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A review by literatehedgehog
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts by Julian Rubinstein
4.0
Unbelievably entertaining true crime story of a Hungarian bank robber in the 1990s.
It's the true story of Attila Ambrus, whose life could represent the struggles of a post-communist Hungary. There's abysmally terrible ice hockey, poorly trained police force that barely have enough guns or cars to go around, let alone forensic evidence equipment, excessive casino gambling and the titular whiskey drinking, and a multitude of absurd wigs. Rubinstein includes enough background information to understand the unique social, political circumstances, but without overpowering the narrative. It's non-fiction that reads like a bittersweet fiction, a comic tragedy of a specific moment in central European history.
I could quote nearly the whole book as an example of Rubinstein's dry humor, but if I flip to a random page I could pull out such a nugget as, "To make up for the absence of a door watcher, he had bought a sheet of cardboard and meticulously drawn in large shadowed block lettering CLOSED FOR TECHNICAL REASONS, and below in smaller print, PLEASE EXCUSE THE INCONVENIENCE. ...Preparation was everything." (pg 109).
Recommend to
First off, immediately getting a copy to mail to my dad.
Give it to readers of crime stories and mysteries, especially those who like a bit of history and would cheer on the (clearly inebriated) underdog.
It's the true story of Attila Ambrus, whose life could represent the struggles of a post-communist Hungary. There's abysmally terrible ice hockey, poorly trained police force that barely have enough guns or cars to go around, let alone forensic evidence equipment, excessive casino gambling and the titular whiskey drinking, and a multitude of absurd wigs. Rubinstein includes enough background information to understand the unique social, political circumstances, but without overpowering the narrative. It's non-fiction that reads like a bittersweet fiction, a comic tragedy of a specific moment in central European history.
I could quote nearly the whole book as an example of Rubinstein's dry humor, but if I flip to a random page I could pull out such a nugget as, "To make up for the absence of a door watcher, he had bought a sheet of cardboard and meticulously drawn in large shadowed block lettering CLOSED FOR TECHNICAL REASONS, and below in smaller print, PLEASE EXCUSE THE INCONVENIENCE. ...Preparation was everything." (pg 109).
Recommend to
First off, immediately getting a copy to mail to my dad.
Give it to readers of crime stories and mysteries, especially those who like a bit of history and would cheer on the (clearly inebriated) underdog.