Mother Russia — Robert Littell

This tragicomic classic by Robert Littell, New York Times bestselling master of the espionage thriller, follows a black marketeer's madcap odyssey through Soviet-era Moscow.

In a city brimming with paranoia, Robespierre Pravdin keeps his head down, scraping by hustling wristwatches on the black market. Formerly held in a prison camp, he wants nothing more than to fly under the state's radar.

But when Pravdin stumbles across the original manuscript of a famous Russian novel, he discovers evidence that the book's lauded, Nobel-prize winning author plagiarized the work. Pravdin pursues the truth, even if it means risking getting him committed to a mental hospital or imprisoned -- again.

With his signature absurdist style, Robert Littell evokes a dark, gripping, and humorous portrait of crime and punishment in Soviet-era Moscow -- where someone is always watching.