{"product_id":"9781416598657","title":"The Stalin Epigram : A Novel","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Stalin Epigram\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Robert Littell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on a true historical episode, \u003ci\u003eThe Stalin Epigram \u003c\/i\u003eis a fictional account of the life of Osip Mandelstam, perhaps the greatest Russian poet of the twentieth century—and one of the few artists in Soviet Russia who daringly refused to pay creative homage to Joseph Stalin.\u003c\/b\u003e The poet’s defiance of the Kremlin dictator and the Bolshevik regime— particularly his outspoken criticism of Stalin’s collectivization rampage that drove millions of Russian peasants to starvation—reached its climax in 1934 when Mandelstam, putting his life on the line, composed a searing indictment of Stalin in a sixteen-line epigram and secretly recited it to a handful of friends and fellow artists. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWould Stalin and his merciless state security apparatus get wind of this brazenly insulting poem? Would the poet’s body and spirit be crushed under the weight of the state if they did? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNarrated in turn by Mandelstam himself, his devoted wife, his great friends Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova, and vivid fictional characters, \u003ci\u003eThe Stalin Epigram \u003c\/i\u003eis a page-turning tale of courage and the human spirit and illuminates the agonizing choices Russian intellectuals faced during the Stalinist terror. In it, legendary author Robert Littell delivers his most riveting suspense story and masterfully written novel to date.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“Robert Littell has written what may be his finest novel…a timeless story of courage and truth…a brilliant work, always readable, sometimes funny and often heartbreaking…\u003ci\u003eThe Stalin Epigram \u003c\/i\u003eshould not be missed.” —Patrick Anderson, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This novel stands head and shoulders above most others of its kind, a book that begins as a thriller and ends as a testimony to the courage and naked vision of its odd and eccentric real life hero.” —Alan Cheuse, NPR’s “All Things Considered”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781416598657\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40592084107470,"sku":"9781416598657","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_5d53ae4b-1528-4dee-82b2-5f1c4d638fa9.jpg?v=1637762737","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781416598657","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}