February 02, 2022

Copperfield? I Hardly Know Her!


Copperfield? I Hardly Know Her!

“Usually, to put money on a card, you need an ATM; with magicians, everything is much simpler: just rub a coin and it becomes invisible.”

– Eugene, at Nevyansk prison in the Urals.

While it may not be often that we breathe the words "magic" and "prison" in the same sentence, Eugene has certainly found a way to put the magic in prison.

Even though Eugene is currently serving a stint for an unspecified violation, he has found comfort in magic that he learned back in his student days. The works of Harry Houdini and David Copperfield are his greatest inspirations. It isn't a real mystery as to why: Houdini was a master of escape and Copperfield was famous for his knack for flying onstage

Magic is currently just a hobby for Eugene, but once he is free he plans to fully indulge in his work and become a master illusionist, just like his heroes.

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Some of our Books

Murder and the Muse
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Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Steppe
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Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
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93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
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Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

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