About the book: 2000 / Vladimir Zhabotinsky's novel "Five" is, so to speak, "A Lonely Sail Whitens" for adults. This is a novel about how “a time of great expectations” becomes “the end of a wonderful era” (which will soon turn into “cursed days”...). Shakespeare's tragedy of an Odessa family caught up in the era of Jewish Russification at the beginning of the 20th century. This book, poetic, passionate, lyrical, wise, romantic, cheerful and sad, like Odessa itself, remained unknown to the author's fellow countrymen for decades. Written in Russian, being part of Russian culture, the novel has never before been published in our country. It was first published in Paris in 1936. By this time, Kataev had already begun to write “The Lonely Sail Whitens,” Zhitkov finished “Viktor Vavich,” and Chukovsky published the story “Gymnasium” (“Silver Coat of Arms”) - three works, united with “Five” by the time and place of action. In 1990, the novel was republished in Israel, by the Aliya Library publishing house, focusing on the Russian-speaking diaspora..