The Archivist's Story

by TravisHolland (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $3.47

  It is Moscow, in 1939. The great author Isaac Babel is spending his last days in the infamous Lubyanka prison, forbidden to write. His final works have been consigned to the young archivist Pavel Dubrov, who must destroy them. But Pavel makes a reckless decision in the face of a vast bureaucracy of evil: he will save the stories of the writer he so admires, whatever the cost.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $3.47

  It is Moscow, in 1939. In the recesses of the infamous Lubyanka prison, a young archivist is sent to verify the authorship of an unfinished story, confiscated from one of the many political prisoners there. The writer is Isaac Babel. The great author of Red Cavalry is spending his last days forbidden to write, his final works consigned to the archivist, Pavel Dubrov - who will ultimately be charged with destroying them. Pavel, a former schoolmaster and a lover of literature, a reluctant minion in Stalin's system, makes a reckless decision: he will save the last stories of the writer he admires, whatever the cost. Pavel's daring in the face of a vast bureaucracy of evil invigorates a life that had slowly lost its meaning, even as it guarantees his almost certain undoing. A story of suspicion, courage and unexpected grace, The Archivist's Story is ultimately a tribute to the enduring power of the written word.