A very different Russian story, told in retrospect by a grandfather to his grandson. It has magical realism qualities but essentially is an adventure story, a silly quest, to bring back a couple of dozen eggs for the wedding cake of a wealthy general. In this novel, Lev, an intelligent but awkward Jew living in Russia befriends Kolya, a Slavic roustabout in prison where they both have been thrown for wartime infractions. Just as they are about to be executed, they are summoned by a Secret Police Colonel. If they can find a dozen eggs so that the General's daughter can have a wedding cake, their lives will be saved. And so begins the story and the adventure of the book. The story swings back in forth between humor and devastation, with a love story and coming of age challenge.
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