parents’ restaurant. He’s going nowhere until gambling debts force him to make a change. He lands a job in Moscow (he grew up speaking Russian to his immigrant grandparents), interviewing survivors of the gulag for a not-for-profit company. His work soon makes him a pawn in a scheme to sell to the highest bidder four of the former USSR’s top weapons engineers, which, in turn, leads him to become a target of Russian state security and the CIA. Fasman (The Geographer’s Library, 2005), weaves two very different plotlines here, one the story of a man discovering a new world and realizing that his roots are more important than he realized, the other tracking the machinations of crooked Russian officials to sell fellow citizens for a profit. The first plot is deftly, even lovingly achieved; Fasman’s Moscow is beautiful, tragic, brutal, and exhilarating. The second story line is convoluted and arcane. But, even so, the sum of the parts in this lyrically written novel is more than enough to keep readers engaged. --Thomas Gaughan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.; Unabridged edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593161735
• ISBN-13: 978-1593161736
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,059,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful feel for Moscow, May 10, 2009

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Book Lover (Maryland,) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Unpossessed City: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book reveals Jon Fasman's deep understanding and love of Moscow. While the plot entertains and moves along briskly, it is really his descriptions of the city and its inhabitants that captured and delighted me. Well worth the read!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Read, November 13, 2008

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myviews (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unpossessed City: A Novel (Hardcover)

I tend to like books that transport you to unfamiliar places through the eyes of characters poised at familiar crossroads, in search of their identity, their roots and their possibilities. Fasman's new novel does just that. The opening chapter set in a Russian prison draws you in immediately with its tension and foreboding tone while the shift to Rockville, Maryland introduces you to Jim Vilatzer, a 32 -year old at odds with himself and his life. The plot moves swiftly and engages you throughout with unexpected twists and turns that make you want to know with increasing urgency how these worlds connect. But what I loved most of all in this book and in Fasman's last, The Geographer's Library, (and for that matter, what will keep me looking forward to whatever he writes next), is the writing itself. This is an author with a gift for immersing you in the locales he writes about, for making you feel as if you are in Moscow traveling alongside Jim, experiencing the city's "unpredictability and toughness" and at the same time, discovering its "unexpected, genuine moments of kindness."

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, November 11, 2008

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rebekkah4 (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unpossessed City: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book was great on a number of levels. As a mystery, the plot was complex and surprising. As a novel, the writing was wonderful, a pleasure to read. And as a lesson about contemporary Russia, this book was fantastic. I feel like I understand more about Russia by reading this novel, in a way that I couldn't just by watching the news or reading non-fiction. This is a beautifully composed, nuanced book with very strong, almost cinematic imagery that makes the story electrifying. 100% recommend this book.