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The Commissar's Report
A Russian spy falls in love with life in the United States and pretends to be engaged in subversive activities in order to stay in the country
- GenresFiction
328 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Martyn Burke
11 books6 followersMartyn Burke's newest book from Tyrus/Simon and Schuster, MUSIC FOR LOVE OR WAR, is his sixth published novel and has been praised by Carl Hiaasen with, "Few writers can take you from the hills of Afghanistan to the gates of the Playboy Mansion, and make you believe every crazy word. Martyn Burke is slash-and-burn funny, but also unexpectedly touching and wise.
Martyn works in a multitude of worlds, each of which somehow end up as raw material for in his novels that often blend drama, comedy-- and frequently absurdity. His documentary, THE KGB CONNECTIONS, resulted in his later novel, THE COMMISSAR'S REPORT, a satirical story about Soviet and United States relations during the Cold War. Producing and directing a segment for CBS's "West 57th" about early black R and B legends Ruth Brown and Bo Diddley being cheated out of record royalties, led to his novel IVORY JOE, the story of a 1950's family being caught up in the turmoil of the music industry at the dawn of Rock and Roll and first stirrings of the civil rights movement in the segregated American South.
He has published six highly acclaimed novels including those which gained him nominations for Best First Novel, LAUGHING WAR, and winning the International Press Academy's Auteur Award.
His other work on documentaries and feature film has recently earned him a Peabody Award and Emmy nominations, as well as Directors Guild and Writers Guild awards.
His award winning TV and theatrical documentaries, including the Academy Award-short-listed Under Fire: Journalists in Combat, range from traveling carnivals to terrorism.
Martyn works in a multitude of worlds, each of which somehow end up as raw material for in his novels that often blend drama, comedy-- and frequently absurdity. His documentary, THE KGB CONNECTIONS, resulted in his later novel, THE COMMISSAR'S REPORT, a satirical story about Soviet and United States relations during the Cold War. Producing and directing a segment for CBS's "West 57th" about early black R and B legends Ruth Brown and Bo Diddley being cheated out of record royalties, led to his novel IVORY JOE, the story of a 1950's family being caught up in the turmoil of the music industry at the dawn of Rock and Roll and first stirrings of the civil rights movement in the segregated American South.
He has published six highly acclaimed novels including those which gained him nominations for Best First Novel, LAUGHING WAR, and winning the International Press Academy's Auteur Award.
His other work on documentaries and feature film has recently earned him a Peabody Award and Emmy nominations, as well as Directors Guild and Writers Guild awards.
His award winning TV and theatrical documentaries, including the Academy Award-short-listed Under Fire: Journalists in Combat, range from traveling carnivals to terrorism.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 10, 2017
A really nice grown up book.
The blurb calls it the "cold war Catch 22" and it is far from that, but it does have lots of funny moments.
An American journalist is on a fact finding mission in Russia, when he sees a line of prisoners being marched across at gunpoint to clear landmines. he is accept to the accept the Politburo explanation that these men have volunteered, in order to be given free plots of land.
Thus, the novel portrays matters of life and death with gallows humour. The Russian spies in America can't believe how gullible Americans are, and our hero stumbles along merrily in the new world, from one disaster to the next.
I enjoyed the book but and there's always a but; maybe it's a bit long at 400 pages and once the fun goes near the end, it all becomes a bit slow and dour.
The blurb calls it the "cold war Catch 22" and it is far from that, but it does have lots of funny moments.
An American journalist is on a fact finding mission in Russia, when he sees a line of prisoners being marched across at gunpoint to clear landmines. he is accept to the accept the Politburo explanation that these men have volunteered, in order to be given free plots of land.
Thus, the novel portrays matters of life and death with gallows humour. The Russian spies in America can't believe how gullible Americans are, and our hero stumbles along merrily in the new world, from one disaster to the next.
I enjoyed the book but and there's always a but; maybe it's a bit long at 400 pages and once the fun goes near the end, it all becomes a bit slow and dour.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 29, 2019This book was thrilling and engaging, it kept me on the edge of my seat when Dimitri's double life is going to be found out by the Russian government while he was being a multi-millionaire in the states. It had a vicious antagonist as the protagonist's father sent the antagonist's parents into the gulag and survived.
March 31, 2018
I read this satire about twenty-five years ago and loved it. It did not have the same appeal this time around. Perhaps it is because infiltration that seemed far-fetched twenty-five years ago seems too real now, considering what we know of Russian interference with Western elections.
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September 28, 2023Different world... soviet and US...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2011
The category that this book fits into on the bingo board is a book recommended by amember of your family. The family member that recommended it to me was my sister Amanda.
What I liked about the book was that some of the storyline of which the book was based on made me eager to learn and find out more. This included the stock market in America (Wall Street) and immigrants from Russia getting deeper into American democracy and trying to turn the system corrupt.
What i was disappointed about in the book was that there wasn't a few more hundred pages because at the end of the book they cut it short making you guess what ends up happening and there is no other book following on after it.
I would recommend this book to my best friend as this book contains scenes that put your mind on a quiz to guess what happens next and makes keep on reading more and more, page after page. This book also contains saucy romance that should be within his criteria
What I liked about the book was that some of the storyline of which the book was based on made me eager to learn and find out more. This included the stock market in America (Wall Street) and immigrants from Russia getting deeper into American democracy and trying to turn the system corrupt.
What i was disappointed about in the book was that there wasn't a few more hundred pages because at the end of the book they cut it short making you guess what ends up happening and there is no other book following on after it.
I would recommend this book to my best friend as this book contains scenes that put your mind on a quiz to guess what happens next and makes keep on reading more and more, page after page. This book also contains saucy romance that should be within his criteria
June 28, 2007
A wonderful novel about a cold-war era Russian spy who loves the Brooklyn Dodgers (because you just CAN'T root for the Yankees!). This would get five stars, but the ending is such a downer.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews