New Publication of Interest from Cornell University Press

[Jen Longley]

Hello,

   Cornell University Press is announcing a recent publication of
interest. The book, entitled "The Five: A Novel of Jewish Life in Turn-of-the-Century
Odessa" is authored by Vladimir Jabotinsky, with translation by Michael R. Katz and
an introduction by Michael Stanislawski
   Included below is information on the book. If there are any
questions,please feel free to visit our website at http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu,
or send an email to me at jal225 at cornell.edu.

Jen Longley
Cornell University Press


New from Cornell University Press
The Five
Vladimir Jaboinsky; Michael R. Katz (translator); Michael Stanislawski (Introduction)
Cornell University Press
Cloth ISBN 0-8014-4266-4 $45.00 £ 24.95  €35.50
Paper ISBN 0-8014-8903-2 $17.95 £ 9.95  €13.95
224 pages
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu

“The beginning of this tale of bygone days in Odessa dates to the dawn of the
twentieth century. At that time we used to refer to the first years of this period as the
'springtime,' meaning a social and political awakening. For my generation, these
years also coincided with our own personal springtime, in the sense that we were all
in our youthful twenties. And both of these springtimes, as well as the image of our
carefree Black Sea capital with acacias growing along its steep banks, are
interwoven in my memory with the story of one family in which there were five
children: Marusya, Marko, Lika, Serezha, and Torik.”-from The Five

The Five is an captivating novel of the decadent fin-de-siècle written by Vladimir
Jabotinsky (1880-1940), a controversial leader in the Zionist movement whose
literary talents, until now, have largely gone unrecognized by Western readers. The
author deftly paints a picture of Russia's decay and decline-a world permeated with
sexuality, mystery, and intrigue. Michael R. Katz has crafted the first English-
language translation of this important novel, which was written in Russian in 1935
and published a year later in Paris under the title Pyatero.

The book is Jabotinsky's elegaic paean to the Odessa of his youth, a place that no
longer exists. It tells the story of an upper-middle-class Jewish family, the Milgroms,
at the turn of the century. It follows five siblings as they change, mature, and come to
accept their places in a rapidly evolving world. With flashes of humor, Jabotinsky
captures the ferment of the time as reflected in political, social, artistic, and spiritual
developments. He depicts with nostalgia the excitement of life in old Odessa and
comments poignantly on the failure of the dream of Jewish assimilation within the
Russian empire.

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