From Odessa With Love

Vladislav Davidzon, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Odessa Review European Culture Critic, Tablet Magazine.

"He offers vivid portraits of the spies, mobsters, thieves, artists, hustlers and politicians living in this colorful metropolis. There is an epistolary quality to Davidzon's reporting -- confiding, intimate, humorous." - The Spectator "Infused with the spirit of Isaac Babel, sly it demonstrates why, in a deep sense, Odessa is the centre of the world. This collection is a little treasure." - A.D. Miller, author of Independence Square "Born in Tashkent, raised in Moscow and New York City, an editor in Odessa, a correspondent in Paris, there seems nowhere Davidzon hasn't been and no one he hasn't met. The result is a distinctive voice and eye, an eclectic mix of the cultural critic, the political analyst, and the liberal cosmopolitan, evident from the first page of this delightful book."--- Mark Galeotti, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London "Read this book. Read it and understand that it is important if one wants to understand where we are now."--- Peter Pomerantsev, author of This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality "Vladislav Davidzon is a modern addition to the great literary tradition of Ukraine's most sophisticated city, Odessa. He is a trenchant and witty observer of life, arts, and politics in Odessa and Ukraine at large. Come here not for pious observations or long-distance platitudes but for a real in-depth take on the tribulations of contemporary Ukraine."--- Thomas de Waal, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe "He is a literary critic whose prose is built to tell a story. As a result, his essays often drift into the realm of the absurd. This may be the key to writing effectively about Ukraine, a country where things are rarely as they seem and events are routinely distorted by the tragic grandeur of the country's dizzyingly complex past.As Davidzon's book reminds us, sometimes storytelling is simply the most effective way of making a bigger point. Reports on the successes and failures of Ukraine's law enforcement reforms are commonplace and are often rather dull. It takes an altogether more artistic touch to regale readers with the tale of a nocturnal neighborly altercation resolved by the unexpected professionalism and restraint of the newly reformed Odesa police. Such flourishes are typical of Davidzon, who is entirely at home in the often absurd and endlessly entertaining world of today's Odesa. His debut essay collection is a literary love letter in every sense that captures the magic of the city in ways which would elude more traditional reporting." - Anthony Bartaway, The Atlantic Council