Child 44
Ratings82
Average rating4
Murder investigation | Totalitarian regime
I had to constantly remind myself that this is not a dystopian fiction. Inspired by a real-life investigation, it is set in the USSR under the rule of Stalin – Moscow, 1953.
The story follows Leo Demidov, a high-ranking State Security operative, a believer. The politics of that time is portrayed in the most not boring way possible in the first few chapters. As Leo is forced to investigate an officer's son's death on the railway track which has been reported as an accidental death, he notices something off. To disregard an official report is not an easy task for Leo. He is a believer. A believer in the party, a believer in the society the leaders have formed. In this society there is no crime. To believe that a murder has occurred is to have lost faith. That is blasphemy. “An elaborate charade that fools no one”
There is constant threat to life looming over every citizen's head, as soon as they are twelve years of age. Children are obedient, adults are law abiding, everyone is wary, like prey in a forest. There is no forgiveness, no trust. And it is imperative to catch one spy even if it costs innocent lives. There is a uniform love for the leader in all – children and adults, officials and housewives. It is an unusual combination of fear and pride. Or more likely it is just fear masquerading. It is an unforgiving story and pulls no punches. The reality must have been equally horrifying if not worse. A gripping story, each sentence pulling my eyes to the next.
As the story moves forward and when the façade unravels before Leo's eyes, the hunter becomes the hunted. On realizing that public opinion as well as law is not on the side of truth, but on the side of the Party, Leo is forced to embark on his mission to solve a string of child murders, with only his wife by his side; and even that relationship is hanging by a thread.
There is a calmness to the brutality in the story. It comes unexpected and makes the least noise. The act of violence is never elaborated. There are never descriptions of murder dragged out. All quick and efficient like any job well done, a routine – nothing to be made a fuss about. This further adds to the bleakness of the environment.
The colors in a book sets a mood. What are the colors in this book? There is bright red, excessively red, a little too much just to be safe. The is red on the white snow. There is grey in the sky and dark brown bark in the mouths of dead little children.
It would be a shame for you to miss this book.
Since Maria had decided to die her cat would have to fend for itself.
Enemies of the Party were not merely saboteurs, spies, and wreckers of industry, but doubters of the Party line, doubters of the society which awaited them.
—It's my fault.
—What was your fault?
—My brother's death: I threw a snowball at him. I'd packed it with stones and dirt and grit. Arkady was hurt, it hit him in the head. He ran off. Maybe it made him dizzy, maybe that's why he couldn't see the train. The dirt they found in his mouth: that was my fault. I threw it at him.
—Your brother's death was an accident. There's no reason for you to feel any guilt. But you did well telling me the truth. Now go back to your parents.
—I haven't told them about the snowball with dirt and the mud and the stones.
—Perhaps they don't need to know.
—They'd be so angry. Because that was the last time I ever saw him. Sir, we played nicely most of the time. And we would've played nicely again, we would've made up, we would've been friends again, I'm sure of it. But now I can't make it up to him, I can't ever say sorry.
But having a family had made him fearful. He was able to imagine far worse things than his own death.
...not even those who kept this machinery of fear ticking, could be certain that the system they sustained would not one day swallow them too.
My innocence offends you because you wish me to be guilty. You wish me to be guilty because you've arrested me.
To stand up for someone was to stitch your fate into the lining of theirs.
Leo had the confirmation he was looking for. Major Kuzmin's offer was clear. If he denounced his wife he'd have their continued confidence. What had Vasili said? If you survive this scandal you'll one day berunning the MGB. I'm sure of it. Promotion was a sentence away. The room was silent.
Major Kuzmin leaned forward: —Leo?
Leo stood up, straightened the jacket of his uniform: —My wife is innocent.
They were equals as they had never been equal before. If he wanted to hear about love, the first verse was his to sing.
Did his work have meaning or was it merely a means to survive? There was nothing shameful about trying to survive—it was the occupation of the majority. However, was it enough to live in squalor and not even be rewarded with a sense of pride, not even to be sustained by a sense that what he did served some purpose?
They'd murdered together, deceived together, plotted and planned and lied together. They were criminals, the two of them, them against the world. It was time to consummate this new relationship. If only they could stay here, live here in this exact moment, hidden in the forest, enjoying these feelings forever.
The price of this story was the audience's innocence.
But she refused to accept that she was going to be the one to get them caught just because she wasn't strong enough, refused to accept the idea that they'd fail because she was weak.
Everyone has a reason to live. You were hers. But you were mine too. The only difference between us was that I was sure you were alive.
He'd tried to bury the past. And now his brother had murdered his way back into his life.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3920693-richard-reviles-censorship-always-in-all-ways said, “Tom Rob Smith wrote this awful book about awful people doing awful things in an awful country to amuse and entertain us.” This review says it all. But, in case you want to know my personal feelings, I will briefly indulge you. First, this is a truly grizzly subject matter. I have a propensity for the darker side of fiction and this certainly did not fail. Those who chalk this up as a thriller or a crime novel will get their money's worth. Second, some people in the Goodreads world have added this book to lists reserved for spies and agents of espionage. Leo is an officer in the Soviet State Security (MGB). The Stalinist nation lived in constant fear of punishment for being associated, even by rumor, with anti-Soviet sentiment. His position and cultural norms do not qualify this book as having anything to do with spies or espionage. Needless to say, when I was not met with any of the aforementioned subject matter, I was a little upset. If you're looking for spies, just re-read [b:Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 18989 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John le Carré https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327889127s/18989.jpg 2491780].
I really liked the way the author brought the terrors of Stalinist Russia to life. The fear, the resignation, the apathy. Well researched. The story itself was not so much to my liking, but interesting enough to keep me reading on. The characters seemed pretty real with their own agendas and motivations. What bugged me was that we didn't get to know what Vasili's personal problem with Leo was. Was it purely a competition thing? Or a way to show his obsessive and psychotic character? The transformation of Leo was nicely done, didn't seem too far fetched and was neatly explained by his tendency to selective perception through his childhood experience. All in all a good read with vivid descriptions, but I would have wished for a stronger crime story.
Child murders are grim enough, but when set against a very stark, very real Stalinist Russia where even spouses can denounce (and send to their death) each other, it makes for a novel that is not for the faint of heart. Yet, the story of Leo Dimidev, one of Stalin's secret policemen, as he tries to find the truth about a serial killer in a society that doesn't want to acknowledge such crimes, is a story of redemption. The characters are full-fledged and nuanced, the narrative tautly paced. This is a thriller with its share of surprises, not the least of which is how redemption and some level of optimism is found in such a grim, dangerous place.
Nell'unione sovietica di Stalin, il crimine non può esistere. Dunque non può esserci anche un distretto di polizia che se ne occupa; i delitti semplicemente non avvengono. Ora però dei bambini cominciano a morire. Contro le istituzioni in cui ha sempre creduto e difeso e che lo hanno trasformato come uomo, Leo decide lo stesso di investigare contro tutti, anche con chi gli sta vicino.
Una bellissima sorpresa questo libro di Tom Rob Smith, un grande esordio da cui sarà tratto un film che sperò colga appieno tutte le sfumature di questo romanzo, che non è solo thriller ma anche una ricostruzione storica dettagliata degli avvenimenti e della vita nella Russia degli anni 50 a cavallo della morte di Stalin e dei suoi anni di terrore.
La narrazione è vibrante, veloce, tesa e con vari colpi di scena che accompagnano il lettore per tutta la storia.
Un bellissimo romanzo che mette a nudo le anime degli uomini costretti a “sopravvivere” in determinate situazioni. Rende bene l'asfissia del Pensiero di Stato. Bella la storia, bella l'ambientazione. Personaggi solidi e ben costruiti, risulta particolarmente sorprendente che si tratti di un'opera prima. Colpisce l'ingegnoso colpo di scena finale.
Lo consiglio caldamente a tutti e per quanto mi riguarda non resta che attendere il prossimo.