The Odessa Tales

by Isaak Babel · first published 1931

Odessa Stories (Russian: Одесские рассказы, romanized: Odesskiye rasskazy), also known as Tales of Odessa, is a collection of four short stories by Isaac Babel, set in Odessa in the last days of the Russian Empire and the Russian Revolution. Published individually in Soviet magazines between 1921 and 1924 and collected into a book in 1931, they deal primarily with a group of Jewish thugs that live in Moldavanka, a ghetto of Odessa. Their leader is Benya Krik, known as the King, and loosely based on the historical figure Mishka Yaponchik. In 1926, Babel adapted parts of the first two stories and additional content as a screenplay, Benya Krik, directed by Vladimir Vilner and released in 1927, as well as the play Sunset, which premiered in October 1927.

Summary: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Original language:

Russian

Year page:

1931