Troika

February 3, 2014
Pelzman’s debut novel is both intriguing and frustrating. At its core is an odd love triangle between Julian, a Russian-born self-made businessman; Sophie, his wheelchair-bound wife; and Perla, the Cuban-American stripper to whom Julian is attracted. The shifting relationships between these characters, and Julian’s flashbacks to his journey from a Siberian orphanage to New York City, are fascinating. But there’s so much backstory that the plot doesn’t start moving forward until the book’s final third. Sophie doesn’t appear before then, and readers may find it difficult to empathize with Sophie, despite her infirmity, when her pretense to selflessness is revealed to be a form of selfishness. Julian and Perla allow themselves to be manipulated by Sophie, who has a deep-seated need for control. Because the writing is so beautiful and powerful and the premise so unusual and interesting, the storytelling choices that don’t work show up even more starkly. Pelzman’s talent and vision are formidable; hopefully, future books will have structures that support the author’s vision and talent. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg.

Starred review from April 1, 2014
A stripper unwittingly becomes a sexual surrogate for a wealthy Russian immigrant and his paralyzed wife in Pelzman's beautifully rendered debut. Perla is looking for a way out of her dead-end job at a Ft. Lauderdale strip club when she leads Julian Pravdin to the Champagne Room for a private dance. Narrating in the present tense, the pretty Cuban-American is so street-smart that we believe her when she says it's safe to follow the stranger to the parking lot and, eventually, his hotel. Julian has a soft spot for strippers. Forced into a Siberian orphanage after his father's death sent his mother on a downward spiral of drug abuse and prostitution, he escaped by drawing on the fighting instincts he inherited from his father, a hunter. Here and elsewhere, Julian's brutality comes into play, but he never loses the reader's sympathy. He grows up to be a respectable businessman in New York, where he lives with his wife, and though a third-person narrator tells Julian's back story, guarding his thoughts, it's clear that neither entitlement nor boredom are behind his affair with Perla. His wife, Sophie, is adjusting to a new reality after being paralyzed from the waist down. The initially jarring introduction of this second heroine brings the simmering plot to a boil, revealing it to be a character study in the aftermath of tragedy. Pelzman has a well of sympathy for his characters--the sponge baths Sophie gets from her nurse are every bit as intimate and sensual as the clandestine meetings between Julian and Perla. When the stripper threatens the delicate balance of her marriage, Sophie uses the only weapons she has--her helplessness and ability to elicit pity--to hold on to what's left of her life. The word troika describes a group of three or a Russian carriage pulled by three horses. With unflinching honesty, the author goes to the source of Julian's violence, Perla's emotional detachment and Sophie's manipulation to show how a third horse could work in a two-horse marriage. Riveting drama and sensuous prose make for an unforgettable love story.

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April 1, 2014

An emotionally vulnerable man meets a sensitive young woman who works at a strip club. Thus begins a relationship that takes something of an unlikely path. As if in a fable, Julian grows up in a Russian orphanage after his father dies and his mother loses her bearings. His benefactor, a wealthy Siberian merchant, sends him to America, where he becomes a millionaire several times over. Perla, a Cuban beauty living in Miami, is street smart and well read but chooses to spend her life in a rough occupation. Julian and Perla offer each other physical pleasure in a way that is caring yet noncommittal. It is only when we learn of Julian's "other life" that things become more complex. He is presented as a strong man who will submit to no one and who will kill for those who are loyal to him. Yet his sense of self shifts between victim and hero. Is this the curse of all men, this uncertainty? VERDICT Not a persuasive read; with uneven pacing and some inconsistencies, this story might have worked out better as a screenplay than as a novel.--Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Troika opens in a strip club, an unlikely setting for a love story. Author Pelzman plays with reader expectations throughout his debut novel, delaying the introduction of the third member of his love triangle until deep into the book. The payoff is significant and surprising. Pelzman inhabits each of these characters with an intimate first person, and each point of view sounds authentic, as well as distinct from the others. The front story moves from seedy south Florida to gilded Manhattan, with occasional glimpses into the protagonist Julian's violent Russian upbringing. Although Julian is the romantic fulcrum of the novel, his two love interests emerge as more compelling characters. Pelzman draws Perla, a Cuban American dancer, particularly tenderly, though her introspection grows repetitive and her reactions can be cartoonish. The novel's strongest passages view love and longing through a hopeful lens, even amidst tragedy: During these fleeting moments of divine inspiration, I believe that somehow I'm going to turn this catastrophe into something spectacular, something joyous and unexpected. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)