Tales of Odessa by Isaac Babel
"Tales of Odessa" is a collection of stories by Isaac Babel that vividly portrays the life of the Jewish underworld in Odessa, Russia, during the early 20th century. The narratives are centered around Benya Krik, a formidable figure who leads a gang of Jewish criminals in the Moldavanka district. The tales explore themes of organized crime, extortion, and familial loyalty, depicting the intertwining lives of gangsters and the community around them. One notable story involves Krik's attempts to extort a wealthy merchant, Sender Eichbaum, and his subsequent relationship with Eichbaum's daughter, Zilya. The narratives are rich with cultural context, reflecting the complexities of Jewish life and societal dynamics in a tumultuous historical period. Babel's work is recognized for its blend of realism and expressive language, providing insight into the struggles and moral ambiguities faced by his characters. "Tales of Odessa" stands as a significant contribution to Jewish literature and offers a poignant look at the intersection of crime, power, and identity within a vibrant community.
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Tales of Odessa by Isaac Babel
First published:Odesskie rasskazy, 1931 (English translation, 1955)
Type of work: Short fiction
Type of plot: Comic realism
Time of plot: Early twentieth century
Locale: Moldavanka district, Odessa, Russia
Principal characters
Benya Krik , a criminal bossDvoira , his sisterZilya Eichbaum , his first wifeSender Eichbaum , a rich Jewish merchant, Zilya’s fatherRubin Osipovich Tartakovsky , a rich Jewish merchantJoseph Muginstein , his clerkFroim Grach , a criminal bossBasya Grach , his daughter, and Benya’s second wifeLyubka Schneiweiss , an innkeeper
The Story:
Benya Krik is the boss of the Jewish criminals in Moldavanka, a district in Odessa, Russia. One day, he writes to Sender Eichbaum, a rich Jewish merchant in town, demanding twenty thousand rubles. After Eichbaum ignores the attempt at extortion, Krik and his accomplices raid Eichbaum’s property and begin killing his cows. Eichbaum rushes outside to try to stop the killing, and so does his daughter Zilya, wearing only a low-cut blouse. Eichbaum pays Krik to go away, but two days later the gangster returns, returns the money, and asks to marry Zilya. After some persuasion, Eichbaum consents.
A new police chief has resolved to raid Krik’s house on the day the gangster’s forty-year-old sister, Dvoira, plans to marry. A groom had to be bought with the money Krik extorted from Eichbaum because Dvoira is forty years old and has a goiter. On the day of the wedding, a messenger brings Krik the news of the impending raid. Krik and a few friends leave the wedding for half an hour and then return. The lavish wedding feast is soon interrupted by smoke from the burning police station.
A local rabbi explains how Krik was named king of the Moldavanka gangsters. As a young man, Krik asked to join the gang of Froim Grach, then the leader of Odessa’s Jewish underworld. As a test, Grach had told him to rob the rich merchant Rubin Osipovich Tartakovsky, who was so powerful that he had been nicknamed Jew-and-a-half. The story continues: Krik first writes a threatening letter demanding money. Tartakovsky’s humorous reply goes astray. Angered by a lack of response, Krik robs Tartakovsky’s factory, in the course of which one of the thieves, Savka Butris, kills clerk Joseph Muginstein.
Although Muginstein’s death is ultimately Krik’s fault, Tartakovsky is made to pay Muginstein’s mother five thousand rubles as compensation; Krik also grants her a pension for life. He also arranges an extravagant funeral for both Muginstein and Butris, who is killed either by Krik or by a member of his gang. At the funeral, Krik delivers a brief and somewhat incoherent eulogy, then drives off in his red car. Someone watching the proceedings pronounces Krik the king for his bravado and grand gestures, and the title stuck.
Grach’s daughter Basya returns to her father after spending her first twenty years with her grandmother. She wants to marry Solomonchik Kaplun, the son of a grocer, but Solomonchik’s parents insist that he marry a grocer’s daughter. Grach asks Lyubka Schneiweiss, the innkeeper, her advice about whom his daughter should marry. She recommends that Basya marry the already-married Krik. When Krik at last emerges, the two men arrange the wedding, which includes making the Kapluns pay two thousand rubles toward Basya’s dowry.
Bibliography
Bloom, Harold, ed. Isaac Babel. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004. A collection of essays that examines Babel’s work. Includes a biographical introduction by Bloom and discussion of Babel’s melding of art and reality in his writings. Part of Bloom’s Major Short Story Writers series.
Carden, Patricia. The Art of Isaac Babel. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1972. Offers close readings of the stories. Less biographically oriented than James E. Fallen’s 1974 study, Isaac Babel.
Ehre, Milton. Isaac Babel. Boston: Twayne, 1986. Surveys Babel’s life and literary output. Includes an annotated bibliography of criticism.
Fallen, James E. Isaac Babel: Russian Master of the Short Story. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1974. Linking Babel’s writings and life, Fallen places the stories within the context of Jewish and modernist literature.
Freidin, Gregory, ed. The Enigma of Isaac Babel: Biography, History, Context. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2009. This collection of scholarly essays examines Babel’s life and art, the first work to do so “since the fall of communism and the opening of Soviet archives.” Includes a preface, notes, and an index.
Hallett, Richard. Isaac Babel. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1973. A critical biography tracing Babel’s development as a writer.
Mendelsohn, Danuta. Metaphor in Babel’s Short Stories. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Ardis, 1982. A study of Babel’s use of language.