{"product_id":"the-half-life-of-valery-k-9781408885154","title":"The Half Life of Valery K","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e**Shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize**\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBEST BOOK OF 2022\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e Historical Fiction Book of the Month\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe truth must come out.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eIn 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots to avoid frostbite, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life. But on one ordinary day, all that changes: Valery's university mentor steps in and sweeps Valery from the frozen prison camp to a mysterious unnamed town hidden within a forest so damaged it looks like the trees have rusted from within. Here, Valery is Dr. Kolkhanov once more, and he's expected to serve out his prison term studying the effect of radiation on local animals. But as Valery begins his work, he is struck by the questions his research raises: what, exactly, is being hidden from the \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis \u003cb\u003eclever, gripping\u003c\/b\u003e novel is based on the true story of a nuclear research facility at Chelyabinsk, where an accident in 1957 caused acute radiation sickness in the area. \u003cb\u003eNatasha Pulley’s wry, intelligent style works well to depict the Soviet world of lies and secrets\u003c\/b\u003e, and Valery’s naive goodness is a mirror to the murky world he inhabits * The Times, Book of the Month *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn inventive, mind-bending book\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Times: Best Books of 2022: Historical Fiction *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHigh drama meets gallows humour\u003c\/b\u003e on a foundation of the real life 1957 Kyshym disaster in Russia * Strong Words, Books of the Year 2022 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistory and imagination collide to stunning effect in this utterly beguiling and addictive novel\u003c\/b\u003e. Unflinching, darkly funny, and all too easy to believe, \u003ci\u003eThe Half Life Of Valery K\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ethe kind of book that haunts the reader long after the last page is turned\u003c\/b\u003e -- Erin Kelly\u003cbr\u003ePulley adds to her impressive oeuvre with \u003cb\u003eanother exquisite novel\u003c\/b\u003e. Many of the author’s trademarks are on display here: \u003cb\u003ea finely-drawn period setting, a vein of dark humour, a plot blending historical fact and fiction, and a protagonist seeking to do the right thing in the face of a brutal political machine. An illuminating and immersive historical tale\u003c\/b\u003e -- Vaseem Khan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eperfectly paced\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ethis is another triumph from my favourite living author\u003c\/b\u003e -- Katie Lumsden\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliantly conceived\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003evibrantly realized\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003ecomplexly suspenseful\u003c\/b\u003e * Booklist *\u003cbr\u003eHer dark humor, which turns on the blind faith given to Soviet authority figures despite their outlandish claims, combines with complex characters and a clear understanding of radiation science to yield an \u003cb\u003eexplosive \u003c\/b\u003eblend. The \u003cb\u003echilling \u003c\/b\u003eresult feels all too plausible * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003ePulley’s \u003cb\u003eimpeccable \u003c\/b\u003eprose,\u003cb\u003e vivid and shot through with tenderness\u003c\/b\u003e, lends a glint of lightness to this unsettling story * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eA timely insight into the Soviet regime in the 1960s, it is never bleak, but \u003cb\u003etender\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eelegant \u003c\/b\u003eand so very \u003cb\u003eclever \u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eIt’s a story I won’t forget\u003c\/b\u003e -- Tor Udall\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEngrossing\u003c\/b\u003e * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eWildly inventive, full of eeriness and magic, and fiendishly intricate plots * The Times on The Lost Future of Pepperharrow *\u003cbr\u003eAn awe-inspiring feat of imagination and passion * Catriona Ward on The Kingdoms *\u003cbr\u003eLavish world-building and breakneck plotting … Clear a weekend and let yourself be absorbed * New York Times Book Review on The Kingdoms *","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48866826158423,"sku":"9781408885154","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781408885154.jpg?v=1722280168","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-half-life-of-valery-k-9781408885154","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}