Dina Rubina. Syndicate. Comic novel

The author, a former convict, resolutely rejects any attempt to identify with the characters in this novel. Organizations, ministries, and agencies similar to the Syndicate exist in countless countries. The novel's characters are mere cartoon figures, as is typical in comic books. Even the main character, conveniently named after me, is in fact a sketch of a woman with carelessly painted-over gray hair. And all her dreary adventures in the difficult country I long ago left behind are invented, plucked from thin air, contrived. Drawn. I myself never left anywhere; all these three years I sat on my mountain, admiring the towers of Jerusalem, from which I would never have taken my enchanted gaze for any price.