Description
Book Synopsis**FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017**
''Scrupulous, pitch-perfect. With heart-pounding force, Dunmore builds up a double narrative of suspense'' Sunday Times
Leningrad, 1952. Andrei, a young hospital doctor and Anna, a nursery school teacher, are forging a life together in the post-war, post-siege wreckage. But their happiness is precarious, like that of millions of Russians who must avoid the claws of Stalin''s merciless Ministry for State security. So when Andrei is asked to treat the seriously ill child of a senior secret police officer, he and Anna are fearful. Trapped in an impossible, maybe unwinnable game, can they avoid the whispers and watchful eyes of those who will say or do anything to save themselves?
The Betrayal is a powerful and touching novel of ordinary people in the grip of a terrible and sinister regime, and a moving portrait of a love that will not be extinguished.
''Beautifully
Trade Review
Enthralling. Emotionally gripping ... ordinary people struggling against a city's beautiful indifference, and clinging on for dear life Daily Telegraph Beautifully crafted, gripping, moving, enlightening. Sure to be one of the best historical novels of the year Time Out Scrupulous, pitch-perfect. With heart-pounding force, Dunmore builds up a double narrative of suspense Sunday Times Magnificent, brave, tender ... with a unique gift for immersing the reader in the taste, smell and fear of a story Independent on Sunday A masterpiece. An extraordinarily powerful evocation of a time of unimaginable fear. We defy you to read it without a pounding heart and a lump in your throat Grazia A beautifully written and deeply moving story about fear, loss, love and honesty amid the demented lies of Stalin's last days. I literally could not put it down -- Antony Beevor Dunmore chillingly evokes the atmosphere of Soviet suspicion, where whispered rumours and petty grievances metastasise into lies and denunciation. A gripping read Daily Mail Meticulous, clever, eloquent. An absorbing and thoughtful tale of good people in hard times Guardian A remarkably feeling, nuanced novel that satisfies the head as well as the heart. This does not read like a retelling of history, but like a draught of real life. With her seemingly small canvas, Dunmore has created a universe Sunday Herald Dunmore's genius lies in her ability to convey the strange Soviet atmosphere of these very Soviet stories using the most subtle of clues Spectator Storytelling on a grand scale The Times
