The Stalin Epigram: A Novel - Couverture rigide

Littell, Robert

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1416598642 ISBN 13 : 9781416598640

Editeur : Simon & Schuster, 2009

Synopsis

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A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Based on a true historical episode, The Stalin Epigram is a fictional account of the life of Osip Mandelstam, perhaps the greatest Russian poet of the twentieth century—and one of the few artists in Soviet Russia who daringly refused to pay creative homage to Joseph Stalin. The poet’s defiance of the Kremlin dictator and the Bolshevik regime— particularly his outspoken criticism of Stalin’s collectivization rampage that drove millions of Russian peasants to starvation—reached its climax in 1934 when Mandelstam, putting his life on the line, composed a searing indictment of Stalin in a sixteen-line epigram and secretly recited it to a handful of friends and fellow artists.

Would Stalin and his merciless state security apparatus get wind of this brazenly insulting poem? Would the poet’s body and spirit be crushed under the weight of the state if they did?

Narrated in turn by Mandelstam himself, his devoted wife, his great friends Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova, and vivid fictional characters, The Stalin Epigram is a page-turning tale of courage and the human spirit and illuminates the agonizing choices Russian intellectuals faced during the Stalinist terror. In it, legendary author Robert Littell delivers his most riveting suspense story and masterfully written novel to date.

Revue de presse

'A wonderful and compelling read about power, poetry, love, literature, terror and Russia' -- Simon Sebag Montefiore. 'Profoundly informed, incredibly suspenseful and heartbreaking' --Martin Cruz Smith

'Some novels bring history vividly, entertainingly and thrillingly to life this is one of them. You read 'The Stalin Epigram' and say to yourself, 'So that's what it was like'' -- Ronan Bennett. '[This] may be his finest novel... A timeless story of courage and truth confronting the madness of absolute power. It's a brilliant work, always readable, sometimes funny and often heartbreaking. There are many books about Stalin's terror, but there cannot be many that bring its truths more vividly, painfully to life' --Washington Post

'This is a masterful novel, bruising and sometimes joyous, a reminder of what was and what could be again. Compelling from start to finish, it's an important book, perhaps Littell's best, which is saying a lot' -- Olen Steinhauer. 'Wonderful... Littell is unflinching in his portrayal of Osip's tragic arc, bringing a troubled era of Russian history to rich, magnificent life' --Publishers Weekly

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Simon & Schuster
• Date d'édition: 2009
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1416598642
• ISBN 13: 9781416598640
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 366
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible