How It Was Done in Odessa (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Isaac Babel
- First Published: 1923
- Type of Plot: Realism
- Time of Work: The early twentieth century
- Setting: Odessa
- Principal Characters: The narrator, Reb Arye-Leib, Benya Krik, Savka Butsis, Ruvim Tartakovsky, Joseph Muginstein, Aunt Pesya
- Genres: Short fiction, Frame story
- Subjects: Prejudices or antipathies, Violence, Jews or Jewish life, Gangsters, Organized crime, Adventure
- Locales: Odessa, Ukraine
The Story
“How It Was Done in Odessa” belongs to a cycle of four stories known as the Odessa Tales, which were written by Isaac Babel between 1921 and 1923 and published as Odesskie rasskazy (1931; Tales of Odessa, 1955). All these tales concern the adventures of a Jewish gangster, Benya Krik. “How It Was Done in Odessa” is begun by a first-person narrator, who asks Reb Arye-Leib how Benya came to be known as “the King.” The story that follows is told by Reb Arye-Leib in response to that question.
Reb Arye-Leib's story begins when Benya...
[The entire page is 1134 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
