Odessa Tales

Isaac Babel · 1894–1940 · Russia / Ukraine

Originally Odesskie Rasskazy (Russian)

Why it matters

Jewish gangsters rule Odessa's Moldavanka slum in stories of comic, operatic violence and unlikely tenderness. Babel's other essential story cycle, lighter than Red Cavalry but no less precisely made.

At a glance

Vivid but compact vignettes, easier-going than Red Cavalry despite their stylistic density.