“The Great Flea Market” is one of the first mature novels of the most widely read French classic of the 20th century. Romain Gary (real name Katsev) published under pseudonyms all his life and even received the famous Prix Goncourt twice under different names: in 1956 as Gary, and in 1975 as the aspiring writer Emile Azhar. However, he refused to accept the award given to Azhar. A military pilot and hero of World War II, Gary wrote “The Great Flea Market” shortly after the liberation of France from the occupiers. Fifteen-year-old Luc Martin, the son of a deceased member of the Resistance, finds himself alone in Paris amid post-war confusion, corruption, rampant black markets and brutal reprisals against those suspected of collaborating with the Germans. The boy is taken under his wing by a strange old man, always afraid of something, who has already adopted several street teenagers. In this new family, Luke will experience unexpected discoveries, first love and an “adult” life, which he builds in the image and likeness of gangsters from American action films. The novel is published in Russian for the first time.+16