Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of
Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives,
and Broken Hearts
Julian Rubinstein (2004)
HV6653.A7 R83 2004
All the trappings of a picaresque novel: an episodic
work of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but
appealing hero. And, Attila Ambrus – the
focus of the tale - is all that and more…only it’s not fiction, despite how
improbable and fantastic it reads: it’s the
true story of the emergence of post-communist Hungary into modern Europe
through the tumultuous 1990’s as seen through Ambrus’ story. But, that’s not
the half of it - or perhaps a little more accurately - the 80% of it. The history
of modern Hungary starts with the end of the First World War and the extremely harsh
Treaty of Trianon when a leading cultural and major world power was stripped of
nearly 70% of its native lands (including access to the sea) leaving almost
one-third of its ethnic population to the vagaries and whims, at best, of countries not entirely sympathetic to the
plight of Hungary or the Hungarians who, by the few strokes of a pen, found
themselves outside the borders (and protection) of their homeland. “Hungary has
always been unlucky…” is how the first sentence of the first chapter of the Ballad
of the Whiskey Robber opens - which gives new meaning to the old saw…but
for bad luck Hungary wouldn’t have any luck at all.
Even knowing that the Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
is a true story doesn’t make it any easier to believe that it’s true: author Julian Rubinstein could be mistaken
for a fabulist or Thomas Pynchon’s cousin given to the pleasures of absurdism
and imagination with the stunning ability to entertain and to turn a phrase. From
a person who has not yet had the pleasure visiting Budapest and Hungary, how
much more the person who has lived there must appreciate and knowingly catch
the subtleties of the descriptions of the boulevards, districts, train
stations, parks and locales – such as Margit Island – as the almost too
unbelievable tale of Attila Ambrus unfolds, set against the backdrop of Hungary
moving by fits and starts into the 21st century. And, what a passage
it is!
For all of the romp, pace, personalities and
deadpan descriptions (where else would a police force watch reruns of Columbo as part of their “training”?), Rubenstein
has fashioned a unique look at the history of a culture and country in dramatic
– sometimes simultaneously hilariously and tragically so - transition from
communism to capitalism with attendant problems in between. To tell the story,
Rubenstein uses the up-dated form of the literary ballad which retains an
elaborate and drole narrative told in prose rather than in verse. If the Ballad
of the Whiskey Robber just told the story of Attila Ambrus, it would
still be a highly entertaining read, perhaps like Jimmy Breslin’s The
Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, only set in a more exotic locale.
However, Rubenstein’s work is a dynamic and fully integrated horizontal and
vertical history of the progeny of the failure of Trianon told through the life
and exploits of Attila Ambrus that perfectly catches the ethos and pathos of
lost homelands; displaced countrymen; promises of success; and the gulf between
class, wealth and ethnic divisions.
Rubenstein adroitly gives Attila his full
voice – understanding that Attila, who captured the imagination of his
countrymen – is the glue that holds and propels the narrative and, in so doing,
elevates the Ballad of the Whiskey Robber to the stuff of legend.
