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The Blurb On The Back:
In 1906, the revolutionary Joseph Djugashvili - who would later take the name Joseph Stalin - met with an old friend, a clerk at the Tiflis branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, for a glass of milk. Over talk of national pride, the spirit of the new century and Djugashvili’s poetry, they agreed the beginnings of a plan.
With the aid of the Outfit, Djugashvili’s hardened crew of “expropriators”, they would pull off the biggest, bloodiest and most daring robbery in Georgia’s history, and ruthlessly change the direction of the Bolshevik revolution forever …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
David Tallerman’s historical novella focuses on a notorious robbery, which cemented Joseph Stalin’s status in the Bolshevik movement. The narrative sticks to the facts with Tallerman noting at the back what he’s fictionalised but it’s a weirdly detached read with Tallerman not capturing Stalin’s psyche and being more interested in the more colourful Kamo (who benefits from an epilogue). Ultimately it’s fine but didn’t grab me as much as I hoped.
THE OUTFIT by David Tallerman was released in the United Kingdom on 3rd March 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
In 1906, the revolutionary Joseph Djugashvili - who would later take the name Joseph Stalin - met with an old friend, a clerk at the Tiflis branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, for a glass of milk. Over talk of national pride, the spirit of the new century and Djugashvili’s poetry, they agreed the beginnings of a plan.
With the aid of the Outfit, Djugashvili’s hardened crew of “expropriators”, they would pull off the biggest, bloodiest and most daring robbery in Georgia’s history, and ruthlessly change the direction of the Bolshevik revolution forever …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
David Tallerman’s historical novella focuses on a notorious robbery, which cemented Joseph Stalin’s status in the Bolshevik movement. The narrative sticks to the facts with Tallerman noting at the back what he’s fictionalised but it’s a weirdly detached read with Tallerman not capturing Stalin’s psyche and being more interested in the more colourful Kamo (who benefits from an epilogue). Ultimately it’s fine but didn’t grab me as much as I hoped.
THE OUTFIT by David Tallerman was released in the United Kingdom on 3rd March 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
