"Russian Canary:
The Prodigal Son" by Dina Rubina, summary

"Russian Canary: The Prodigal Son" is the third and final book in the celebrated family saga, published in 2014. This book is a tense tale of redemption, where spy thriller melds with poignant human lyricism. The text is replete with precise musical terms and vivid geographical details, transporting us from the quiet streets of Paris to bustling London, then to Italy and the Middle East. Music is a constant leitmotif. The protagonist’s unique voice guides him through forbidden love, brutal torture, and a profound blindness to spiritual renewal. Events intertwine the destinies of completely different people around a family secret and a small bird.

Paris and the Escape

The story begins in a Parisian apartment on Rue Aubriot. Leon Etinger, a former Israeli intelligence operative who has become a world-renowned countertenor, is hiding the deaf photographer Aya at his home. Aya is an excellent lip reader. She is terrified because she is constantly hiding from her relatives: her uncle Friedrich Bonnke and his adopted son, Günther. Leon also hides his secret plans, preparing for a dangerous operation. The lovers are exhausted by constant mistrust, jealousy, and the need for strict secrecy. With difficulty, Etinger persuades Aya to go to London to visit Friedrich. They take with them a live canary named Zheltukhin the Fifth.

Burgundy and Cambridge

On the way, the couple stops at an ancient Burgundian castle, home to Leon’s old friends, Mark and Charlotte. Here, the fugitives experience brief moments of happiness. Waking to the sounds of a symphony orchestra rehearsing waltzes on the ground floor, they enjoy each other and forget about their pursuers. The couple then arrives in Cambridge, England. The artist performs at a concert in King’s College Chapel. His silvery voice fills the vast Gothic vaults, penetrating the souls of the listeners. Aya, deaf, perceives the singing through powerful vibrations in the air.

Meeting in London

In London, the couple arrives at Friedrich Bonnke’s mansion. Leon feigns his official status as the groom, concealing his intelligence skills. Canary Zheltukhin is presented to the unsuspecting owner as a gift from Ilya Konstantinovich’s relative in Alma-Ata. Soon, someone upstairs suffers a severe asthma attack. A songbird triggers Gunther, who is hiding in the house, to choke. When paramedics carry the victim out on a stretcher, the operative instantly recognizes his sworn enemy. Gunther turns out to be a coordinator for Middle Eastern terrorists, codenamed Vinay. It was he who, many years ago, cold-bloodedly murdered Leon’s spiritual mentor, the elderly Immanuel, and the Jerusalem antique dealer Adil.

Operation in Portofino

The Israeli’s suspicions are confirmed. Friedrich and Gunther are using the legal trade in expensive Persian carpets as cover. They plan to transport plutonium, intended for a "dirty bomb," to Lebanon inside hollow metal rods. The transport route begins in Italy.

Leaving Aya sleeping in a hotel room in Portofino, Etinger dons a black wetsuit. He swims undetected to Krushevich’s yacht, the Zeus, where secret cargo is being loaded in the dark. The operative is prepared to sacrifice his own life to avenge the deaths of his loved ones.

Emerging from the night sea, the avenger swiftly attacks Gunther and drags him to the bottom. The saboteur exacts justice with his own hands, strangling the experienced terrorist in the frigid water. However, he fails to reach shore victorious. Guards Jurgis and Kostik drag Leon aboard, brutally beat him unconscious, and tightly bind him. The crippled singer is thrown onto the lower deck of a yacht bound for Lebanon. The ship’s captain is wary of transporting a live captive, but the crew spares his life for the sake of a possible ransom.

Lebanese captivity

In Lebanon, a prisoner is placed in a gloomy underground bunker belonging to a terrorist group. Long, torturous interrogations begin. His torturers attempt to discover his affiliation with the Israeli secret service. An operative plays the role of a madman, jealous, avenging his fiancée’s dishonor. The prisoner spends most of his time in complete darkness, enduring hunger, acute thirst, and beatings from guards Umar, Abdullah, and Jabir. The murdered Gunther’s loyal servant, the giant Cedrik, constantly torments the prisoner. Finally, the crazed sadist forces his way into the cell with a knife and permanently blinds Etinger.

Aya’s Wanderings

Meanwhile, Aya wakes up in an Italian boarding house, completely alone. She finds a letter with clear instructions: pick up a fake Swiss passport in the name of Camilla Robinson, withdraw money from the card, and disappear immediately. She learns from a Viennese gynecologist that she is pregnant. Frantic with anxiety, she rushes to find her lover. At the police station, she learns of a body recovered from the sea, identified as Günther Bonnke. It also turns out that Friedrich and his wife, Elena, were killed in a car accident after driving off a cliff.

Aya wanders around Europe for a long time, unsuccessfully making inquiries with the Parisian impresario Philippe Guichard. Then she flies to Bangkok, working hard as a flight attendant, English teacher, and kitchen laborer. Her belly grows inexorably, depriving her of a normal income. In despair, she returns to her father in Almaty. One morning, she reads a brief report on the international news feed about the exchange of a French opera singer for Iranian General Bahram Mahdavi. The exchange took place in Cyprus with the participation of the UN mission. Realizing that the rescued prisoner is the father of her unborn child, Aya immediately flies to Israel.

Hospital and meeting

At Jerusalem’s massive Hadassah Hospital, she is met by Leon Shauli, a former partner. It was he, along with Israeli intelligence, the influential lawyer Nabil Azari, and Etinger’s stepmother, Magda, who orchestrated this complex secret exchange.

Shauli escorts the girl to the hospital room. The artist sits on the bed, a thick white bandage covering his mutilated eyes. Hearing familiar footsteps, he begins to bitterly joke about his physical disability. Aya silently approaches and firmly places his mutilated hands on her enormous belly. The exhausted man freezes, stunned by the miracle of life.

Musical revival

Several long years pass. The events of the epilogue unfold at a music festival in Abu Ghosh, in the ancient stone basilica of a Crusader abbey. Leon Etinger returns to the world of music. Standing next to him is his eight-year-old, red-haired son, Gavrik. The boy has inherited a unique musical gift and impeccable pitch. The hall is packed with spectators. Aya and her faithful friend, Shauli, sit in the front row. The blind father with artificial eyes and the sighted son perform a vocal duet of the prodigal son and the all-forgiving father.

The child’s part resonates pure, recalling the pristine innocence of youth. The elder Etinger’s voice rises powerfully beneath the high arched vaults of the Catholic church. The singer pours out all his pent-up pain, prayer, and sincere repentance. Divine music densely fills the space, uniting the difficult past and the bright present. The sound fades smoothly into the evening air, symbolizing the victory of art and human love over darkness, blind hatred, and death.