The stories and memories that shape the identity of a Jewish family of Russian origin living in Finland since the beginning of the 20th century make up this humorous and semi-autobiographical
novel. The stories give insight into�Benno, a cornetist with the czar's army who left Russia to escape his country's anti-Semitism; his father, a bootlegger who arrived in Finland by skiing
there; and his son Arje, a militant communist who fought with the Germans against the Soviets during World War II. Most important, however, is the story of Benno's grandson, in whom the
trajectories of his predecessors converge and whose ironic and melancholy voice imbue all the stories with meaning as�he tries to find his roots within them.
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Las historias y recuerdos que conforman la identidad de una familia jud穩a de origen ruso instalada en Finlandia desde principios del siglo XX componen esta novela humor穩stica y
semi-autobiogr獺fica. Entre las historias est獺 la de Benno, corneta del ej矇rcito del zar que sali籀 de Rusia tratando de dejar atr獺s el clima antisemita de su pa穩s; la de su padre, un
contrabandista que lleg籀 a Finlandia esquiando; y la de su hijo Arje, militante comunista que durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial luch籀 en el bando alem獺n contra los sovi矇ticos.�Pero la m獺s
importante es la historia del nieto de Benno, en quien convergen las trayectorias de sus antepasados y cuya�voz ir籀nica y melanc籀lica otorga sentido a todas las historias, buscando al mismo
tiempo en ellas sus propias ra穩ces.
