Rød himmel

Moscow Trilogy #2

by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Rød himmel av Simon Sebag Montefiore er en fengslende historie om lidenskap, mot og overlevelse hvor bedrageri er en konstant følgesvenn, og døden bare et hjerteslag unna. Fengslet i Gulag for en forbrytelse han ikke har begått, slutter Benya Golden seg til en kosakkisk straffebataljon og blir overtalt til å kjempe mot nazistene. Han melder seg til det russiske kavaleriet, og på en varm sommerdag i juni 1942 blir han og hans medsoldater sendt ut på farlige oppdrag på motstandernes jord. Benya innleder et begjærfylt forhold til en italiensk sykepleier...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Russia, War, Historical, World War II, Audiobook

346 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2017

About the author

Simon 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

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

If I had known that this was the third book in a trilogy, I’m not sure if I would have read it since I would have gone into it wondering what I had missed. By the time I discovered that, I was well into the story and wanted to know Benya Golden’s fate. I was glad, though to learn in the author’s note that this book could stand on its own. Benya is a Jew, a writer, more than likely a political dissident is imprisoned , but we don’t really know exactly why. He is saved from the death penalty by being sent to the Gulag, the labor camps under Stalin, a death penalty, though in its own way. He is “saved”again as Stalin gives some prisoners “the opportunity to redeem their sins by blood ...” when he and other prisoners join Cossacks in the sweltering summer of 1942 on what was considered a suicide mission on behalf of the motherland against the Nazis. I’ve read my fair share of books on WWII, not many on the Russian - German battles, so I had no idea there was a Cavalry.

The novel spans ten days during the war, brutal days with pretty gruesome scenes. Ten days during which Benya who doesn’t think of himself as a killer learns to kill, a stark reality of the war. Two love stories blossom against the backdrop of the brutality and death providing a bit of a reprieve. The first between Benya and an Italian nurse, plausible and moving . The second between Stalin’s 16 year old daughter and a married war reporter. Although, the author in his note relates that Stalin’s daughter had an affair with an older married man two years after this novel takes place, I found it as depicted in the book, to be on the soap opera side and lacked for me the passion and depth of Benya and Fabiana’s love. I’m not sure that it added anything to the story which without it was a profound.

Having said that, overall it was a fascinating look at a facet of the war that I was not totally familiar with. It was in spite of the violence and death, a story with moments that highlight friendship and family, and love .


I received an advanced copy of this book from W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. through Edelweiss .

[Colleen Fauchelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I havn't read a world war 2 story set in Russia before. The story is set over 10 days righ at the end of the war. For Benya Golden and his mates I am glad it was over the summer it made the story less gloomy and gave hope. It is a war story so it is violent in its telling.

Benya Golden has upset Stalin in some way so he is sent to the Gulags and he is working in the mines, very hard prison life. He is saved from the mines when something happens to him and he ends up working at the prison hospital.

The was is getting closer to Russia's captial so Starlin decides to send in a Penal Battalion including Benya and his prison mates. Only by the spilling of their blood will they be freed from thier 'sins'

Silver Socks is the horse Benya gets to ride into war with and they become each others strength in such a violent time. I saw Silver Socks as one of the main characters. Such an amazing creature to have by Benya's side.

This is the third book in a series, apart from not quite understanding why Benya was being sent to the Gulags. it was ok to read it on it's own. This was a book club choice which is why I read it. I would like to go back and read the other two books at some stage. Because I enjoyed the way the story was written and easy for me to follow along.
I would recomend this story, it was a intresting war story and gave some good insights.

[Maria Roxana · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Nu era acesta darul cel mai de preț din lume? Să fii fericit oriunde.”

”-Oare diferența dintre un bărbat și o femeie e nevoia de a măsura dragostea în toate modurile?
-Nu crezi că poți să trăiești ani în șir și ei să nu însemne nimic, și apoi să vină vremuri deosebite, când fiecare clipă e așa de bogată, așa de neprețuită, așa de profundă, că trăim cu o asemenea imensitate, încât fiecare minut valorează de cinci ori mai mult, de zece ori mai mult, de o mie de ori mai mult? Și le spunem vremurilor acestora DRAGOSTE. Uneori, o noapte înseamnă o viață întreagă.”

”-Cum ai supraviețuit acolo, în lagăr?
-Am trăit fiecare clipă și fiecare zi pe măsură ce veneau. Am căutat bucurie în cele mai neînsemnate lucruri. M-am uitat la stele și la lună și m-am gândit că și cei pe care-i iubesc s-ar putea uita la ele. Vraja lunii.”

”Indiferent dacă locuința mea e un apartament mic sau o celulă de închisoare, dragostea e cea care-mi ține stelele pe cer. Renunți la un adevăr după altul, faci compromisuri în fiecare zi, dar totdeauna păstrezi ceva-păstrezi nestematele în caseta secretă cu cheie de aur, în ultima firidă din camera indesctructibilă a tezaurului din ultimul turn al fortăreței sinelui-și la asta nu renunți niciodată.”

”Am cunoscut-o oarecum veșnic. Dar, pentru noi, veșnicia a fost prea scurtă.”

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t often give up on books, especially those that NetGalley kindly let me have for review, but I couldn’t go on with this one. Simon Sebag Montefiore is a renowned non-fiction writer and I have thoroughly enjoyed his books of biography and history. But he is no novelist and I found this one unreadable. He’s done his research, certainly, but research alone does not a novel make. His style is so clichéd, his characters so stereotyped with no character development and his dialogue so inauthentic that even though his subject matter is fascinating (especially as I have recently been studying the plight of the Cossacks during and after WWII) this poorly written novel had nothing to offer me. All summed up for me by some of the characters constantly spouting “Just saying….” An anachronism too far…..

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historical aspects were interesting but found the dialogue and characters overly dramatic which distracted me from the time period.

[Zorka Zamfirova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prelepa knjiga. Uživajte dok ima.

[Ana Stanciu-Dumitrache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red sky at noon este un roman despre război, un clasic al genului aș putea spune, despre supraviețuire, despre politică și strategii, despre lașitate și curaj, despre moarte și … iubire. Căci nu știu unde ar fi lumea asta fără iubire. Romanul prezintă Mama Rusie în toată splendoarea sa, în timpul celui de-al doilea război mondial, o Rusie cenușie, închisă, dar luptătoare. O Rusie care isi trimite barbatii pe front si destrama familii, dar care isi apara muntii si mostenirea.
Personajul principal, Benia Golden, este trimis într-un batalion disciplinar pentru o crimă pe care nu a comis-o. A fost ciudat să citesc despre un personaj pe care nu-l cunosc, cu care nu pot forma niciun fel de relație, pe care nu îl înțeleg, pentru simplu fapt că acesta este volumul doi al unei trilogii și, necitind prima parte, m-am simțit aruncată în mijlocul poveștii, fără nicio ancoră de care să mă prind. Am cules informații de colo colo, dar mi-a lipsit background-ul și îmi pare tare rău, căci romanul pierde din acest punct de vedere. Nu m-a impresionat și nu avea cum să o facă în aceste condiții. Nu știu ce crimă se presupune ca a comis Benia și de ce a ajuns în situația asta, nu știu nimic despre familia lui și viața lui de dinainte.
Autorul scrie frumos, paginile parcă curg una după alta, se citește repede, e bine documentat, dar ceva i-a lipsit. Și, cred eu, legătura aceasta cu personajul principal. Povestea e diferită de primul volum, normal, dar nu mi se pare un roman ce se poate citi individual, așa cum mai este descris.
Mi-a plăcut ideea de planuri ce alternează și la final se întâlnesc. Povestea îi are în centru pe de-o parte pe Benia și viața lui pe front, iar pe de altă parte pe Stalina, fiica celebrului Stalin, și adolescența ei, fiorii primei iubiri, inocența … partea luminoasă a Rusiei. Cele două planuri au fost în contrast, dar ambele au avut un element comun, dragostea. Indiferent că ești pe front sau într-un apartament luxos, ești pradă acelorași sentimente și trăiri. Cel putin asta cred ca a subliniat autorul. O sa continui cu volumul intai si poate atunci o sa inteleg mai bine imaginea de ansamblu.

[Meteori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ovde se lik Benje Goldena produbljuje i saznaje se mnogo toga o njegovom životu u gulagu.
Sviđa mi se njegov lik. Pun je dobrote, mudrosti, pameti i ljubavi što ga je spasilo u mnogim situacijama.
Ovo je vjerovatno uvertira za treći nastavak kako bi dobili kompletan uvid u Benjin lik i razumjeli rasplet.

[Anneke Visser-van Dijken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bij het zien van de ruiter op zijn paard die rustig door een weiland loopt op de cover en de titel, verwacht je niet dat er een heftig verhaal achter zit. Je verwacht eerder het tegendeel, maar schijn bedriegt.
In het woord vooraf en in de noot van de auteur kom je meer te weten over de operatie Barbarossa. Je leest welke stukken op waarheid berusten en welke stukken fictie zijn, welke personages echt bestaan hebben en wie fictie zijn. Ook vertelt de auteur hoe hij het boek heeft geschreven, waar hij de ideeën vandaan haalde.
De personen, dieren en omgeving worden kort, maar krachtig omschreven, soms zelfs haast poëtisch.
Tijdens het lezen van de proloog word je nieuwsgierig naar het verhaal, naar het verleden van Benja, je wilt weten wie hij echt is en als je het boek uit hebt, heb je hem in je hart gesloten. Je wordt meegesleurd in een hartverscheurend verhaal vol emoties, ongeloof, liefde, overleven en onwerkelijkheden. Je leest hoe het is om continu te leven in angst, de verschrikkingen van de oorlog, onmogelijke keuzes die gemaakt moeten worden zoals bijvoorbeeld om iemand te vermoorden omdat hij jou anders vermoord, waarom sommigen overlopen, wie je wel en wie je niet kan vertrouwen, waar de normen en waarden totaal anders zijn dan in tijden dat het geen oorlog is.

Lees verder op https://surfingann.blogspot.nl/2018/0....

[Raughley Nuzzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tries really hard to be a rousing Red Cavalry-style story but falls short in a number of ways. Simon Sebag Montefiore has written several good books and novels and his roots as a journalist and historian show throughout. Full disclosure, I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator did zero research on pronunciations of Russian and Ukrainian names, which flavors my review.

There were a lot of obnoxious details in this novel that seemed to come from Montefiore's historic research. Soldiers regularly referred to military hardware by model and serial numbers in ways that seemed unrealistic for a group of peasant cossacks. Characters seem capable of recognizing the most nuanced dialect differences between tiny ethnic groups of the South Caucasus. There's an overwrought hasty love story that boringly raises the stakes.

While the story had some interesting beats and takes place in an interesting microcosm of WWII that is often overlooked in the era of tank and plane warfare, it is overall forgettable and doesn't achieve the aspirational heights it reaches for.

[Alexandra Osipenco · Rating 4 out of 5]

După prima carte din trilogie, "Sașenka", mă așteptam la o continuare oarecum banală, clișeică. Dar am primit ceva mai mult. Și în aceasta constă adevărata satisfacție: așteptări puține, decepții - zero.
Dacă sunteți tentați să aflați ce se întâmplă cu unele dintre personajele primei cărți (iar aici nu mă refer la Stalin, desigur), atunci e cartea potrivită. Una despre Kolîma și cazaci, despre război, noroc și iubire.
Frumoasă carte. Oribilă, dar frumoasă.
I-am îndrăgit și eu pe Benia Golden, pe Fabiana...

✅ "Ce lucru gingaș e omul, gândi Benia, câtă delicatețe pe care o poți distruge."

✅ "Dragostea, se gândi el, stă în detalii – un dicționar de viziuni, momente, sunete care n-au nume, fără să fie nevoie de cuvinte. Dragostea este întotdeauna altruism în cea mai încântătoare formă – [...]. Uneori, decise el, tocmai durata scurtă a unei aventuri îi dăruia acesteia o puritate imaculată care trece direct în legendă – și nimic n-o mai poate egala după aceea. Dar simplele ore împreună fuseseră trăite într-un tărâm mai aspru, mai înalt; nu-și spuseseră niciodată „te iubesc”; erau doar „nelegiuiți îndrăgostiți”, și asta spunea totul."

✅ "Indiferent dacă locuința mea e un apartament mic sau o celulă de închisoare, dragostea e cea care-mi ține stelele pe cer. Renunți la un adevăr după altul, faci compromisuri în fiecare zi, dar totdeauna păstrezi ceva – păstrezi nestematele în caseta secretă cu cheie de aur, în ultima firidă din camera indestructibilă a tezaurului din ultimul turn al fortăreței sinelui – și la asta nu renunți niciodată."

[Taveri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was in ten sections, one for each of ten days, then an Epilogue. Day One rated only a 2 out of 5 and I was ready to mark it as DNF. Then the story picked up and Days 2 & 3 merited a 3 out 5 as the characters became more alive and the plot diversified. Days 4, 5 + 6 the story stayed a steady 4 out 5 pace as the cossack training kicked in for attacking German-Italian lines of the Eastern Front. Then for Days 7 & 8 the the plot galloped at a 5 out of 5 rating as I tore through the pages of the love story. Days 9 & 10 settled back into a trot of 4 out of 5 with the settings shifting from horses to trains, hospitals and Moscow intrigues.

I didn't know what to make of the Epilogue which tied up loose ends but not convincingly. Millions died at the Battle of Stalingrad and millions more in Russia account the war. The telling of a few characters involvement gives pause to the great tradgedy.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fundalul istoric este foarte interesant si probabil foarte bine documentat dar restul, povestea si scriitura lui SSM sunt slăbuțe. Nu te solicită intelectual, e ca o carte usoara de vacanță. În plus, chiar m-a facut sa ma gandesc repetat la Winnetou, ceea ce nu e chiar ce imi doresc. Nu voi continua trilogia deși, până la urmă, recunosc ca a fost entertaining

[Barry Smirnoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. First of all, it is right up my alley. This is book 3 of the "Moscow Trilogy", which begins with Sashenka, then came One Night In Winter, and now Red Sky at Noon. Montefiore states that each book stands on its own, but some of the characters are in the other books. Red Sky is the story of Benya Golden, just before and during the second year of World War II in the Soviet Union. Golden is a Jewish Communist intellectual who begins the story in the Gulag. After having survived the Stalin Purges of the late 30's, his death sentence is commuted to 30 years hard labor in the gold mines of Magadan in the Siberian far East. When Hitler invades his Soviet ally, Golden sees a way out of the Gulag. He volunteers for a Punishment Battalion made up of criminals, cowards, and zeks, the residents of Gulag. He is put into a cavalry unit and trained to ride, shoot and charge with swords. He is given a horse to bond with and they are sent to the Stalingrad Front in the summer of 1942. They are told that they came win their freedom by spilling their own blood in combat.
The story involves an attack behind the Axis lines and a mission to assassinate the leader of a group of traitors, who are attached to an Eisazgruppen murdering Jews and civilians on the Nazi occupied Steppe. Golden is a fish out of water as a Jew, a political, and city boy. He learns how to fight with his cossack comrades and fights and bleeds with them. Many are killed and the story has a brief love affair as Golden falls for a recently widowed Italian nurse.
Montefiore has written many books of Russian history along with the 3 Russian novels. Maybe he will decide to continue the saga into the post-war years and the Golden story will continue. If not, I wish Benya the best of luck. He has suffered enough and deserves to finish out his life with some modicum of normality and maybe some happiness?

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

while I really liked the author's previous two books from the "Moscow trilogy" (Sashenka and One Night in Winter), I was a little mixed on this one for two reasons - chronologically being a middle book, we know how things will turn out for the main character (Benya Golden) so there is a lack of suspense in his adventures in the gulag, steppe and afterwards; also the romantic life of Stalin's daughter is really a bit out of place in this novel and while the author valiantly connects the two stories (the journalist in question is Jewish and friend of Benya, meets him at the front and later etc), they don't really cohere well together - having only the interludes with Stalin, the politrucs and the generals which connect much better with the main war story would have been enough imho

this being said, the book has a lot of gripping moments and the steppe adventure still made me keep turning the pages to see what happens next

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third in his 'Moscow' trilogy, Montefiore constructs a riveting read. It is 1942, & innocent writer Benya Golden is barely surviving hard labour in Stalin's Gulags. Offered redemption, he joins a penal battalion of desperado Cossack cavalry to fight Nazi and Italian forces near Stalingrad. Superb characterisation, huge narrative surprises, real danger and a The Steppes you can smell and feel as well as see, combine powerfully.
And we get a glimpse of life in The Kremlin, and the dangerous, secret passion of Svetlana, Stalin's impulsive teenage daughter.

[Dan Right · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puțin cam dezamăgit, poate din cauză că aveam așteptări mai mari după Sașenka, care mi-a plăcut foarte mult.
Povestea nu e rea, dar parcă nu a avut acel "quelque chose"...
Fiind partea a II-a a unei trilogii, mă așteptam să existe continuitate sau măcar o legătură cu prima parte. Singura legătură este menționarea Sașenkăi, al cărei iubit a fost, la un moment dat, protagonistul Benia Golden.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

WOW TH BOOK WAS LIKE A TRAINWRECK I COULD NOT KEEP MY EYES OFF OF. I COULD NOT STOPE READING IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO SEE WHERE THINGS WOULD GO NEXT IN SOME KIND OF WEIRD PLOT TWIST. STRANGELY I DID FINISH IT, AND HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT. SO I DID ENJOY IT

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nu știu ce mi s-a întâmplat. Cerul roșu al amiezii, nu m-a mișcat prea mult. Poate pentru că viața lui Benia Golden și încercările prin care a trecut m-au interesat puțin spre deloc. M-a derutat alternarea Benia Golden, Svetlana Stalin.

[Keith Currie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the Penal Battalions of the Soviet Army during the Second World War is a fascinating one, and this novel constructed around one such battalion, a Cossack cavalry brigade used to hold up German advances towards Stalingrad and the river Don, tells an enthralling and exciting tale. Only ‘normal’ criminals such as murderers, rapists and cannibals should have been eligible for recruitment to such battalions, but the political prisoner, Benya Golden, a Jewish writer, manages to inveigle his way into a brigade. Their assaults upon the Germans are intended to be suicidal, redemption to be earned through the spilling of blood, but Benya’s section has the great good luck to move against Italians and unlike most of their comrades survive the assault. What to do then? They were forbidden to retreat and there was no plan for them, as they were not expected to survive the first attack. Their decision is to attack and kill Russian traitors fighting for the Germans and to earn their redemption that way. The story that follows is high adventure, combined with Benya’s romance with an Italian nurse, combined with the deeper strategic intrigue of Stalin’s planning – an exciting, dramatic and intelligent mix. The characterisation in the book is a real strength, from the fictional such as Benya to those who really lived such as Stalin himself and his intensely intelligent daughter Svetlana.

Although this is the third in a series of ‘Stalin’ novels, I would emphasise that it can be read without reference to the others – in fact I have not yet read the others, but will hasten to do so! Apart from the intricate plotting, the sentence of death held over all the soldiers and especially Benya adds tension to the story right to its finish. This is a wonderful read, so well written and deeply satisfying to the reader.

[Andreea Trezak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cartea este despre război, despre luptă, despre curaj și despre iubire. Îmi place stilul lui Montefiore, scrie frumos, limbajul este coerent și simplu dar....
Dacă primele două cărți ale seriei m-au ținut captivă între pagini, aceasta, a treia m-a adormit profund pe alocuri, mai ales acolo unde autorul descrie marea iubire trăită pe front 🥱😴...

[Valentina Ch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent written, just like all historical novels by Simon Montefiore. Not as emotional and touching as Sashenka but still loved every page.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a well-paced, well-written story. It's the second of Montefiore's "Moscow Trilogy" I've read, and I'm eager to read the last.

[Lyda Van Den Bos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indrukwekkend en mooi.

[Cees Rhienen · Rating 4 out of 5]

[RECENSIE] De rode dageraad van Simon Sebag Montefiore

EEN WAARDIGE AFSLUITER VAN EEN HISTORISCH BELANGRIJKE DRIELUIK, DE MOSKOU-TRILOGIE

++ Driehonderd ruiters, zwiepende paardenstaarten, kletterende bitten tussen de paardentanden, krakend leer, rinkelende sporen.. ++

Oorspronkelijke titel: Red Sky at Noon
ISBN: 978 90 225 7705 9
Uitgegeven door: Meulenhoff Boekerij
Pagina’s: 379
Beoordeling: 4,0 sterren

De Amerikaanse journalist, biograaf en romanschrijver Simon Sebag Montefiore is voornamelijk bekend geworden door zijn non-fictie-bestsellers De Romanovs en Stalin. Na deze succesvolle boeken besloot hij een drieluik te gaan schrijven over de periode ’40 – ’45. Deze fictieve romans speelden zich af verschillende fasen van de strijd van de Nazi’s tegen de Russen. Als 1e deel van deze Moskou-trilogie verscheen Sashenka, vervolgens Een koude winternacht en tenslotte de afsluiter De rode dageraad.

Het is 1942 en Nazi-Duitsland is bezig met de verovering van de Russische stad Stalingrad. Stalin zet alle mankracht in die voorhanden is om de stad uit handen van de Duitsers te houden. Zelfs gevangenen wordt vrijheid in het vooruitzicht gesteld als ze een bepaalde prestatie willen leveren in dienst van het Russische leger. Een van die gevangenen is de joodse schrijver Benja Golden die enkele jaren eerder ten onrechte is veroordeeld voor daden die hij nooit heeft gepleegd. Hij neemt de opdracht aan tegen het vooruitzicht dat de kans 99,9% groot is dat hij het niet zal overleven. Er wordt een peloton samengesteld van gevangenen, het zogenaamde sjtrafbat (strafbataljon). Het bataljon vertrekt voor zijn opdracht en onderweg raakt Benja licht gewond waarna hij wordt geholpen door een Italiaanse verpleegster Fabiana Pellegrini.

Het is ook in die tijd dat de dan 16-jarige dochter van Stalin, Svetlana Stalina, werk van de joodse schrijver Lev Sjapiro leert kennen en hem vanuit het Kremlin een compliment per brief laat bezorgen. Voorzichtig ontwikkelt zich iets moois tussen hen, dat Svetlana uiterst geheim wil houden voor haar vader die de relatie zeker niet zal goedkeuren.

Evenals de beide vorige delen is ook De rode dageraad los te lezen zonder dat men informatie mist. Het verhaal is volledig opzichzelfstaand, de enige referentie is de oorlog van Duitsland tegen Rusland. Montefiore is het ruimschoots gelukt om de twee verhaallijnen op wonderbaarlijke wijze te integreren in deze zwarte periode. Op onnavolgbare wijze schetst hij de overlevingsstrijd van burgers die als frontsoldaten moeten leven, tijdens de uitvoering van een haast onmenselijke opdracht.

++ Als de kogels op zijn, moeten jullie je sabel gebruiken, en als de sabels op zijn, doden jullie ze met je blote handen… ++

Dit alles wordt romantisch gekleurd met het verhaal van twee onmogelijke liefdes. Uitlekken van deze verhoudingen kan grote gevolgen hebben voor alle personen die er een rol in spelen. De reputatie die Stalin in die periode al heeft opgebouwd geeft weinig vertrouwen op een goede afloop als de liefdesgeheimen uitlekken. Daarnaast wordt de lezer een inkijkje gegund in de plannen die beide leiders, Hitler en Stalin, hebben ontwikkeld om hun doelen te bereiken. De klok tikt door, de strijd duurt voort maar niet een van de scenario’s lijkt een ideale oplossing voor de bevolking van beide landen te zijn.
Met dit derde deel rondt de uiterst deskundige Montefiore zijn Moskou-trilogie op formidabele wijze af. Hij brengt hierin de geschiedenis tot leven en geeft een gitzwart verhaal met beide fictieve verhaallijnen en romantisch gekleurde tint. Met een onverwachte plotwending aan het einde die de meeste lezers uiteindelijk tot volle tevredenheid zal stemmen.

Eindoordeel: 4,0 sterren

Spanning: 3 sterren
Plot: 4 sterren
Leesplezier: 4 sterren
Schrijfstijl: 5 sterren
Originaliteit: 4 sterren
Psychologie: 4 sterren

[Wael EL Gabas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wish that I could give his boon more than just five stars, it is a brilliant litterature work from all aspects, the characters are well made and full of life, the plot is very good and interesting and very accurate in it is covering to the historian details, once you start reading this, you can not put it down until you are finish.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third in Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Moscow trilogy. I have read the second one, One Night in Winter, but not the first, Sashenka; the books are only loosely connected and it’s not essential to read all three in order. Montefiore is better known as a historian and writer of non-fiction, but these three books are fictional – although based on real events from Russian history.

Red Sky at Noon tells the story of Benya Golden, a Jewish writer and former teacher who, in 1940, is given the death sentence for “terrorism, conspiracy to murder Comrades Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich and Satinov, and membership of a counter-revolutionary Trotskyite group”. At the last minute Benya is given a reprieve and instead of being executed he is exiled to the Gulag of Kolyma and sentenced to ten years’ hard labour in the gold mines. Life in the camp is harsh and miserable, so when a chance comes two years later to join a penal battalion (a shtrafbat) formed to fight the Germans, Benya is quick to volunteer. The reward will be the opportunity to win redemption by the shedding of blood – either his own or the enemy’s.

The rest of the novel follows the adventures of Benya, his beloved horse Silver Socks and the assorted group of murderers, Cossack gangsters and fellow political prisoners who fight alongside him in the Soviet cavalry. Together they undertake dangerous missions behind enemy lines, facing death, capture or betrayal – or all three – and for Benya, there is also a romance when he meets a widowed Italian nurse, Fabiana. Of course, with Russia and Italy on opposite sides of the war, it’s clear from the beginning that their love affair is unlikely to run smoothly.

With so much happening and with such an action-packed plot and interesting historical setting, this could have been a wonderful novel, filled with drama, romance and excitement. However, I think Montefiore is probably a better historian than he is a novelist; although I have no doubts that he knows his Russian history, he never quite managed to bring the characters and events in this novel to life. The dialogue didn’t feel entirely convincing and there were only a few moments in the whole book when I felt any real emotional connection to Benya or the other characters, despite the horrors of war that were being described. I remember having similar thoughts about One Night in Winter, which was a more enjoyable novel in my opinion, but another one which made little emotional impact.

I haven’t mentioned yet that there is another thread to the novel, involving Svetlana Stalina. As Stalin’s daughter, sixteen-year-old Svetlana is a lonely and isolated figure, who has experienced little in the way of love and friendship as people are afraid to get too close because of who her father is. Svetlana’s story doesn’t really have anything to do with Benya’s, but it offers insights into life in the Stalin household and does add another layer to the novel.

I’m not sure if I would want to read more of Montefiore’s fiction – although Sashenka does still sound tempting – but I’m curious to know what his non-fiction is like.

[Roy Kelley]

An outstanding Trilogy!

[Joep · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5 stars

[Fortunus Games · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first saw the summary of this book, I was stoked. A historical epic that touched upon some of my favorite topics, Jewish culture in Russia and Cossacks?! Plus, it reminded me a lot of my friend Tete's book in progress, "70 Fierce Years."

Admittedly, the first two chapters were great. The action and prison scenes are vivid, and Benya (the protagonist) is mostly a mystery, so we want to read more about learn about him. Unfortunately, the book fell flat after the first two chapters.

First, Benya is flat. Besides being scared of killing and death (since he's a writer), he doesn't have many defining characteristics. We only get more details about Benya's personality, way of speaking, and backstory until page 200 something (the book is approximately 400 pages long). This wasn't a good choice, in my view, because while it keeps us curious about him, we aren't invested in what happens to him. The first half of the book shows us tons of violence and action, but we can never answer the question, "Why should I care about Benya? Who is he? What kind of person is he?"

Second, Svetlana (Stalin's daughter) is more interesting than Benya as a character. I really liked how the book explored her relationship with her family and how she goes from trusting her father to realizing his flaws (and how scary he can be).

Unfortunately, I didn't think Svetlana had to be in the story. She felt like filler - how exactly did her story tie in with Benya's? At the very end, they do meet and interact for a brief period of time, but otherwise, they have no impact on each other. Same with Svetlana's love interest, Lev. He had no reason to be in the story.

Third, the romance was poorly written. It was just there for the sake of being there. Both couples - Benya and Fabiana and Lev and Svetlana - were unconvincing. Other than being physically attracted to each other and having some interesting conversations, I didn't understand why they wanted to be with each other. The author tells us over and over again that they had never met someone before who understood them so well, but he just tells us this instead of showing us. Yes, both pairs have great conversations, but there's more to attraction than conversations and sex. It just felt like filler, like another box to be checked off because every historical epic has to have steamy romance, right?

Fourth, many parts of the book made no sense. For example, the author failed to adequately explain why Fabiana suddenly rode off with Benya, even though she knew she was betraying her people in doing so. It seems like she only did this because she loved the conversations she had with him and she felt attracted to him. This feels incredibly unrealistic, especially since Fabiana is a mature woman in her mid-thirties who is part of the Italian war effort. She knows what's at stake!

Finally, there's too many characters. Right from the get-go, we're bombarded by names, names, names! Yet, most of them aren't adequately developed or given a personality other than the bare basics. As such, when they die, we don't really feel anything. What could've been a riveting, moving historical drama becomes a stale "laundry list" of historical atrocities, deaths, action scenes, and love scenes.

All in all, the author did a great job on research. However, research doesn't make a great novel. Characters and dialogue do. And he needs to work on his characters and dialogue. Much of the dialogue, especially between Lev and Svetlana, is utterly unconvincing.