A Hero's DaughterFor his extraordinary bravery beyond the call of duty at the battle of Stalingard, Ivan Dimitrovich Davidov is awarded his country's highest military honor: Hero of the Soviet Union. Married after World War II to Tatiana, the nurse who miraculously found him amid a pile of corpses after an apocalyptic battle late in the war, they have a daughter, Olia, who grows up in the glow of her father's reputation. As an interpreter at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, the then 17-year-old Olia commits an indiscretion that leads her straight into the arms of the KGB. As the years roll by, Olia, more and more implicated in espionage, despairs of her fate as "political prostitute, " while her father, equally used by the state, becomes increasingly disillusioned and unruly. Finally, the lives of father and daughter intersect in an understated and utterly moving conclusion. - Andrei Makine is today considered internationally as one of the most important writers of our time, his reputation growing year by year. - Makine's debut novel is more Russian than his later works. Here, the harsh realities of World War II and the postwar era are unsparingly depicted. - Like all Makine's other novels, this should receive widespread attention and good review coverage. |
Contents
Section 1 | 1 |
Section 2 | 8 |
Section 3 | 11 |
Section 4 | 13 |
Section 5 | 17 |
Section 6 | 21 |
Section 7 | 33 |
Section 8 | 34 |
Section 19 | 79 |
Section 20 | 105 |
Section 21 | 123 |
Section 22 | 130 |
Section 23 | 137 |
Section 24 | 149 |
Section 25 | 152 |
Section 26 | 154 |
Section 9 | 39 |
Section 10 | 42 |
Section 11 | 47 |
Section 12 | 49 |
Section 13 | 54 |
Section 14 | 62 |
Section 15 | 68 |
Section 16 | 74 |
Section 17 | 76 |
Section 18 | 77 |
Section 27 | 159 |
Section 28 | 169 |
Section 29 | 174 |
Section 30 | 177 |
Section 31 | 185 |
Section 32 | 188 |
Section 33 | 205 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Almendinger already amid Andreï Makine asked Battle of Stalingrad began bench Beriozka beside bitter blue Borissov bottle called crunch dacha dark daughter Demidov District Committee door drink drunk everything eyes face father felt front gaze glass goddamned Gold Star Gorbachev gray hand head heard Hero hula hoop Intourist Ivan Dmitrevich Ivan's izba jacket knew Kolka kolkhoz kommunalka Komsomol Kremlin tower laugh listen look medals militiaman morning Moscow Moskva River night Ninka NKVD once rubles samogon Semyonov shouted silent slipped smell smiling snow sobering-up station soldiers someone Soviet Union Stalin Stalingrad staring stopped story streets suddenly Svetka talking tanks Tanya Tatyana tell there's thing thought Ivan Tomorrow took turned Vanya veterans Victory Victory Day village Vitaly Ivanovich vodka voice walked warm watch What's window woman young