Two for the Devil

by Allen Hoffman

Book Overview

It is Rosh Hashanah -- the Jewish New Year and Day of Judgment -- in Moscow during the Stalinist purges of 1936. In the Lubyanka secret police prison, senior investigator Grisha Shwartzman masterfully pursues the rigorous logic and obsessive legalism of the Soviet witch-hunt. Facing an extraordinary prisoner, Grisha realizes that the Soviet system he has faithfully served is murderously corrupt and that he himself will be the next victim -- but...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789206412
• ISBN13: 9780789206411
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.9" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

semi-surreal account of Jewish reality 1936-1943

An extremely well written account of two losely connected characters: one a Jewish member of KGB circa 1936, another a Jew on the way to Treblinka circa 1943. The first account captures the atmosphere of Stalin's reign of terror with an incredible surreal quality reminiscent of Bulgakov. The account of the trek to Treblinka, while not as strong, has its poignant moments. The whole is tied nicely through a prophetic figure of a fictional Rebbe living in the Midwest of the USA. The book reads so well (and quickly) it'd be a shame to miss it.