Requiem for a Lost Empire: A NovelA nameless, orphaned Russian army doctor is the narrator of Requiem for a Lost Empire, an epic novel that traces three generations of a Russian family through the turbulent political struggles of the twentieth century. Spanning eight decades --from the October Revolution of 1917 to the Cold War to the fall of Communism --the book follows the narrator's grand-father, Nikolai, a Red Army deserter who seeks peace and isolation in a remote forest village. Years later, his son Pavel will fight in World War II, become a KGB spy, and, like Nikolai, return to his native Caucasus in a vain attempt to escape the increasing tyrannies of the postwar Soviet era. It is here, amidst the raging warfare, espionage, and crushing poverty, where our narrator is born. Sweeping in its scope and heartbreaking in its truths, Requiem for a Lost Empire is both a harrowing history of the Soviet Union and a loving tribute to the fortitude of its people. |
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 11 |
Section 3 | 18 |
Section 4 | 33 |
Section 5 | 47 |
Section 6 | 53 |
Section 7 | 61 |
Section 8 | 69 |
Section 15 | 138 |
Section 16 | 155 |
Section 17 | 171 |
Section 18 | 175 |
Section 19 | 188 |
Section 20 | 199 |
Section 21 | 209 |
Section 22 | 219 |
Section 9 | 82 |
Section 10 | 85 |
Section 11 | 91 |
Section 12 | 103 |
Section 13 | 114 |
Section 14 | 125 |
Section 23 | 232 |
Section 24 | 238 |
Section 25 | 243 |
Section 26 | 250 |
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Common terms and phrases
already amid ANDREÏ MAKINE Anna arms battle battle of Kursk Batum began beneath beside blood body Caucasus child darkness dead death Dolshanka door explosion eyes face father felt fighting filly film fingers fire forest front German German-Soviet pact glass going Goldfish hand hand grenade happiness head heard horse izba killed knew kolkhoz kulaks leaving light listening lives longer looked Marelst memory morning Moscow moving night Nikolai past Pavel Peeping Toms penal companies petit four picture prisoners realized road Russian Saint Petersburg Sasha seemed sensed Shakh shouting shrapnel silence sleep smile soldiers someone sound Soviet spoke Stalin stopped story strange street submachine gun suddenly talking tanks tell thought told tone took town trees truth turned village Vinner voice waiting walked wall window woman women words wounded young