Ostap Bender Series by Ilya Ilf, Yevgeny Petrov, Iļja Ilfs, Jevgeņijs Petrovs

Ostap Bender is an unemployed con artist living by his wits in postrevolutionary Soviet Russia. He joins forces with Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, a former nobleman who has returned to his hometown to find a cache of missing jewels which were hidden in some chairs that have been appropriated by the Soviet authorities... moreOstap Bender is an unemployed con artist living by his wits in postrevolutionary Soviet Russia. He joins forces with Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, a former nobleman who has returned to his hometown to find a cache of missing jewels which were hidden in some chairs that have been appropriated by the Soviet authorities. The search for the bejeweled chairs takes these unlikely heroes from the provinces to Moscow to the wilds of Soviet Georgia and the Trans-caucasus mountains; on their quest they encounter a wide variety of characters: from opportunistic Soviet bureaucrats to aging survivors of the prerevolutionary propertied classes, each one more selfish, venal, and ineffective than the one before. less

The name The Little Golden Calf comes from the Bible, the Book of Exodus 32:1-4 Delighted applause from both sides of the Atlantic greeted the first publication of this comic clasic about Soviet life in the early years after the Revolution. Social changes then were so drastic and came so thick and fast that even most Russians were confused. This is the story of Ostap Bender, opportunist and small time crook, who makes the most of the situation... moreThe name The Little Golden Calf comes from the Bible, the Book of Exodus 32:1-4 Delighted applause from both sides of the Atlantic greeted the first publication of this comic clasic about Soviet life in the early years after the Revolution. Social changes then were so drastic and came so thick and fast that even most Russians were confused. This is the story of Ostap Bender, opportunist and small time crook, who makes the most of the situation. Discovering that millions have leaked quietly out of Soviet coffers into the hands of a unreconstructed individualist who believed in private enterprise, our hero sets about getting this fortune into his own hands. Rounding up a motley gang of hoodlums he embarks on a series of hilariously breathtaking escapades and adventures impossible in any other time or place. In the end they succeed but the pay-off is no bargain. Ilf and Petrov never poked funnier fun at their people and politics in this picaresque novel of red tape and wretches. less

Romāna autoru smalkā ironija, humors un dzirkstošā asprātība, ar kādu viņi radījuši tālaika dzīves neticamās nejaušības un bezjēdzības Krievijā, mietpilsonību un birokrātiju, nebija glaimojošs padomju varai. Saistošais sižets – divu avantūrisku vīru dzīšanās pēc krēslā noslēptām dārglietām – ir bijis pamatā arī vairākām veiksmīgām ekranizācijām, kas darījušas neaizmirstamus gan spilgtos, izteiksmīgos tēlus, gan viņu trāpīgos, aforismiem līdzīgos izteicienus.