Dear BookBrowsers,
The Cold War might be a thing of the past but the "Red Menace" still rules the West's collective imagination. For those of us who remember the duck-and-cover drills, the race to space and the many subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which world geopolitics permeated everyday lives, a peek behind the Iron Curtain is as fascinating as it is informative. We present here a mix of fiction and nonfiction books specifically about Russia and Russians, both before and after the disintegration of the powerful federation that was the USSR.
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All That Is Solid Melts into Air by Darragh McKeon Paperback & ebook Apr 2014. 464 pages. Published by Harper Perennial As if the deadly Chernobyl disaster weren't tragic enough, it left exposed the systemic corruption of the Russian police state in its wake. This is a remarkable look at everyday citizens who don't know where to turn for information, whose lives are so colored by insidious tyranny that options are few and escape impossible. More info including discussion guide |
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The Betrayal: A Novel by Helen Dunmore Paperback & ebook Sep 2011. 336 pages. Published by Black Cat Andrei, a young doctor and his wife, Anna, are making a life in post-WWII Russia when a directive to treat a high-ranking Soviet officer's child changes their seemingly peaceful life. When even walls have ears and allegiances are shaky, it becomes difficult to know whom to trust and what the cost of doing the right thing truly is. With powerful insights into a repressive society, this is a revelatory novel about freedom and truth and the power of love to overcome the worst in all of us. More info including discussion guide |
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Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith Paperback & ebook Apr 2008. 448 Pages. Published by Grand Central Publishing The commonly spun narrative for mass consumption in Stalinist Russia is that it is a paradise on earth and any storylines that suggest otherwise are immediately squashed. In such a climate, when a serial killer is on the loose, government agent Leo Demidov must do everything he can to zero in on a perpetrator the State will never admit exists. More info |
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The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean Paperback & ebook Feb 2007. 256 pages. Published by Harper Perennial During the interminable and deadly siege of Leningrad during WWII, as the city's residents undergo the worst privations, a museum worker commits to memory many priceless works of art at one of the local institutions. Moving between Russia of the past and contemporary America, this is a powerful novel about the power of art to sustain us through life's darkest hours. More info including discussion guide |
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The Winter Queen: A Novel by Boris Akunin Paperback & ebook Mar 2004. 264 pages. Published by Random House Erast Fandorin, a member of the Criminal Division of the Moscow Police can tell there's more to the story when he is sent to investigate a case of a young student from a rich family who shoots himself to death. Is it a case of suicide or murder that has leads all across Europe? Set in nineteenth-century Russia, this is the first volume of a thrilling series for lovers of mysteries. More info including discussion guide |
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Red Plenty by Francis Spufford Paperback & ebook Feb 2012. 448 pages. Published by Graywolf Press It takes a special person to spin boring old economic theory into a deeply engaging and riveting novel. Francis Spufford is that kind of special and brings alive the dreary concrete buildings, the drab landscape and the early days of the Russian planned economy, in this immensely readable novel. An accessible glimpse into an idea that was built on grand ideology, this is a slice of Russia that is worth taking a bite into. More info |
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Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier Paperback & ebook Sep 2011. 560 pages. Published by Picador Want a big colorful look at a vast country full of endless surprises? Ian Frazier's lively account of travels in the most remote parts of the world will take you there. Filled with medieval stories and escapades with fellow travelers, this is a fine specimen of great travel writing. More info |
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Stalin's Children: Three Generations of Love, War, and Survival by Owen Matthews Paperback & ebook Sep 2009. 320 pages. Published by Walker & Company. The tumultuous history of twentieth-century Russia is precisely captured in the Matthews' family arc where his grandfather mysteriously disappeared one summer day in the '30s and his family members were dispersed by the events of World War II. As the Matthews returned to Russia time and time again both for professional and personal reasons, they find themselves drawn in to a country whose deep influence permeates their very sense of identity. . More info including discussion guide |
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The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra by Helen Rappaport Paperback & ebook Jun 2015. 544 pages. Published by St. Martin's Griffin Forget Kate and Diana, the Russian Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia were the epitome of glamor and high society and their youthful lives' tragic end makes for heartbreaking reading in this brilliantly researched account. The last days of Imperial Russia are vividly brought to life in this compelling narrative compiled through a collection of diaries and letters. More info |
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Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart Paperback & ebook Oct 2014. 368 pages. Published by Random House There are many takes on the classic immigrant narrative but arguably none so endlessly entertaining and funny as this rollicking account of a young man who worried he would be a "refusenik" forever until he arrived in the land of the plenty squarely to New York state's Borscht Belt. Growing up with the riches of America forever tantalizing out of reach, Shteyngart is a master at pointing out the underlying universality of his touching account even as his memoir suggests at more tragic undercurrents in this all-American story. More info |
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A Replacement Life by Boris Fishman Paperback & ebook Jan 2015. 352 pages. Published by Harper Perennial Sometimes, try as you might to escape the past, it still sneaks up on you in unexpected and not entirely unwelcome ways. Slava Gelman is a plodder, a Russian Jewish immigrant with his feet placed firmly on the first rung of the American Dream but will resolute diligence be enough to earn him the prize he dreams of? Soon he finds himself recruited for an unusual task, one that will merge his identity and his talent in intriguing and morally challenging ways. More info including discussion guide |
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The Invention of Exile: A Novel by Vanessa Manko Paperback & ebook Jul 2015. 304 pages. Published by Penguin Books Sometimes the enemies might change but the fights remain the same. Austin Voronkov, a Russian immigrant in early twentieth century America is suspected of Communist tendencies and is separated from wife and children, forced into exile in Mexico. His belief in his newly adopted homeland is touching even as the America of yesteryear doesn't seem very different from today's hyper-vigilant society. More info including discussion guide |
