A Tumultuous Love Story of Endurance and Separation!
What started out as an infatuation between teenagers who met during the savage Russian Civil War becomes a tumultuous love story. From the moment Soviet Commissar Mischa Rasputnis embraces Basya Abramskaya, a Soviet spy, the couple's fate is pitted against the Kremlin's secret police who warn the couple never to communicate with each other again. Wrenched from the arms of his loved one, Mischa often dreams he sees Basya in the sunflower fields of Ukraine, on the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War, along the beaches of Tel Aviv, and in the teeming alleyways of Shanghai. Will their love endure years of separation and deception to evade the long reach of the Soviet spies he turned on. This suspenseful tale, "Klara's Brother & The Woman He Loved," Volume III of The Klara Trilogy, ends the saga of the Klara Rasputnis clan's battle for survival. An historical novel in one of the bloodiest and most irrational periods in the 20th century.
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"With acute attention to historical details, Ben Frank pulls us into the lives of two lovers caught at the intersection of national loyalty and personal desire. It is a sizzling, affecting romance set in the grip of the Russian war. Tensions rise in the quest for survival. Loss is at stake. And we are left at the edge of this gripping narrative as we watch and root for the protagonists to overcome their hurdles and find their way back to each other."
- Tochi Eze, Teaching Assistant, The Writing Program, Florida Atlantic University.
"In Mischa, Ben Frank has created one of the unforgettable characters in contemporary fiction."
- Lewis Burke Frumkes, Author, Radio Show Host.
Ben G. Frank is the author of Klara's Journey, Klara's War, The Scattered Tribe, A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe (4 editions); A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia and Ukraine, A Travel Guide to the Jewish Caribbean and South America. He has published articles in Hadassah Magazine, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, Moment Magazine, JTA, and the New Haven Register.
He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, B.A., cum laude; and Columbia University, M.A. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, he lived for many years in the New York area, with his late wife, Riva. He now resides in Palm Beach County, FL.
