Looking for a recommendation or two - Russia/DDR

SpitfireIV

Hi guys and girls,

I've recently finished reading Martin Cruz Smith's 'Gorky Park', before this having read 'Snow Drops' by AD Miller, both set in Russia, the former set in 1980's Russia and the latter in a more contemporary, modern, vibrant Russia. I think perhaps its the descriptions, the harshness of the winter, the cold etc that catch my imagination, along with the turbulent history.

These books, along with a few Russian movies I've seen have really caught my interest so I'm just wondering if anyone has any further recommendations for fiction books set in Russian, or, another area/era that interests me is pre-1990's East Germany/Berlin, again, the movies set in this era I find fascinating (Das Leben Der Anderen, Goodbye Lenin etc).

Any tips appreciated!

chasmcb

Mikhail Bulgakov's 'The Master and Margarita' is a wonderful comic novel about the devil arriving in 1930's Moscow and wreaking all manner of havoc.

And you can't go wrong with either 'War and Peace' or 'Anna Karenina' of course.

Lorenzo the Magnificent

Red Plenty by Francis Spufford.

It's a lovely weird mixture of history and fiction set during the Khrushchev era of the Soviet Union. Tells the lives of various people and how they struggle against the central planning system that promised abundance under Communism. Highly recommended.

SpitfireIV

Cheers for the tips! I'll add 'em to the *newly formed* list!

Swiper the fox

Crime and Punishment is one of the best books I've ever read.
A recent enough novel that I really enjoyed was called City of Thieves, it's a thriller set during the siege of Leningrad and it is very enjoyable and not too heavy.

chasmcb

As regards books set in Cold War-era East Germany/Berlin, there's Le Carre's classic 'The Spy Who Came in From The Cold', set around time wall went up.

A more recent one is Irish writer Kevin Brophy's 'The Berlin Crossing' in which the action moves back and forth between the 1960s and 1990s.

And you should try and catch Billy Wilder's brilliant comedy 'One Two Three' set in Cold-War Berlin and featuring all kinds of mad cross-border intrigues. James Cagney is fantastic in it as a Coca Cola executive whose daughter has fallen in love with a communist, to his horror.

Heraldoffreeent

Child 44 by Tim Rob Smith is a very good read.The novel is based on the crimes of Ukrainian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was convicted of and executed for 52 murders in the Soviet Union. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime", the novel also explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, orphanages, homosexuality in the USSR, and mental hospitals.
The book is the first part of a trilogy. The second part is called The Secret Speech and also features the character of Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. The third part, called Agent 6, was published in July 2011.

Eoin

Heraldoffreeent wrote: »

Child 44 by Tim Rob Smith is a very good read.The novel is based on the crimes of Ukrainian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was convicted of and executed for 52 murders in the Soviet Union. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime", the novel also explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, orphanages, homosexuality in the USSR, and mental hospitals.
The book is the first part of a trilogy. The second part is called The Secret Speech and also features the character of Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. The third part, called Agent 6, was published in July 2011.

I was just about to suggest Child 44. I don't think the subsequent books were as good, but still quite good.

There's also "The Holy Thief" which is one of a series of books about a Russian detective in pre-WW2 Russia.

cailinoBAC

Another vote for City of Thieves. I keep hoping for a film (considering the writer is screenwriter for Game of Thrones and wrote an adaptation of his first novel, it's not too much to ask for!
I love all of those style of books aswell, so will try to list some of my favourites later.

On film, another lighthearted one set in the DDR is Sonnenallee, probably seen through rose tinted glasses, but even so.