The Secret History of Moscow (Paperback)

by Ekaterina Sedia (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Sedia (According to Crow) applies urban fantasy templates to her Russian setting with mixed success in her second stand-alone novel. Masha, the cheerfully normal sister of vision-prone translator Galina, turns into a jackdaw and flies off, leaving her just-born child behind. Joined by police detective Yakov Richards, Galina tracks the missing Masha into an underground milieu where lost souls mingle with beings out of Russian folklore. A host of secondary characters rapidly clutter the narrative and cloud its focus, and Sedia's persistently curt prose favors contemporary atmosphere over mythic resonance, diminishing Koschey the Deathless and Zemun the Celestial Cow to near-mundane status. Modern blue-collar Moscow is pitch-perfect, however: bustling yet seedy, disorganized and none too respectable. While undeniably authentic, the cynical tone may alienate many Western readers before they reach the startling but well-grounded climax. On the whole, this wholeheartedly Russian tale is most compelling as social commentary. (Nov.)
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Product Description
Every city contains secret places, and Moscow is no different, its citizens seeking safety under the city during tumultuous times - a cavernous dark world of magic, weeping trees and albino jackdaws, where exiled pagan deities and fairytale creatures still whisper strange tales to everyone who would listen. Through their interlocking stories, a very different history emerges, full of betrayals and unseen hostilities, between the real world and the world below . . . and now, in the early 1990's, the conflict is escalating.

Galina is a young woman, caught like many of her contemporaries in the new economic uncertainty and apparent lawlessness of the country. In the midst of all this chaos, her sister Maria turns into a jackdaw and flies away . . . prompting Galina to help Yakov, a policeman investigating a rash of recent disappearances. Their search will take them to the underground realm of hidden histories and archetypes, to find themselves caught between reality and myth, past and present, truth and betrayal . . . the secret history of Moscow.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Prime Books (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809572230
• ISBN-13: 978-0809572236
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #601,566 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable trip into the magical underbelly of Moscow, February 28, 2008

By	Valya Lupescu "Valya Dudycz Lupescu" (Chicago, IL and Frankfurt, Germany) - See all my reviews

In The Secret History of Moscow, Ekaterina Sedia captures the grey physical and emotional landscape of Moscow in the 90's and infuses it with haunting Russian mythos. The author's exploration of the supernatural clashing with reality creates a backdrop for social and economic commentary on Post-Soviet life.

But The Secret History of Moscow has neither bland prose nor flat characters (which is impressive considering the sheer breadth of characters we encounter in the book). These characters are given life by the author's lush, descriptive language. The details bring this world into sharp focus, and some of the imagery is utterly unforgettable. The bear is fantastic, as are the ways of entering the Underworld.

The population of Sedia's novel live in the distorted shadows of life--the people are hopeless and weary, and the gods and heroes have been relegated to the Underworld, no longer called upon by the modern folk. Yet it is in the hands of these fading myths and disillusioned antiheroes that the city and her people must ultimately find redemption.

Some have commented that they were unable to suspend disbelief as the "real life" characters met the folkloric ones and were not phased by the meeting. Western readers may fail to understand just what kind of presence these archetypes have in Russian (and Eastern European) ethos. They have not all been banished to the realm of children's fairy tales.

The mythical characters have a definite presence--an undertow in the murky waters of Russian cosmology. It's really not that hard to believe that they co-exist just out of reach, visible in the ripples of a puddle or in the reflection of a subway window. They should not be forgotten, and thanks to Ekaterina Sedia, I don't think they shall!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ...or three and a half stars, rather, July 28, 2008

By	Tuulia - See all my reviews

Some compare this to Gaiman's Neverwhere, but this is quite different, I think, even if this too is kind of an urban fantasy where people go to an ... underground world. What I loved best in this book was all the Russian mythology, of which I know shamefully little - though it was fun to spot some familiar things. (Actually, the only reason I recognized some characters etc, like e.g Koshchey the Deathless, was because I've got one single fairytale by Eduard Uspensky. Pathetic.)

Anyway, this is a pretty good book - not excellent or anything, but worth reading if you happen to get this into your hands. Some people seem to be annoyed at the way the author keeps on interrupting the story: every time a new character is introduced, the story of his or her life is also told. But. At one point I started to get the feeling that _this_ in fact is the "secret history of Moscow", these stories of small people who otherwise wouldn't get their voice heard, who, behind the brilliant Russian/Soviet coulisse are not living so wonderful lives. This isn't just fantasy, but also offers an interesting look into the everyday life in Russia/Soviet Union.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The lost and silent people living underneath Moscow, January 22, 2008

By	Michael Jasper (Wake Forest, NC USA) - See all my reviews

I've always been a fan of both novels about hidden or underground cities as well as novels containing those "secret histories" of what really happened in the past to make things how they are today, so it comes as no surprised that I was hooked by Ekaterina Sedia's Secret History of Moscow.

Instead of London or New York City, places that have been explored countless times before, the setting of Moscow was a refreshing change of pace. I was fascinated by the fairy tale beings I'd never heard of before, almost as much as I was entranced by the stories of regular Muscovites in the past and present -- people struggling to get by, people without strong voices, people you'd pass on the street or in the subway without giving a second glance. These are the people that, in Sedia's remarkable prose, literally take flight in this novel.

If you enjoy fantasy tinged with stark realism and clear-eyed storytelling, you'll love this book.