Archangel
by Robert Harris | Mystery & Thrillers | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 9780099282419 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 9780099282419 Global Overview for this book
Registered by 
keeta1
of Whitianga, Waikato-Coromandel New Zealand on 4/14/2015
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
keeta1 of Whitianga, Waikato-Coromandel New Zealand on 4/14/2015 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Picked up this unregistered book, when dropping off some of my own at the Howick Post Office.
Amazon.com Review
Archangel is a remarkably literate novel--and simultaneously a gripping thriller--that explores the lingering presence of Stalin amidst the corruption of modern-day Russia. Robert Harris (whose previous works include Enigma and Fatherland) elevates his tale by choosing a narrator with an outsider's perspective but an insider's knowledge of Soviet history: Fluke Kelso, a middle-aged scholar of Soviet Communism with a special interest in the dark secrets of Joseph Stalin. For years, rumors have circulated about a notebook that the aging dictator kept in his final years. In a chance encounter in Moscow, Kelso meets Papu Rapava, a former NKVD guard who claims that he was at Stalin's deathbed and says that he assisted Politburo member Beria in hiding the black oilskin notebook just as Stalin was passing. Before Kelso can get more details, Rapava disappears, but the scholar is energized by the evidence Rapava has provided. As Kelso begins to pursue his historical prize, however, his investigation ensnares him in a living web of Stalinist terror and murder. It soon becomes clear that the notebook is the key to a doorway hiding many secrets, old and new.
Harris's understanding of Soviet and modern Russian is impressive. The novel rests on a seamless blend of fact and fiction that places real figures from Soviet history alongside Kelso and his fictional colleagues. Especially disturbing are the transcripts from interrogations and the excerpt from Kelso's lectures on Stalin; the documents provide chilling evidence to support Kelso's claim: "There can now be no doubt that it is Stalin rather than Hitler who is the most alarming figure of the twentieth century." --Patrick O'Kelley
Amazon.com Review
Archangel is a remarkably literate novel--and simultaneously a gripping thriller--that explores the lingering presence of Stalin amidst the corruption of modern-day Russia. Robert Harris (whose previous works include Enigma and Fatherland) elevates his tale by choosing a narrator with an outsider's perspective but an insider's knowledge of Soviet history: Fluke Kelso, a middle-aged scholar of Soviet Communism with a special interest in the dark secrets of Joseph Stalin. For years, rumors have circulated about a notebook that the aging dictator kept in his final years. In a chance encounter in Moscow, Kelso meets Papu Rapava, a former NKVD guard who claims that he was at Stalin's deathbed and says that he assisted Politburo member Beria in hiding the black oilskin notebook just as Stalin was passing. Before Kelso can get more details, Rapava disappears, but the scholar is energized by the evidence Rapava has provided. As Kelso begins to pursue his historical prize, however, his investigation ensnares him in a living web of Stalinist terror and murder. It soon becomes clear that the notebook is the key to a doorway hiding many secrets, old and new.
Harris's understanding of Soviet and modern Russian is impressive. The novel rests on a seamless blend of fact and fiction that places real figures from Soviet history alongside Kelso and his fictional colleagues. Especially disturbing are the transcripts from interrogations and the excerpt from Kelso's lectures on Stalin; the documents provide chilling evidence to support Kelso's claim: "There can now be no doubt that it is Stalin rather than Hitler who is the most alarming figure of the twentieth century." --Patrick O'Kelley
Journal Entry 2 by keeta1 at Howick Post Office in Howick, Auckland Province New Zealand on Sunday, August 9, 2015
keeta1 at Howick Post Office in Howick, Auckland Province New Zealand on Sunday, August 9, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (8/9/2015 UTC) at Howick Post Office in Howick, Auckland Province New Zealand
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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Thank you for picking up this book. Please make a journal entry on the BookCrossing site (www.bookcrossing.com) to let me know that this book has found a good home with you. You may choose to remain anonymous, or to join (its free). If you join, please consider indicating that you were referred by keeta1. It’s all free, spam-free and confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address).
I hope you enjoy the book. Happy reading!
Released for the A - Z Book Challenge 2015 and the One Word Challenge 2015.
Thank you for picking up this book. Please make a journal entry on the BookCrossing site (www.bookcrossing.com) to let me know that this book has found a good home with you. You may choose to remain anonymous, or to join (its free). If you join, please consider indicating that you were referred by keeta1. It’s all free, spam-free and confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address).
I hope you enjoy the book. Happy reading!
Released for the A - Z Book Challenge 2015 and the One Word Challenge 2015.
