Set in 1930s Russia and culminating in the German siege of Leningrad, the death of Kirov - once Stalin's favourite - leads to the beginning of those monumental purges which affected the lives of everyone from the humblest to the most powerful. This is a complex novel whose leading characters refuse to be crushed by the terrible events unfolding around them, though not all of them survive. Slovo is a brilliant, evocative and uplifting writer.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 25 August 2004 ) |
