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"At fifty the good Buddhist takes to the road, leaving all his belongings behind. His sole possession is a begging bowl. That's how it should be. The problem was, there were four million dollars in my begging bowl and the mafia were after me. It was their money. They wanted it back, and they also wanted the girl, the woman who was with me: Sonia Kovalevskaya."
Not only a thriller about murder and big money but also a powerful evocation of the cruel history that binds Russia and Germany.
Gunter Ohnemus, born in 1946, lives in Munich and writes novels, essays and translations. This is his first novel to be translated into English.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a german brautigan?,
By
This review is from: The Russian Passenger (Paperback)
Ohnemus' novel first appeared in 2002 as "Reise in die Angst" (lit perhaps: "Journey into Fear"--I wonder why the change?). It chronciles the surprising and often frantic adventures of a Munich taxi-driver, once a productive writer but now a person who gives away books. At 50, he has--ironically, as it happens--followed the Buddhist path of disburdening himself, except that he has the titular Russian passenger and several million dollars of Mafia money. And yet this is much more than your average "krimi"--although of course there is no such thing really as a standard literary criminal novel these days anyway. Ohnemus has been Richard Brautigan's German translator, and has paid indirect homage to him in his earlier works (two volumes at least of short stories and the 1998 "Tiger auf deiner Schulter" [tiger on your shoulder, translated into French but not to my knowledge English]). It is not surprising therefore to find reproduced here a whole chapter from Brautigan's "Confederate General from Big Sur" and certain stylistic traits from the American author (which however sound more Brautiganesque in the German than in the translation--go figure). Given that Brautigan himself died in his 50th year, the dating here is not I think coincidental,and there is much else to interest readers of Brautigan. But the novel stands on its own. There is much else besides: frequent speculation about German-Russian relations, including a lengthy section about the 1940s German invasion; a distinct road movie impulse (Wenders take note!); and California dreaming. A good read, entertaining and thoughtful.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Philosophy and Thrills - a potent combination?,
By Feanor (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Russian Passenger (Paperback)
Günter Ohnemus wrote The Russian Passenger, a paean to the unlikely connection between a middle-aged German man and a young and beautiful Russian woman evoking the shared bitterness and understanding between these two great nations. Sonia Kovalevskaya is escaping her KGB-turned-Mafia life, and Harry Willemer is struggling with the ghosts of his youth, and his quarrel with his wife that led (indirectly) to the death of their beloved daughter. In Sonia he finds a kindred lost soul in search of escape, and while he can't escape his own grief, he attempts to keep her safe. The lives of the two protagonists becomes increasingly paranoid: they know that the Russian Mafia has its reach everywhere, and the action moves across Europe to the US, where the book suddenly becomes introspective. The first half of the book is a true thriller; the rest is all philosophy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
tense German thriller,
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Russian Passenger (Paperback)
In Munich, the beautiful but obviously nervous Russian, Sonia Kovalevskaya hails the taxi that fifty years old Harry Willemer drives for a living. She asks him to take her around Munich before dropping her off at the airport to catch a flight to Luxembourg. She explains to Harry that her Russian Mafia husband is after her because she stole four million dollars of their loot.
Somehow Sonia's plight touches Harry, who gave up on life twenty-two years ago when he got into a fight with his wife Ellen. Sick of his accusations, she left taking their daughter Jessie with her. Perhaps it was anger that blinded Ellen, but her vehicle crashed into a tree killing Jessie. Harry still blames himself drifting through life as a loner until now. Harry offers to drive her all the way to the ill-gotten money; Sonia accepts knowing that has to be safer than the airport or rails obviously under Mafia surveillance. Not long afterward with goons on their tail and the German police seeking them for questioning involving two dead Russians, Harry and Sonia flee for their lives. This English translation of a tense German thriller grips readers as the chase crosses Europe to America with friends of Harry assisting them; his sudden contacts bring out the pivotal moment that destroyed his life over two decades ago. Sonia is an intriguing protagonist and the antagonists are deliciously evil, but title aside Harry takes the novel above the typical pursuit thriller. He sees Sonia as a chance at some redemption that might relieve him a bit (not totally) from his self flagellation culpability and negative musings. Harriet Klausner 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Exciting and Involving Read,
By Richard Kurtz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Russian Passenger (Paperback)
I am very partial to "overseas" mysteries/thrillers....etc. Having read all of Henning Mankell's Inspector Wallender series, the Shanghai detective series (e.g. Death of A Red Heroine, etc.)and learned of Bitter Lemon Press and their activity in translating and publishing foreign mysteries. Well, this is a very well written and very introspective book; and having learned that the author translated much of Richard Brautigan's and Raymond Carver's work into German you can see the influence in his writing style. It's a very suspenseful read with lot's of interesting detours. Would love to read some of the author's other works --if and when they are translated into English.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a literary thriller,
By Barnard E. Turner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Russian Passenger (Paperback)
I've been reading Ohnemus for some time now, and am pleased to see his books appearing in French and now English. He's Richard Brautigan's German translator, and some of the spirit--and certain passages (unacknowledged--appear throughout. Also, the Russian passenger is called Sonya Kowalewskaya, which really intrigues me: why does a Russian mafia wife have the name of the famous 19th-century Russian mathematician, the author of the oddly named (in English) "Nihilist Girl"? Ohnemus is familiar at least with her "Recollections from Childhood," as his Sonja relates the tale from Bulwer-Lytton's "Harold" (he of the Battle of Hastings, 1066 and all that) which also appears in the "Recollections." Strange. The book is a good read, some people call it "tense" etc., but really it's better than that--worthy of an academic study, perhaps, not mere entertainment. Although it is very entertaining! Moves about a lot, Germany, France, Italy, America. Might make it to the big screen some time, as a kind of updated road movie of Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn for our time.
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