Books

Shalom, Bonjour, Odesa

Marpress Publishing House, Gdańsk 2022

A city born of dreams, steppe dust, and sea breeze. A city of trade and art. Ukrainian, Russian, Jewish, French, Italian — and, above all, uniquely its own: Odesan.

In search of traces left by her late father, the narrator leads us through the streets and history of Odesa. We follow her from beaches and Orthodox churches dripping with gold to the catacombs that for years were the realm of the criminal underworld. She recounts jokes, quotes advertisements from local newspapers, and shares conversations with the men and women of Odesa. She traces her own paths through markets, government offices, cemeteries, and church archives.

The result is a portrait of the Odesa that once was – before history swept through the city yet again and changed its face.