Mother Russia: A novel [Paperback]

Robert Littell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1978

A riveting thriller about crime and punishment in Soviet-era Moscow.

Like the Arkady Renko novels of Martin Cruz Smith, Robert Littell's masterful Mother Russia transports readers back in time and behind the Iron Curtain to experience the extremes of Soviet society. Robespierre Pravdin is a black marketeer who prowls Moscow's streets and alleys hustling wristwatches. Wishing only to survive in a city suffocated by paranoia and schizophrenia, Robespierre manages to make a tidy profit and stay under the state's radar-until, one day, he meets the woman called "Mother Russia" and becomes ensnared in the Byzantine and profoundly dangerous game of politics. This is another darkly engrossing pageturner from the bestselling author of The Sisters and The Defection of A. J. Lewinter.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Littell was born, raised, and educated in New York. A former Newsweek editor specializing in Soviet affairs, he left journalism in 1970 to write fiction full time. Connoisseurs of the spy novel have elevated Robert Littell to the genre's highest ranks, and Tom Clancy wrote that “if Robert Littell didn’t invent the spy novel, he should have.” He is the author of fifteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Company and Legends, the 2005 L.A. Times Book Award for Best Thriller/Mystery. He currently lives in France.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; 1st edition (1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151626383
• ISBN-13: 978-0151626380
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bestselling author Robert Littell has been ranked amongst John Le Carre and Graham Greene for his masterful spy fiction. A Newsweek journalist in a previous incarnation, Littell has been writing about the Soviet Union and Russians since his first novel, the espionage classic The Defection of A.J.Lewinter. Among his numerous critically acclaimed novels are The October Circle, Mother Russia, The Debriefing, The Sisters, The Revolutionist, The Once and Future Spy, An Agent in Place, The Visiting Professor, the New York Times bestselling The Company (adapted for a TNT mini-series), and Legends (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Best Thriller of 2005) and For the Future of Israel, a book of conversations with Shimon Peres. Littell is an American who makes his home in France.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Communism's Catch-22, July 24, 2004

By 

kittygalore (Harbor City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother Russia (Hardcover)

I was laughing, loving, and otherwise utterly hooked from the moment the main character, Robespierre Pravdin, began his sales pitch for Q-Tips. (It sounds lame here, but once you read the book you will never think of Q-Tips, or for that matter feminine deodorant or depilatory cream, the same way again). He crashes parties, he writes exceedingly quotable graffiti, and he says exactly what he thinks. He speaks a little Latin (though people always say, "is that Jewish?") and a little Hebrew (though people ask, "is that Latin?"). In the background, convoluted conspiracies and bureaucratic absurdity make his life as hellish as possible, eventually certifying him insane because can't be manipulated by them. This Catch-22-esque novel is a hilarious look at Communism: not condemnatory or hopeful, just irreverent.