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Moscow Trilogy #1-3
Trilogia di Mosca
Una trilogia appassionante e coinvolgente attraverso un secolo di storia nella grande Russia del '900
Sašenka
L'amore ai tempi della neve
Cieli di fuoco
Inverno 1916: a San Pietroburgo nevica in un paese sull’orlo della rivoluzione. Ai cancelli dell’Istituto Smol’nyj per nobili fanciulle, una governante inglese aspetta una ragazza, che però è attesa anche dalla polizia segreta dello Sašenka Zejtlin ha solo sedici anni, un padre ricchissimo, una madre devota di Rasputin, e uno zio bolscevico che la converte alla causa rivoluzionaria.
1936: sposata con un compagno che ha fatto carriera, madre di due figli e direttrice di un mensile «rosso», Sašenka conduce una vita agiata all’interno dell’élite vicina a Stalin. Sopravvive alle purghe, ma alla vigilia della guerra commette un imperdonabile per la prima volta in vita sua si innamora veramente, con conseguenze impensabili per lei e per la sua famiglia intera.
Unione Sovietica, 1942: imprigionato in un gulag per un crimine che non ha commesso, Benya Golden sembra condannato a morire di stenti nella terribile Kolyma fino a quando da Stalin arriva l’ordine di costituire un battaglione a cavallo composto di detenuti per combattere l’avanzata della Wehrmacht ormai alle porte di Stalingrado. Chi riuscirà a sopravvivere alle missioni suicide alle quali viene destinato il battaglione otterrà in cambio la libertà. Benya si trova catapultato dietro le linee nemiche. Qui combatterà la sua personalissima guerra incrociando il suo destino con quello di agenti segreti, traditori, cosacchi, nazisti e della bellissima infermiera italiana, Fabiana…
Mosca 1945: mentre Stalin si appresta a festeggiare la vittoria sui nazisti insieme ai suoi più stretti collaboratori, poco distante risuonano due spari. Un ragazzo e una ragazza vengono trovati morti su un ponte. Ma i due ragazzi non sono persone qualsiasi, bensì appartengono a due delle famiglie più influenti e più vicine a Stalin e frequentano entrambi il collegio più esclusivo dove studia tutta la nuova élite politica e intellettuale dell’Unione Sovietica. Si tratta di un omicidio? Di un doppio suicidio? Di una cospirazione contro lo Stato?
1994: più di mezzo secolo è trascorso, di Sašenka Zejtlin e dei suoi familiari, dei colleghi e conoscenti, dello stesso Paese in cui hanno vissuto si sono perse le tracce…
1472 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2018
219 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
About the author
Simon Sebag Montefiore
65 books3,218 followersSimon Sebag Montefiore is the author of the global bestsellers 'The Romanovs' and 'Jerusalem: the Biography,' 'Stalin: the Court of the Red Tsar' and Young Stalin and the novels Sashenka and One Night in Winter and "Red Sky at Noon." His books are published in 48 languages and are worldwide bestsellers. He has won prizes in both non-fiction and fiction. He read history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD).
'The Romanovs' is his latest history book. He has now completed his Moscow Trilogy of novels featuring Benya Golden and Comrade Satinov, Sashenka, Dashka and Fabiana.... and Stalin himself.
Buy in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Winter-...
"A thrilling work of fiction. Montefiore weaves a tight, satisfying plot, delivering surprises to the last page. Stalin's chilling charisma is brilliantly realised. The novel's theme is Love: family love, youthful romance, adulterous passion. One Night in Winter is full of redemptive love and inner freedom." Evening Standard
"Gripping and cleverly plotted. Doomed love at the heart of a violent society is the heart of Montefiore's One Night in Winter... depicting the Kafkaesque labyrinth into which the victims stumble." The Sunday Times
"Compulsively involving. Our fear for the children keeps up turning the pages... We follow the passions with sympathy... The knot of events tugs at a wide range of emotions rarely experienced outside an intimate tyranny." The Times
"The novel is hugely romantic. His ease with the setting and historical characters is masterly. The book maintains a tense pace. Uniquely terrifying. Heartrending. Engrossing. " The Scotsman
“Delicately plotted and buried within a layered, elliptical narrative, One Night in Winter is also a fidgety page-turner which adroitly weaves a huge cast of characters into an arcane world.” Time Out
“A novel full of passion, conspiracy, hope, despair, suffering and redemption, it transcends boundaries of genre, being at once thriller and political drama, horror and romance. His ability to paint Stalin in such a way to make the reader quake with fire is matched by talent for creating truly heartbreaking characters: the children who find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy, the parents…. A gripping read and must surely be one of the best novels of 2013. ” NY Journal of Books
"Not just a thumpingly good read, but also essentially a story of human fragility and passions, albeit taking place under the intimidating shadow of a massive Stalinist portico." The National
"Seriously good fun... the Soviet march on Berlin, nightmarish drinking games at Stalin's countryhouse, the magnificence of the Bolshoi, interrogations, snow, sex and exile... lust adultery and romance. Eminently readable and strangely affecting." Sunday Telegraph
" "Hopelessly romantic and hopelessly moving. A mix of lovestory thriller and historical fiction. Engrossing." The Observer
“Gripping. Montefiore’s characters snare our sympathy and we follow them avidly. This intricate at times disturbing, always absorbing novel entertains and disturbs and seethes with moral complexity. Characters real+fictitious ring strikingly true.It is to a large extent Tolstoyan …..” The Australian
“Enthralling. Montefiore writes brilliantly about Love - from teenage romance to the grand passion of adultery. Readers of Sebastian Faulks and Hilary Mantel will lap this up. A historical novel that builds into a nail-biting drama … a world that resembles… Edith Wharton with the death penalty.” Novel of
'The Romanovs' is his latest history book. He has now completed his Moscow Trilogy of novels featuring Benya Golden and Comrade Satinov, Sashenka, Dashka and Fabiana.... and Stalin himself.
Buy in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Winter-...
"A thrilling work of fiction. Montefiore weaves a tight, satisfying plot, delivering surprises to the last page. Stalin's chilling charisma is brilliantly realised. The novel's theme is Love: family love, youthful romance, adulterous passion. One Night in Winter is full of redemptive love and inner freedom." Evening Standard
"Gripping and cleverly plotted. Doomed love at the heart of a violent society is the heart of Montefiore's One Night in Winter... depicting the Kafkaesque labyrinth into which the victims stumble." The Sunday Times
"Compulsively involving. Our fear for the children keeps up turning the pages... We follow the passions with sympathy... The knot of events tugs at a wide range of emotions rarely experienced outside an intimate tyranny." The Times
"The novel is hugely romantic. His ease with the setting and historical characters is masterly. The book maintains a tense pace. Uniquely terrifying. Heartrending. Engrossing. " The Scotsman
“Delicately plotted and buried within a layered, elliptical narrative, One Night in Winter is also a fidgety page-turner which adroitly weaves a huge cast of characters into an arcane world.” Time Out
“A novel full of passion, conspiracy, hope, despair, suffering and redemption, it transcends boundaries of genre, being at once thriller and political drama, horror and romance. His ability to paint Stalin in such a way to make the reader quake with fire is matched by talent for creating truly heartbreaking characters: the children who find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy, the parents…. A gripping read and must surely be one of the best novels of 2013. ” NY Journal of Books
"Not just a thumpingly good read, but also essentially a story of human fragility and passions, albeit taking place under the intimidating shadow of a massive Stalinist portico." The National
"Seriously good fun... the Soviet march on Berlin, nightmarish drinking games at Stalin's countryhouse, the magnificence of the Bolshoi, interrogations, snow, sex and exile... lust adultery and romance. Eminently readable and strangely affecting." Sunday Telegraph
" "Hopelessly romantic and hopelessly moving. A mix of lovestory thriller and historical fiction. Engrossing." The Observer
“Gripping. Montefiore’s characters snare our sympathy and we follow them avidly. This intricate at times disturbing, always absorbing novel entertains and disturbs and seethes with moral complexity. Characters real+fictitious ring strikingly true.It is to a large extent Tolstoyan …..” The Australian
“Enthralling. Montefiore writes brilliantly about Love - from teenage romance to the grand passion of adultery. Readers of Sebastian Faulks and Hilary Mantel will lap this up. A historical novel that builds into a nail-biting drama … a world that resembles… Edith Wharton with the death penalty.” Novel of
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 24, 2019
Moskovska trilogija
je prvenstveno emotivno i jako štivo,prava poslastica za sve ljubitelje historijske fikcije.
Osvjetljava jedan kontravezan i diskutabilan period ruske historije pod čizmom čeličnog vođe. Sam pisac napominje da se ova tri djela mogu odvojeno čitati,a ja Vam savjetujem da krenete od Šašenjke. Po mom skromnom mišljenju odlične knjige.
(može uz bok stati sa Doktor Živagom)
Mlada,prelijepa,buntovna djevojka koje je sve što ima uložila u izgradnju Lenjinove države. Ne sluteći da se gradi na milionima grobova. Montefjore me je oduševio ovom knjigom,kao sumanuta sam okretala stranice ali Sašenjkinu sudbinu sam saznala tek na zadnjoj stranici knjige. Negdje sam prije čitanja ove knjige pročitala ovu rečenicu i ona savršeno opisuje Sašenjku.;
"Uvijek je htjela biti drugačija od drugih,ili prva ili posljednja nikad u sredini."
NEBO U PODNE CRVENO
je drugi roman koji sam ja čitala mada se ovdje navodi da je treći,po godinama radnje je drugi,a i važan je da bi se nastavila priča o Benji Goldenu Sašenjkinoj najvećoj ljubavi,njegovoj sudbini u gulagu,rudniku,i junačkoj borbi u otpisanom konjičkom odredu koji je poslan da izgine u neprijateljskoj pozadini negdje oko rijeke Don. Ali nepredvidivi Benja će opet okusiti ljubav i nadvladati sve poteškoće.
Dok sam bila pri kraju ovog romana sanjala sam da sjedim u malom kutku.
Na čelu stola sjedio je Staljin nosio je vojničke čizme,zakrpljene vojničke hlače i košulju staljinku boje pijeska.Lice mu je bilo izmučeno i
umorno. Berija je stajao do Staljina sav zelen u licu. Hrušćov je otpuhivao dimove,a po rukama je gužvao paklicu hercegovina flora,na stolu su stajale pune čaše Telavia 2 i votke.
Vidjela sam Gorbačova sa moje desne strane.
(Znam da je na vlast došao 1990)
Sa moje desne strane je sjedio Benjamin Golden i govorio mi da trebam ostati ne
primjetna.
Najednom mi se Staljin unio u lice i osjetila sam mješavinu straha,bijelog luka,kiselog kupusa i votke.
Sigurno se pitate zašto Vam pišem ove nebuloze. Zato što sam čitala u Jedne zimske noći skoro iste opise. 🙃
Ta knjiga je ostavila snažan utisak jer je inspirisana istinitim događajem koji se dogodio 1943 godine na Kamenom mostu. Zastrašujuće je da su čekisti streljali i djecu stariju od dvanaest godina u dječijem slučaju. Obavještajna služba uistinu našla šaljive planove o stvaranju vlade. I osuđeno je dosta djece među kojima i djeca iz elitnih Moskovskih porodica pod sumnjom protusovjetske zavjere..
U ovom romanu osjetiti će te atmosferu mrtvih pjesnika,romatičarska razmišljanja učenika o hladnom stegnutom ruskom društvu gdje niko nije siguran,bio to Satljinov sin lično. Uživat će te u inspirativnom opuštenom Benji Goldenu,lutat će te umorni Lubjankom,slušati umorne dječije krike,izaći na ulicu i vidjeti kako neka starica lomi prste gledajući u svjetlo na nekom obližnjem prozoru, u očima joj tinja nada.
Kako se prosta ruska duša guši u bolu.
Dopustite da Vam svetionik budu stihovi na uskom stupu Puškinovog trga koji će vas promatrati. Nekoliko veliki ljubavi će ovaj roman učiniti još boljim.
je prvenstveno emotivno i jako štivo,prava poslastica za sve ljubitelje historijske fikcije.
Osvjetljava jedan kontravezan i diskutabilan period ruske historije pod čizmom čeličnog vođe. Sam pisac napominje da se ova tri djela mogu odvojeno čitati,a ja Vam savjetujem da krenete od Šašenjke. Po mom skromnom mišljenju odlične knjige.
(može uz bok stati sa Doktor Živagom)
Mlada,prelijepa,buntovna djevojka koje je sve što ima uložila u izgradnju Lenjinove države. Ne sluteći da se gradi na milionima grobova. Montefjore me je oduševio ovom knjigom,kao sumanuta sam okretala stranice ali Sašenjkinu sudbinu sam saznala tek na zadnjoj stranici knjige. Negdje sam prije čitanja ove knjige pročitala ovu rečenicu i ona savršeno opisuje Sašenjku.;
"Uvijek je htjela biti drugačija od drugih,ili prva ili posljednja nikad u sredini."
NEBO U PODNE CRVENO
je drugi roman koji sam ja čitala mada se ovdje navodi da je treći,po godinama radnje je drugi,a i važan je da bi se nastavila priča o Benji Goldenu Sašenjkinoj najvećoj ljubavi,njegovoj sudbini u gulagu,rudniku,i junačkoj borbi u otpisanom konjičkom odredu koji je poslan da izgine u neprijateljskoj pozadini negdje oko rijeke Don. Ali nepredvidivi Benja će opet okusiti ljubav i nadvladati sve poteškoće.
Dok sam bila pri kraju ovog romana sanjala sam da sjedim u malom kutku.
Na čelu stola sjedio je Staljin nosio je vojničke čizme,zakrpljene vojničke hlače i košulju staljinku boje pijeska.Lice mu je bilo izmučeno i
umorno. Berija je stajao do Staljina sav zelen u licu. Hrušćov je otpuhivao dimove,a po rukama je gužvao paklicu hercegovina flora,na stolu su stajale pune čaše Telavia 2 i votke.
Vidjela sam Gorbačova sa moje desne strane.
(Znam da je na vlast došao 1990)
Sa moje desne strane je sjedio Benjamin Golden i govorio mi da trebam ostati ne
primjetna.
Najednom mi se Staljin unio u lice i osjetila sam mješavinu straha,bijelog luka,kiselog kupusa i votke.
Sigurno se pitate zašto Vam pišem ove nebuloze. Zato što sam čitala u Jedne zimske noći skoro iste opise. 🙃
Ta knjiga je ostavila snažan utisak jer je inspirisana istinitim događajem koji se dogodio 1943 godine na Kamenom mostu. Zastrašujuće je da su čekisti streljali i djecu stariju od dvanaest godina u dječijem slučaju. Obavještajna služba uistinu našla šaljive planove o stvaranju vlade. I osuđeno je dosta djece među kojima i djeca iz elitnih Moskovskih porodica pod sumnjom protusovjetske zavjere..
U ovom romanu osjetiti će te atmosferu mrtvih pjesnika,romatičarska razmišljanja učenika o hladnom stegnutom ruskom društvu gdje niko nije siguran,bio to Satljinov sin lično. Uživat će te u inspirativnom opuštenom Benji Goldenu,lutat će te umorni Lubjankom,slušati umorne dječije krike,izaći na ulicu i vidjeti kako neka starica lomi prste gledajući u svjetlo na nekom obližnjem prozoru, u očima joj tinja nada.
Kako se prosta ruska duša guši u bolu.
Dopustite da Vam svetionik budu stihovi na uskom stupu Puškinovog trga koji će vas promatrati. Nekoliko veliki ljubavi će ovaj roman učiniti još boljim.
June 16, 2025
Fascinating story taking you from Russian revolution to the nineties. Gripping, moving and highly acclaimed 3 novels of love and war, betrayal, espionage and terror in one volume.
Whilst they appear as three books the is some overlap between them in terms of characters, although they can be read as stand alone novels.
The stories take you from the Tsars wartime capital of St Petersburg, Sashenka, through the Gulags and the second world war, Red Sky at Noon and into the post war Communist period, One Night in Winter.
The first is told as a third person story outlining the activities of the beautiful and headstrong Sashenka Zeitlin. The daughter of a Society family determined to work for a Communist state. Her story lies hidden for half a century until a young historian goes deep into Stalin's private archives and uncovers a heartbreaking story of passion, betrayal, and unexpected heroism.
The second centres on Stalin's War of Terror and how uncertain everyone's position was under a Communist State during wartime. Like many others, Benya Golden is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, but manages to joins a penal battalion to fight the invading Nazis. Switching between the war and Stalin's secrets in the Kremlin, the heart of the story is Benya’s affair with an Italian nurse, of passion, bravery and survival where betrayal and death are constant companions.
In the third part as Stalin and his courtiers celebrate victory over Hitler, the teenage children of two of Russia's top leaders are found dead. The investigation begins at their elite school, with teenagers and children being arrested and forced to testify against their friends and their parents.
An absorbing read which traces the Russian State from the Tsars through Communism to the post communist era.
A tour de Force.
Whilst they appear as three books the is some overlap between them in terms of characters, although they can be read as stand alone novels.
The stories take you from the Tsars wartime capital of St Petersburg, Sashenka, through the Gulags and the second world war, Red Sky at Noon and into the post war Communist period, One Night in Winter.
The first is told as a third person story outlining the activities of the beautiful and headstrong Sashenka Zeitlin. The daughter of a Society family determined to work for a Communist state. Her story lies hidden for half a century until a young historian goes deep into Stalin's private archives and uncovers a heartbreaking story of passion, betrayal, and unexpected heroism.
The second centres on Stalin's War of Terror and how uncertain everyone's position was under a Communist State during wartime. Like many others, Benya Golden is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, but manages to joins a penal battalion to fight the invading Nazis. Switching between the war and Stalin's secrets in the Kremlin, the heart of the story is Benya’s affair with an Italian nurse, of passion, bravery and survival where betrayal and death are constant companions.
In the third part as Stalin and his courtiers celebrate victory over Hitler, the teenage children of two of Russia's top leaders are found dead. The investigation begins at their elite school, with teenagers and children being arrested and forced to testify against their friends and their parents.
An absorbing read which traces the Russian State from the Tsars through Communism to the post communist era.
A tour de Force.
October 13, 2025
From Russia with Love
Historical fiction at its best. Great stories of romance mixed with terror and foreboding, of love and repression. Some of the plots do not have a happy ending, which somehow adds to the believability of the accounts. I thought the characters were well drawn and developed, with Benya Golden emerging as one of the great tragic heros of the trilogy. The details of the interrogation tactics used on the children were so painful to read but oh so cunning and plausible. I have also enjoyed the author’s biography of Stalin which helps to make it even more believable.
Historical fiction at its best. Great stories of romance mixed with terror and foreboding, of love and repression. Some of the plots do not have a happy ending, which somehow adds to the believability of the accounts. I thought the characters were well drawn and developed, with Benya Golden emerging as one of the great tragic heros of the trilogy. The details of the interrogation tactics used on the children were so painful to read but oh so cunning and plausible. I have also enjoyed the author’s biography of Stalin which helps to make it even more believable.
April 18, 2020
Buena narrativa
Una muy buena narrativa con personajes de gran fuerza que sufren en forma inaudita con los actos de increible insuperable crueldad sucedidos durante la dictadura stalinista. Montefiore es un muy buen narrador que nos engancha con sus personajes y con la descripcion de epocas y eventos historicos de gran trascendencia.
Una muy buena narrativa con personajes de gran fuerza que sufren en forma inaudita con los actos de increible insuperable crueldad sucedidos durante la dictadura stalinista. Montefiore es un muy buen narrador que nos engancha con sus personajes y con la descripcion de epocas y eventos historicos de gran trascendencia.
January 30, 2025
Absorbing
Fascinating story taking you from Russian revolution to the nineties. A must read. Family stories interwoven, love and loss war, and political wrangling. Read it, you will not regret it.
Fascinating story taking you from Russian revolution to the nineties. A must read. Family stories interwoven, love and loss war, and political wrangling. Read it, you will not regret it.
October 5, 2018
not bad but not gripping either. Characters not brilliant all a bit stereotyped
July 23, 2020
A fantastic and brilliantly researched series. It's a harrowing series of stories and, as a friend said, would be hard to read a second time, knowing how each book will develop and the horrific fates of most of the main characters. That aside, I heartily recommend it.
December 1, 2021
I enjoyed the 1st book the 2nd was long winded and I enjoyed the 3rd but the 1st was the best one
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews