This is a very unique novel which reminded me again and again of George Orwell's 1984 but this one, I loved. I didn't really like the characters (at the end of the book, they are likable) but they all are certainly understandable and interesting. Tom Rob Smith is definitely a gifted writer who has a great way of telling his stories. It could be his non usage of quotation marks or the shifting narration, but it kept me guessing and hooked. The way the story went up and down, with the sudden turns made me unable to put the book down. I am going to read the next two books in the trilogy and I hope they would be as good as this. I would certainly recommend this book to everyone who loves thriller mystery novels with politics and philosophical and sociological traits. The plot is entertaining and the pace is fast. The first chapters are introductory for the reader to get to know the character of Leo Demidov. Leo Demidov, then, shouldn't have a job as a criminal investigator. In fact, he doesn't. He's a well-rewarded apparatchik who, in the course of interrogating his fellow citizens, notices a disturbing pattern of murders...which do not officially exist...taking place with no effort, or a completely inadequate effort, being made to see the forest for the trees. Leo's life changes, from privileged servant of the regime to lone wolf investigator to vengeful assassin, over the course of the story. His solution to the crimes being committed is chilling in its outlines and satisfying in its conclusion. The second and third books in the trilogy, titled The Secret Speech (April 2009) and Agent 6 (July 2011), respectively, also feature the protagonist Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. [3] [4] [2] [5] Awards [ edit ] Waverton Good Read | FAQ". Btinternet.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012 . Retrieved 27 February 2012.

In 2008, it was named on the long list for the Man Booker Prize, nominated for the 2008 Costa First Novel Award (former Whitbread), and received the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award for best thriller of the year from the Crime Writers' Association. [7] It was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for a first novel in 2008, [8] and Smith was awarded the 2008 Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer. [9] Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and his work has been both lauded and criticized. His work in economics laid the basis for much of the current understanding of labour and its relation to capital, and subsequent economic thought. Many intellectuals, labour unions, artists and political parties worldwide have been influenced by Marx's work, with many modifying or adapting his ideas. Marx is typically cited as one of the principal architects of modern sociology and social sciences." Let me begin by saying that this book has exceeded my expectations. Personally, I would say that it is a tad better than Gorky Park - an excellent book about a Soviet policeman. You come to feel a great deal of disgust for the Soviet police system of the time, reflected, above all, in Vasili, the ruthless MGB agent. Yager, Susanna (9 March 2008). "A crime that officially doesn't exist". The Sunday Telegraph. London.Leo Demidov's character is complex and deep and we live perfectly his ideological transition, as well as his wife, Raisa. Tom Hardy as Leo Demidov in Child 44. Photograph: Summit Entertainment/Allstar - image from The Guardian

Este es el mejor thriller que jamás leí. Recuerdo haber estado tan maravillado en su tiempo. Cada capítulo un nuevo acontecimiento, cada capítulo una nueva sorpresa alucinante. Una terriblemente sofocante atmósfera de opresión, desesperanza en cada esquina, y aun así una encubierta lucha sin final contra lo imposible. Las cosas saliéndose tanto de control que pensás que no existe forma alguna de escapar de ellas, y sin embargo había. Las dictaduras sacan lo peor de la gente, y lo mejor en aquellos que tratan de combatirla. Tan arrolladoramente atrapante, sin poder dejar de leer. Leo y Raisa tan simples y complejos personajes a varios niveles. La temática fue brutal, los eventos atroces, y aun así había siempre una diminuta luz de esperanza para seguir adelante. Pocas veces me sentí tan entregado en alentar para que ganen. Tan cautivadora y hermosamente trágica. Este es uno de esos libros que siempre desearía poder releer como la primera vez, y que nunca me atrevo porque temo hasta el alma que no llegue a gustarme tanto en una segunda ocasión. Para mí esto fue una impecable obra maestra. Extremadamente Recomendable. The big secret in Smith’s tale is not that tough to figure out, but the up-side of this fast-paced thriller is the depiction of a stalag-Soviet. The characters are sometimes thin, but Child 44 does not pretend to be classic literature. Leo changes, as do some around him and we get a roller-coaster ride through a scary, dark place, learning things we might not have known about in an important time and place. An entertaining and gripping read. But what if the danger isn’t from the killer he is trying to catch, but from the country he is fighting to protect? Tom Rob Smith has taken his premise for Child 44 from the true story of Russian serial murderer, Andrei Chikatilo, who murdered over 50 women and children in Russia during the 1980s. Although Smith has set his story in an earlier time period, the 1950s, he has not lost, but only gained levels of intrigue and suspense by choosing the worst years of Soviet oppression. The difference, the author explains, is that in the latter years, someone in open rebellion against the political system might lose an apartment, while in earlier years, it would have meant the loss of life. Inspirado nesse hórrido período da História, o autor oferece-nos uma narrativa chocante, mas deveras credível!

MOTHERFATHERSON

winners (15 December 2010). "Culture Vulture – Galaxy Book Award winners". Culturevulture.uk.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014 . Retrieved 27 February 2012. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) Regardless of Stalin's personal vision, all Communist states have proven themselves to be the most cruel of the systems of governance people invented. 'Child 44' brings to the foreground what living under Stalin and Communism must have actually been like, an awful reality if true, and I believe it was true.

An MGB competitor takes advantage of Leo's new hesitations and reports him for suspicion of being a dissident. Although he is cleared by heroic actions in the capture of the runaway criminal with infected thoughts, he is demoted anyway because he may yet possess possible philosophical deviations. Suspected deviations of thought means he might be a spy according to Stalin's book of Marxist-based writ, slogans and rote (any suspicion is enough proof of philosophical deviation). So finally, Leo and his wife Raisa are sent away to serve in an impoverished starving Ural village militia near Voualsk. As Child 44 begins, MGB agent Leo Demidov has been given the task to cover up a local murder. A fellow agent in the Soviet secret police is trying to get the attention of the authorities, claiming that his son was murdered. However, under Joseph Stalin, official government policy is that there are no murders in the Soviet Union, and as such, the grieving father must be convinced to keep quiet. Leo is annoyed with this new assignment, especially when it causes one of his targets to get away—Anatoly Brodsky, a veterinarian whom Leo has been monitoring for signs of espionage. The basic story about a disgraced MGB agent hunting a serial child murderer remains the same, but life in the cut-throat world of communist Russia, as well as Leo's past (and as such his connection to the killer) are missing. Under Stalin's rule the concept of "Socialism in One Country" became a central tenet of Soviet society, contrary to Leon Trotsky's view that socialism must be spread through continuous international revolutions. He replaced the New Economic Policy introduced by Lenin in the early 1920s with a highly centralized command economy, launching a period of industrialization and collectivization that resulted in the rapid transformation of the USSR from an agrarian society into an industrial power. The economic changes coincided with the imprisonment of millions of people in Gulag labour camps. The initial upheaval in agriculture disrupted food production and contributed to the catastrophic Soviet famine of 1932–33, known in Ukraine as the Holodomor. Between 1934 and 1939 he organized and led the "Great Purge", a massive campaign of repression of the party, government, armed forces and intelligentsia, in which millions of so-called "enemies of the working class" were imprisoned, exiled or executed, often without due process. Major figures in the Communist Party and government, and many Red Army high commanders, were killed after being convicted of treason in show trial." from Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josep... Child 44 (first published in 2008) is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith. This is the first novel in a trilogy featuring former MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union.The Book Report: In the Socialist Worker's Paradise that is Stalin's 1953 Russia, There Is No Crime. (Sorry, I know that all the caps are like having your lashes tweezed, but this is the Soviet Union we're talking about, and everything is A Slogan.) The proletariat is blissfully free of the Capitalist Curse Called Crime. This book is gritty and violent but it was an awakening to a point in history that I will not forget. In July 2009, he won the Waverton Good Read Award for first novel [10] [11] and the Galaxy Book Award for Best Newcomer. Child 44 (published in 2008) is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith. This is the first novel in a trilogy featuring former MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union. [1] Themes [ edit ]

In 1933, a child orphaned during the Ukrainian Holodomor runs away from his orphanage and is taken in by a Red Army unit and adopted by its kindly commander, who gives him the name Leo Demidov. In 1945, now a sergeant with the unit, Leo becomes an icon across the Soviet Union when he is photographed planting the Soviet flag atop the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin. He is awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Living in Russia at that time was when you lived in fear of that four a.m. arrest. Are you an enemy of the state? It didn't really matter if you were truly innocent, once you had been named you might as well kiss it good-bye. It opens with a scene in which a young boy is captured by a man and dragged away to an unknown fate, this during a time of famine. It’s a disturbing start. Then, without any further reference to this scene the narrative jumps forward twenty years. We’re introduced to Leo, a senior apparatchik in the secret police – the M.G.B. His role is to root out anyone suspected of questioning the Soviet regime. This behaviour would not be tolerated and that's ok with Leo – an ex-soldier – who is nothing if not patriotic. Do we really know and understand the people whom we love? People try to forget things which make them uncomfortable. I loved the way the relationship between Leo and Raisa evolved. The author's documentation is very good and shows a great knowledge of the pre-Stalinist USSR and the first months after Stalin's death.At least, he was. Lately, he has been noticing torture creates factual inconsistencies in confessions. There seems to be excessive killing and torture of obviously innocent and worthy citizens. Reports are concocted with standard boilerplate instead of facts. An accomplished mystery that blends organically with its chosen setting, Child 44 is a genuinely gripping read. Chikatilo was convicted of and executed for committing 52 murders in the Soviet Union, though his crimes occurred after the Stalin era. La trama está un poco forzada y el final se resuelve demasiado rápido para mi, demasiado fríamente. Toda la tensión previa, todas las páginas dedicadas a la resolución del caso, se resuelven de repente.