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A Hero's Daughter

A Hero's Daughter

by Geoffrey Strachan (Translator), Andreï Makine (Author), Andreï Makine (Author), Geoffrey Strachan (Translator)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2004

    $9.49

  • Used

    Paperback 2005

    $3.92
Synopsis

In World War II Ivan Demidov won the Red Army's highest award for bravery, that of Hero of the Soviet Union. But the decades following the War have brought him a life of hardship, alleviated only by his pride in this achievement and the modest privileges granted to War veterans. His daughter, Olya, on the other hand, born in 1961 and trained as a linguist, takes up a post as an interpreter at Moscow's International Business Center with access to a metropolitan lifestyle beyond the dreams of her parents. The only catch is that her job involves servicing foreign businessmen around the clock and passing on information about them to the KGB. This is a stunning drama of disillusionment and tension between the two generations: the one that grew up under Stalin and saw its faith in him crumble and the one that grew up under Brezhnev, fixated on the glamour of the West and its material goods. Makine's vivid and authentic evocation of daily life in post-war Soviet Russia matches in its intensity the portraits of nineteenth-century Russian life offered by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 176
 Publisher: Sceptre
Published: 12 Apr 2004
ISBN 10: 0340751274
ISBN 13: 9780340751275

Media Reviews
'Makine has written an epic story concerning Ivan Demodov, a war veteran and hero, his daughter Olya and the haunting void between the generations. It is both moving and poignant and I found it hard to believe this portrayal of 60 years of Russian life is contained in just 176 pages.' -- Sue Baker, Publishing News 'Andrei Makine belongs to a select group of authors, like Conrad and Nabokov, who have achieved critical success writing in a foreign language. This is a skilful first novel, Makine's laconic style is combined with startling imagery. Andrei Makine's fiction holds a mirror up to our world and reflects our human foibles with a heavy heart and a wry smile. Unlike Demidov, he notices everything.' -- Sebastian Shakespeare, Literary Review 'Geoffrey Strachan's luminous translation produces a text which is also notable for the author's avoidance of sensational sex scenes and graphic violence. When the narrative jolts do occur, they are shocking and unexpected. Zola describes Germinal as a work of pity in which Maheu, the miners' representative, finds his voice, like Ivan, too late. Andrei Makine like Zola, creates a fictionalised reality, indicting those who abuse power while claiming to rule on the people's behalf for the common good.' -- Times Literary Supplement 'A HERO'S DAUGHTER carries the unmistakeable stamp of historical and human truth' -- Sunday Telegraph 'An enormously powerful work' -- Daily Mail 'A moving love story...Makine juxtaposes horror and beauty to haunting effect.' -- Irish Times '(Makine's) understanding of private human moments, little thoughts and random feeling makes this tense, emotional little book really live' -- Waterstone's books quarterly 'Makine's voice is authentic, his writing deft. He knows what he is writing about and does so with conviction.' -- Financial Times 'A HERO'S DAUGHTER has the freshness of a young author, unburdened by fame, writing about issues still alive and important to him' -- Scotland on Sunday
Author Bio
Born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia in 1957, Andrei Makine has lived in France since seeking asylum there in 1987. Daughter Of A Soviet Hero, his first novel, was originally published in French in 1990 and was followed by Confessions Of A Lapsed Standard Bearer and Once Upon The River Love. Then in 1995 his fourth novel, Le Testament Francais, became the unprecedented winner of both the Prix Goncourt and Prix Medicis and has gone on to sell over a million copies in France alone, and to be published in translation in twenty-nine countries. Its translation into English by Geoffrey Strachan, published by Sceptre in 1997, also won the Scott Moncrieff Prize. Since then Andrei Makine has published The Crime Of Olga Arbyelina, Requiem For The East and A Life's Music, published in France in 2001 where it won the Grand Prix RTL-Lire..