"Child 44" is a break from nearly everything else on my list. It is not a young adult book. It takes place in communist Russia under Stalin, not a fictional dystopia.
It is about a serial killer who, while being hunted by police, cannot be publicly acknowledged under the Stalinist belief that their society would never produce such a criminal. The only criminals are capitalists, foreigners, and their like, not someone who has all their needs met by the State.
The tension between the good policeman, Leo, and the government is terrific. The story is told from multiple points of view, maintaining the sense that everyone is expendable and no one is safe from the oppressive, destructive, powerful State.
It is brutal and sobering. The storytelling is masterful, the world where all are aware and yet no one is admitting how precarious their situation is, is brilliantly realized. In the end I found these elements more compelling than the main storyline, though the plot turns in ways I could never have predicted.
Is it strange that it is nearly uplifting by the end? Perhaps no more strange than that it's the first of a trilogy...Or that it's being made into a movie by Ridley Scott.
2 comments:
I saw this book on a list of 'adult dystopian novels' yesterday, and picked it up from the library. It sounds dark and fascinating. I was so surprised to see that you had reviewed it this week!
Oh, wonderful!! Let's talk when you're finished reading it. I'm very curious to find out what you think of this one.
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