Child 44 | Tom Rob Smith | The best book I've read in a while

Child 44 | Tom Rob Smith | Better than Stalin's Ghost!

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Child 44

	Child 44 Tom Rob Smith Grand Central Publishing, 2008 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 136 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A propulsive, relentless page-turner.
A terrifying evocation of a paranoid world where no one can be trusted.
A surprising, unexpected story of love and family, of hope and resilience.
CHILD 44 is a thriller unlike any you have ever read.

"There is no crime."

Stalin's Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals.

But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov.

A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated.

Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a murderer-is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every belief he's ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially paradise, it's a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer-much less a serial killer-is in their midst. Exiled from his home, with only his wife, Raisa, remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists.

Tom Rob Smith graduated from Cambridge in 2001 and lives in London. Child 44 is his first novel.

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The best book I've read in a while

I've been reading a lot of thriller/mystery novels lately, and this one by Smith is the best of them all. It is a political thriller, crime mystery, character-development love story all wrapped up in to one. And, more importantly, none of the three "types" of genre represented in Smith's book suffer for being put together.

As a political thriller, the book shines with its great portrayal of characters both heroic and flawed, brave and terrified. It captures well the double speak and justifiable "paranoia" that individuals under repressive regimes like that of Stalin had to contend with. For fans of books like Sofia Petrovna or more recent movies like The Lives of Others, set in East Germany, this book will certainly strike a chord.

As a crime mystery, the book is equally interesting, though this part of the plot at times fades into the background. Indeed, the idea of Leo, the main character, being on the hunt for the serial killer is largely dropped for quite some time at the beginning. One almost forgets about it, though the development of the other lines in the story are so interesting that it is not really something that would bother one (unless you really only like the serial killer mystery genre). Granted, not as much time is spent on developing the crimes, crime scenes, or the killer's personality as is perhaps the case in some other books that are more limited in their scope. Still, enough is included on the crime front to make it a compelling case.

The love-story element is also rather engaging, certainly not crossing over into anything like a mushy, romance-novel style affair. The love story works especially because it helps further the political thriller element, as the relationship between Leo and his wife really has to overcome many obstacles created by the repressive society they live in.

First and foremost, this book is a political thriller. And that is where a lot of Smith's efforts at high-quality writing shine through. Beyond the other two genres mentioned above, the book might also be of interest to those who like historical fiction.

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Better than Stalin's Ghost!

This is probably the best mystery I have read in years. The background - Stalin's Russia, changing over the years to end in Kruschev's Russia - is perfectly, chillingly drawn. It gives a great but not arty or self-consciously literary sense of the Kafkaesque feel of life in an all- encompassing dictatorship, where the State is all and the individual nothing.

It begins during the famines caused by collectivization, a period rarely (ok, never) dealt with by modern writers. The characters are well-drawn, interesting, and you care what happens to them, particularly the protagonist as he sorts out the moral complexities of his life as an agent of the state. But it's not a preachy novel: the action moves right along, and it didn't surprise me to read that the movie rights have already been bought.

Highly recommended!

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Absolutely Fascinating!

The reader is steeped in a world as strange as if it was another planet and not the Soviet Union in 1953. That gray bleak world seeps into your bones and then after it has, the plot develops around a murder. This is a remarkable book on two levels, the murder mystery and the life of characters in their strange and horrifying society. This is a must read that you won't put down.

Best fiction this year!

Fantastic book! Set in 1950's Russia, the novel teaches the reader as much as most nonfiction novels can. Most of the book simply can't be put down. I have read more than 20 fiction books this year and it amazes me this did not make and stay on the top 10 bestsellers list. City of Thieves is also excellent but not quite as good. Can't wait for the authors next book.

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Great Story, Strange Ending

This is a wonderful first novel. The setting of Stalinist Russia is very well conveyed throughout; the tone and characters very much like the writings of Solzhenitzyn. The crimes are horrible, of course, and the chapter dealing with the luring and murder of the small boy who is collecting stamps is memorable. There are a few irritations with the novel: the characters come off rather flat, one-dimensional. We never really understand emotions because they are never fully explored; Leo and Raisa's relationship is central to the story but it is never developed. Also, the dialog sounds in many places like a very stilted translation from Russian. I am sure that in future novels Mr. Smith will work through these two things and be providing more intriguing stories like "Child 44" in the future.

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