Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel
by Martin Cruz Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Martin Cruz SmithEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2008-06-03
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Pocket
Book Reviews of Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel
Book Review: Solid writing; Phantom of a plot
Summary: 4 Stars
Ghosts are said to be the uneasy souls of the dead, and in Martin Cruz Smith's Stalin's Ghost, "Uncle Joe" plays a role akin to that of Hamlet's father--never on stage, but always present. The device works well in developing the characters, but the central mystery is too insubstantial and crowded with sub-plots to truly grip.
There are surely few twentieth-century figures who merit an eternity or two in purgatory more than Joseph Stalin. His rule of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953 was so murderous that he is one of the few people who can be honestly compared to Hitler without hyperbole. In the first half of his rule an estimated 5 to 10 million Soviet citizens had been starved, frozen or worked to death in the Gulags or simply shot. The second half saw Stalin lead his country to victory in a war with Nazi Germany so staggeringly bloody, it makes even Eli Roth puke (possibly out of envy).
Yet despite being 50 years in his grave, he still has influence in Russia, thanks to his usefulness as a symbol and an excuse for all manner of sins. Stalin's reputation continues to divide people--ruthless but strong leader, or pathological murder?
Moscow police investigator Arkady Renko, the hero of five previous novels by Mr Smith, is struggling with the spirit of Stalin rather more literally. Stalin may be safely dead and buried, but there's been a spate of incidents in which riders on the Moscow metro claim to have seen him at one of the stations. The case has deeper resonance for Renko, whose father was one of Stalin's generals during the war.
A separate train of events is set in motion when Renko's partner, detective Victor Orlov, finds out someone on the force has been offering their services as a paid assassin. The snag is the prime suspect, Nikolai Isakov, is not only a hero from the Chechen war, but also a candidate for a far-right political party whose adopted mascot is--you guessed it--Joe Stalin.
The connection between Renko, his father and Stalin is ironically when the book comes most alive, and Mr Smith deftly interweaves the investigation with flashbacks to Renko's childhood, and the shadow hanging over him due to his parents' suicides (WHO reports that Russia's suicide rate is three times higher than the US. Don't say you never learn anything on Amazon). We also get more background on Zhenya, Renko's 12-year-old ward, and his lover, Eva Kazko, both of whom appeared in 2004's Wolves Eat Dogs. Indeed, Stalin's Ghost is the first of the Renko novels to feel like a proper sequel, and it is all the richer for it.
Alas, although I do so enjoy the Renko books, I must admit the series is starting to show its age. The ghostly mystery and its link to Isakov is far too obvious and easily resolved, leaving Mr Smith to pad the book out with meandering storylines that add little to either character or story development. Speaking of age, Renko must be well into his fifties by now, and I can't entirely block visions of Roger Moore circa Moonraker whenever I read the book's action or sex scenes.
The amount of punishment Renko absorbs is also a little eye brow-raising. The poor man is, at various points in the story, garroted, stabbed, buried alive and, most improbably, shot in the head at point-blank range. The operating and recovery scenes read like they were lifted straight out of a medical text, and this is easily the book's weakest scene.
That said, wry, sardonic Renko remains an engaging reading companion, but my wishes that the man be granted a little rest seem doom to be dashed. Renko is set to return in The Golden Mile in 2010.
Summary of Stalin's Ghost: An Arkady Renko Novel
Investigator Arkady Renko, the pariah of the Moscow prosecutor's office, has been assigned the thankless job of investigating a new phenomenon: late-night subway riders report seeing the ghost of Joseph Stalin on the platform of the Chistye Prudy Metro station. The illusion seems part political hocus-pocus and also part wishful thinking, for among many Russians Stalin is again popular; the bloody dictator can boast a two-to-one approval rating. Decidedly better than that of Renko, whose lover, Eva, has left him for Detective Nikolai Isakov, a charismatic veteran of the civil war in Chechnya, a hero of the far right and, Renko suspects, a killer for hire. The cases entwine, and Renko's quests become a personal inquiry fueled by jealousy.The investigation leads to the fields of Tver outside of Moscow, where once a million soldiers fought. There, amidst the detritus, Renko must confront the ghost of his own father, a favorite general of Stalin's. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneurs -- the Red Diggers and Black Diggers -- collect the bones, weapons and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises.
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