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Never Go to the Post Office Alone
Great historical events are never anonymous—they sweep anyone in their path into the fray. Kevin Danaher, a foreign correspondent in Moscow, will discover exactly that, as he queues at the city’s central post office one morning in 1989, waiting to send a fax to his newspaper in New York. How could he know that the beautiful East German woman standing in front of him was the means chosen by fate to throw him onto the stage of world history? With the Soviet Union collapsing and the Berlin Wall about to fall, this moment of history would change the world, and Kevin’s life, forever.
Stelios Kouloglou, himself a correspondent in Moscow at the time, blends fact and fiction in this compelling political thriller, as he guides us through the human side of history.
Stelios Kouloglou, himself a correspondent in Moscow at the time, blends fact and fiction in this compelling political thriller, as he guides us through the human side of history.
- GenresFictionNovelsLiterature
380 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 14, 2024
Highly unbelievable plot about an American journalist zooming around Moscow trying to prove his 'innocence' at the time the Soviet Union is crumbling and the Berlin Wall is coming down.
Kevin Danaher meets a beautiful east German woman called Marlene in one of the queues at Moscow central post office as he tries to send a fax of his latest story to his newspaper in New York. They get chatting and one thing leads to another as Marlene entices Danaher into helping her retrieve her son whose father was a leading figure in East German politics.
As you might expect, no one gives their full life story and / or tells the truth until a suitable moment in the plot. One character turns out to be the legendary Pavlik Morozov who supposedly informed on both his parents who were then sent to the gulags, an act praised by Stalin though no one can find any written evidence of this.
What complicates matters is that Danaher is also writing a fiction novel about a character called Patrick who falls in love with a Czechoslovak woman called Anna who wants to escape to the west. Excerpts from this work are interspersed with the 'Never Go to the Post Office Alone' Moscow story so that the reader has two works of fiction to read at the same time, one written by a character in the other book! This can be confusing as the plots are basically the same...
Anyway, good luck reading this...there are some good factual points included and the events forming the background context all happened. The main characters are not at all sympathetic and I never felt as though I wanted Danaher to succeed in his quest.
Kevin Danaher meets a beautiful east German woman called Marlene in one of the queues at Moscow central post office as he tries to send a fax of his latest story to his newspaper in New York. They get chatting and one thing leads to another as Marlene entices Danaher into helping her retrieve her son whose father was a leading figure in East German politics.
As you might expect, no one gives their full life story and / or tells the truth until a suitable moment in the plot. One character turns out to be the legendary Pavlik Morozov who supposedly informed on both his parents who were then sent to the gulags, an act praised by Stalin though no one can find any written evidence of this.
What complicates matters is that Danaher is also writing a fiction novel about a character called Patrick who falls in love with a Czechoslovak woman called Anna who wants to escape to the west. Excerpts from this work are interspersed with the 'Never Go to the Post Office Alone' Moscow story so that the reader has two works of fiction to read at the same time, one written by a character in the other book! This can be confusing as the plots are basically the same...
Anyway, good luck reading this...there are some good factual points included and the events forming the background context all happened. The main characters are not at all sympathetic and I never felt as though I wanted Danaher to succeed in his quest.
October 13, 2018
Μια όμορφη ιστοριούλα που διαδραματίζεται στην πάλαι ποτέ Σοβιετική Ένωση. Από τα βιβλία που πρέπει να υπάρχουν και να διαβάζονται για να μην ξεχνάμε τις γενιές των ανθρώπων που βίωσαν το καθεστώς αυτό
July 25, 2019
Okuduğum ilk casusluk romanı. Benim için oldukça hareketli bir kurgu ama Amerikan aksiyon filmlerinin müptelasıysanız size biraz yavaş gelebilir. Hikaye ve karakter sayısı açısından oldukça zengin. Konular Gorki'nin caz için düşündüklerinden tutun da kadınlarda g noktasına kadar uzanıyor. :-) Birkaç oturumda ancak bitirebildiğim için bağlantı yapmakta zorlandığım bazı yerler oldu. Benim gibi öğlende ne yediğini unutanlardansanız bu kitabı tatilde okuyup en fazla 2 günde bitirin derim. Sürükleyici olduğu için buna çok müsait.
Kitap uzun zamandır kitaplığımda duruyordu. Bülent Somay, Çokbilmiş Özne'sinde Lenin, devrim, Komünist Manifesto falan deyince içimden okumak geldi. Her romanın bir zamanı varmış demek ki. Somay'ın anlattıklarını şöyle bir hatırlayarak okuyunca çok daha keyif aldım romandan. Bir de, Çokbilmiş Özne'deki bazı anlatılardan sonra "Kuloğlu'nun Amerikalı gazetecisi biraz fazla mı masum kaçmış acaba" dedim kendi kendime. :-)
Gerçekten, insan psikolojisini dikkate almayan hiçbir rejimin uzun soluklu olamayacağını, eşitlik kurmak adına bile olsa, insanları kontrol altında tutmak için getirilen yasakların nasıl yeni imtiyazlı gruplar, yeni rüşvet araçları ve yeni yolsuzluklar yarattığını net görüyorsunuz. Yasaklarla insanların sürekli kontrol edildiği, insanları gizlice gözleyenlerin bile gözlendiği bu romanı “Orwellvari” diye tanımlayabiliriz sanırım. Nitekim romanın ana karakteri de yaşanan olayları bu şekilde tanımlıyor. Özetle, 1984'ü okuduysanız bu roman size çok tanıdık gelecek. 1984 ile Orwell her dile yeni bir sıfat kazandırmış anlaşılan. Romanı okurken, az çok zaten Orwellvari bir dünyada yaşıyoruz diye düşündüm. Kapitalizm insan psikolojosini tahlil ve kontrol etmede gayet başarılı göründü gözüme. Sosyal medya falan acayip itici geldi bir anda. Tıpkı 1984'ü okurken olduğu gibi.
Orwell neden romanın adını 1984 koymuş diye düşünmüştüm okurken. "Postaneye Asla Yalnız Gitme" Perestroyka ve Berlin Duvarı'nın yıkıldığı dönemi de yani 80'li yılları da kapsıyor. Orwell'in öldüğü ve 1984'ü yayımladığı tarihleri kontrol ettim ama bir bağlantı kuramadım. Bunun için 1917 ve sonrasındaki Rus tarihini okumak gerekiyor belki de. Acaba Orwell 80'li yılları romanında anlattığı şekilde mi ön görmüştü? Biraz abartmış belki distopya romanı olduğu için ama pek de yanılmamış anlaşılan.
Roman, kapsadığı dönemde SSCB'nin uydu ülkeleriyle ve diğer ülkelerle ilişkisine yer verirken pek çok karakter de gerçekten tarihte yerini almış isimlerden oluşuyor. Pavlik Morozov'u ilk olarak bu roman sayesinde öğrendim. Böyle olunca, özellikle olayların gerçekliği konusunda daha çok şüphe uyanıyor insanda. Hani okurken o hiç peşimizi bırakmayan gerçeklik merakı var ya o yine sarıyor insanı. :-)
Şüphe demişken, doğal olarak böyle bir romanda hakim duygu da "şüphe" oluyor. Yazar bu duyguyu okura geçirmekte çok başarılı bence. “Aşk” da buna bağlı olarak “güven” duygusuyla bağlantılı bir şekilde işlenmiş gibi geldi bana. Kitabın arka kapağında siyasi gerilim falan deniyor ama gerilim çok güçlü değil bence.
Gorki ve Tolstoy okuduktan sonra Rus edebiyatından ne kadar uzak düştüğümü de fark ettim bu romanla. Özellikle modern Rus edebiyatını şöyle bir kurcalamak geldi içimden. Ayrıca o kadar gaza geldim ki, çok mu zor acaba deyip yıllardır uzak durduğum Komünist Manifesto'yu bile okuma planıma aldım. Bülent Somay sağ olsun, artık eskisi gibi korkmama gerek yok galiba. :-)
Stelyo Kuloğlu adını da not alıyorum.
Trajikomik anlatım ve kurguyla örülü, son çeyreğinde ironinin zirve yaptığı romanı okumanızı hararetle tavsiye ederim.
Okunacaklar :
1) Komünist Manifesto, Karl Marx ve Friedrich Engels
2) Çevengur, Andrey Platonov
3) İşçi Arıların Aşkı, Aleksandra Kollontay
4) Çimento, Fyodor Gladkov
5) Modern Rus Edebiyatından örnekler, özellikle sırasıyla 80 başlarından günümüze kadar yayınlanmış romanlar.
Kitap uzun zamandır kitaplığımda duruyordu. Bülent Somay, Çokbilmiş Özne'sinde Lenin, devrim, Komünist Manifesto falan deyince içimden okumak geldi. Her romanın bir zamanı varmış demek ki. Somay'ın anlattıklarını şöyle bir hatırlayarak okuyunca çok daha keyif aldım romandan. Bir de, Çokbilmiş Özne'deki bazı anlatılardan sonra "Kuloğlu'nun Amerikalı gazetecisi biraz fazla mı masum kaçmış acaba" dedim kendi kendime. :-)
Gerçekten, insan psikolojisini dikkate almayan hiçbir rejimin uzun soluklu olamayacağını, eşitlik kurmak adına bile olsa, insanları kontrol altında tutmak için getirilen yasakların nasıl yeni imtiyazlı gruplar, yeni rüşvet araçları ve yeni yolsuzluklar yarattığını net görüyorsunuz. Yasaklarla insanların sürekli kontrol edildiği, insanları gizlice gözleyenlerin bile gözlendiği bu romanı “Orwellvari” diye tanımlayabiliriz sanırım. Nitekim romanın ana karakteri de yaşanan olayları bu şekilde tanımlıyor. Özetle, 1984'ü okuduysanız bu roman size çok tanıdık gelecek. 1984 ile Orwell her dile yeni bir sıfat kazandırmış anlaşılan. Romanı okurken, az çok zaten Orwellvari bir dünyada yaşıyoruz diye düşündüm. Kapitalizm insan psikolojosini tahlil ve kontrol etmede gayet başarılı göründü gözüme. Sosyal medya falan acayip itici geldi bir anda. Tıpkı 1984'ü okurken olduğu gibi.
Orwell neden romanın adını 1984 koymuş diye düşünmüştüm okurken. "Postaneye Asla Yalnız Gitme" Perestroyka ve Berlin Duvarı'nın yıkıldığı dönemi de yani 80'li yılları da kapsıyor. Orwell'in öldüğü ve 1984'ü yayımladığı tarihleri kontrol ettim ama bir bağlantı kuramadım. Bunun için 1917 ve sonrasındaki Rus tarihini okumak gerekiyor belki de. Acaba Orwell 80'li yılları romanında anlattığı şekilde mi ön görmüştü? Biraz abartmış belki distopya romanı olduğu için ama pek de yanılmamış anlaşılan.
Roman, kapsadığı dönemde SSCB'nin uydu ülkeleriyle ve diğer ülkelerle ilişkisine yer verirken pek çok karakter de gerçekten tarihte yerini almış isimlerden oluşuyor. Pavlik Morozov'u ilk olarak bu roman sayesinde öğrendim. Böyle olunca, özellikle olayların gerçekliği konusunda daha çok şüphe uyanıyor insanda. Hani okurken o hiç peşimizi bırakmayan gerçeklik merakı var ya o yine sarıyor insanı. :-)
Şüphe demişken, doğal olarak böyle bir romanda hakim duygu da "şüphe" oluyor. Yazar bu duyguyu okura geçirmekte çok başarılı bence. “Aşk” da buna bağlı olarak “güven” duygusuyla bağlantılı bir şekilde işlenmiş gibi geldi bana. Kitabın arka kapağında siyasi gerilim falan deniyor ama gerilim çok güçlü değil bence.
Gorki ve Tolstoy okuduktan sonra Rus edebiyatından ne kadar uzak düştüğümü de fark ettim bu romanla. Özellikle modern Rus edebiyatını şöyle bir kurcalamak geldi içimden. Ayrıca o kadar gaza geldim ki, çok mu zor acaba deyip yıllardır uzak durduğum Komünist Manifesto'yu bile okuma planıma aldım. Bülent Somay sağ olsun, artık eskisi gibi korkmama gerek yok galiba. :-)
Stelyo Kuloğlu adını da not alıyorum.
Trajikomik anlatım ve kurguyla örülü, son çeyreğinde ironinin zirve yaptığı romanı okumanızı hararetle tavsiye ederim.
Okunacaklar :
1) Komünist Manifesto, Karl Marx ve Friedrich Engels
2) Çevengur, Andrey Platonov
3) İşçi Arıların Aşkı, Aleksandra Kollontay
4) Çimento, Fyodor Gladkov
5) Modern Rus Edebiyatından örnekler, özellikle sırasıyla 80 başlarından günümüze kadar yayınlanmış romanlar.
November 14, 2023
Ένα ενδιαφέρον μυθιστόρημα για την εποχή της Περεστρόικα από έναν δημοσιογράφο που έζησε τα γεγονότα από μέσα. Έρωτας και κατασκοπεία, πληροφορίες άγνωστες στο ευρύ κοινό και φυσικά οι ιστορικές πολιτικές εξελίξεις σε ολόκληρη την ανατολική Ευρώπη δίνονται μέσα από συναρπαστικούς -ενίοτε- χαρακτήρες, ενώ οι λεπτομέρειες της καθημερινής ζωής στη Μόσχα του 1989 συνθέτουν το παζλ ενός κόσμου που δεν υπάρχει πια.
Στα σοβαρά μειονεκτήματα του βιβλίου ορισμένα κλισέ και υπεραπλουστεύσεις που κουράζουν.
Στα σοβαρά μειονεκτήματα του βιβλίου ορισμένα κλισέ και υπεραπλουστεύσεις που κουράζουν.
December 30, 2021
Πάνε κοντά είκοσι χρόνια από τότε που το διάβασα. Δεν ξέρω την προσωπική ιστορία του Κούλογλου αλλά στο βιβλίο φαίνεται να γνωρίζει καλά την τελευταία δεκαετία της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης. Η κεντρική ερωτική ιστορία τρέχει μέσα στα χρόνια της περεστρόικα.
Ευανάγνωστο με ρυθμο και πληροφορίες μπροστά και πίσω απ'τις κουρτίνες για τη ζωή εκείνη την εποχή στη Ρωσία.
Είχα περάσει τόσο καλά θυμάμαι που μετά από χρόνια παρασύρθηκα και αγόρασα το βιβλίο του Βαξεβάνη τον Άνθρωπο του Τοίχους. Ατελειωτα χασμουρητα.
Ευανάγνωστο με ρυθμο και πληροφορίες μπροστά και πίσω απ'τις κουρτίνες για τη ζωή εκείνη την εποχή στη Ρωσία.
Είχα περάσει τόσο καλά θυμάμαι που μετά από χρόνια παρασύρθηκα και αγόρασα το βιβλίο του Βαξεβάνη τον Άνθρωπο του Τοίχους. Ατελειωτα χασμουρητα.
July 4, 2026
Κριτική στα Ελληνικά πιο κάτω...
This book takes place in '89 mainly in the Soviet Union. There is a parallel plot of a book supposedly written by the protagonist of the story, which takes place in Prague in '83. Stelios Kouloglou I think tries to write an interesting spy/political thriller or action book, set in a very turbulent and interesting era. Due to his experience, I think he intended to give the climate of the era and a taste of the everyday life of the citizens in the Soviet/Communist countries and much more. There are lots of real events and people in the book, descriptions of real buildings and lay-out of the cities, especially Moscow and the author certainly managed to transpire up to a large extent the spirit of how things worked there and then, the various social strata, the mentality and the different "microenvironments" in the then USSR and East Germany.
But... For the most part, the book didn't win me over that much. The characters seem two-dimentional and the main character is completely naive and without common sense or awareness/knowledge that someone in his position should possess. Leaders and security service figures, politicians and others behave like caricatures and in a completely unrealistic way towards the protagonist. The romances and declarations of love within a few days are always unconvincing and irking on my opinion. And the way the relationships between the characters are described here, whether friendly or romantic or whatever, are dry. Show us why so-and-so fell in love with so-and-so, don't tell us, it's a novel, not a reportage.
The action is constantly interrupted by discussions and lectures about all kind of stuff, especially oddly inserted in dialogues at completely irrelevant moments. In general, the book suffers from the usual mistake authors make, in historical novels mainly, but not only. They want to add so and so information, so and so event and so and so place, regardless of whether it breaks the rhythm or destroys the veracity of the book or does not fit at all with the plot of the book at that moment. In the above observation is included the author's device of the second story supposedly writen by the main character. Kouloglou justifies the existence of this device towards the endof the book, but let's be honest, it is an excuse for the author to transport the readers to Czechoslovakia and tell about some events there.
In fact, there are no italics or quotation marks or anything else to distinguish that we are now transported to the second narrative, so at first suddenly switching to other characters, place and time is completely confusing. Things don't improve much even when realising what's going on.
It's a shame that the book has so many flaws, because it had the potential for something much better and some parts are very captivating. All in all it is rather averrage though.
In fact, I had read this many years ago in Greek and didn't remember anything. I read it now in English and I don't think the plot will stay with me for long. Not the worst book I've ever read, but not that good either...
Το βιβλίο διαδραματίζεται το '89 στη Σοβιετική Ένωση κατά κύριο λόγο. Υπάρχει μία παράλληλη πλοκή ενός βιβλίο που γράφει υποτίθεται ο πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας, που διαδραματίζεται στην Πράγα το '83. Ο Στέλιος Κούλογλου προσπαθεί να γράψει νομίζω ένα ενδιαφέρον κατασκοπικό/πολιτικό θρίλερ ή βιβλίο δράσης σε μία πολύ ταραχώδη και ενδιαφέρουσα εποχή. Λόγω και της εμπειρίας του, νομίζω ότι είχε σκοπό να δώσει το κλίμα της εποχής και γεύση από την καθημερινότητα των κατοίκων στις Σοβιετικές/Κομμουνιστικές χώρες και πολλά άλλα. Υπάρχουν πραγματικά πλήθος πραγματικών γεγονότων και προσώπων μέσα στο βιβλίο, περιγραφές πραγματικών κτηρίων και χαρτογράφηση των πόλεων, ιδίως της Μόσχας και σίγουρα σε βάζει σε μεγάλο βαθμό στο πνεύμα του πως λειτουργούσαν τα πράγματα, στην ανθρωπογεωγραφία, την νοοτροπία και τα διαφορετικά "μικροπεριβάλλοντα" στην τότε ΕΣΣΔ και την Ανατολική Γερμανία.
Όμως... Στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος το βιβλίο δεν με κέρδισε τόσο. Οι χαρακτήρες μοιάζουν χάρτινοι και ο κεντρικός χαρακτήρας είναι εντελώς αφελής και χωρίς κοινή λογική ή γνώσεις που αποκλείεται να μην ξέρει κάποιος στη θέση του. Αρχηγοί και πρόσωπα υπηρεσιών ασφαλείας, πολιτικοί και άλλοι συμπεριφέρονται σαν καρικατούρες και με καθόλου ρεαλιστικό τρόπο προς τον πρωταγωνιστή. Τα ρομάντζα και οι δηλώσεις αγάπης μέσα σε λίγες μέρες είναι πάντα απίστευτα και εκνευριστικά μέσα στα βιβλία. Και πολλές φορές ο τρόπος που περιγράφει τις σχέσεις μεταξύ των χαρακτήρων, είτε φιλικές είτε ερωτικές είτε οτιδήποτε είναι ξερός. Δείξε μας γιατί ο τάδε ερωτεύτηκε την τάδε, μην μας το λες, είναι μυθιστόρημα, δεν είναι ρεπορτάζ.
Η δράση διακόπτεται συνεχώς από συζητήσεις και διαλέξεις περί παντός επιστητού, ειδικά μέσα σε διαλόγους σε εντελώς άσχετα σημεία. Γενικά το βιβλίο πάσχει από το συνηθισμένο λάθος των συγγραφέων στα ιστορικά μυθιστορήματα κυρίως, αλλά όχι μόνο. Θέλουν να προσθέσουν και την τάδε πληροφορία, και το τάδε γεγονός και τον τάδε τόπο, άσχετα αν κόβει τον ρυθμό ή αν καταστρέφει την αληθοφάνεια του βιβλίου ή δεν ταιριάζει καθόλου με την πλοκή του βιβλίου εκείνη τη στιγμή. Στην παραπάνω παρατήρηση, εντάσσεται αλλά δεν περιορίζεται μόνο σε αυτό, το εύρημα με την δεύτερη ιστορία που γράφει ο πρωταγωνιστής. Δικαιολογεί την ύπαρξη αυτού του ευρήματος ο Κούλογλου προς το τέλος, αλλά να μην κοροϊδευόμαστε, ουσιαστικά είναι ένας τρόπος να μας μεταφέρει και στην Τσεχοσλοβακία και να πει για κάποια γεγονότα εκεί.
Μάλιστα, δεν υπάρχουν πλάγιες γραμμές ή εισαγωγικά ή κάτι άλλο να ξεχωρίσει ότι πλέον μεταφερόμαστε στην δεύτερη αφήγηση, έτσι αρχικά η εναλλαγή σε άλλα πρόσωπα, χώρο και χρόνο μπερδεύει τον αναγνώστη εντελώς και στη συνέχεια δεν βελτιώνεται και πολύ αυτό.
Είναι κρίμα που το βιβλίο έχει τόσα ελαττώματα, γιατί είχε προϋποθέσεις για κάτι πολύ καλύτερο και κάποια σημεία είναι πολύ καθηλωτικά. Σαν σύνολο όμως δεν νομίζω ότι ξεφεύγει από τη μετριότητα. Για την ακρίβεια το είχα διαβάσει πριν πολλά χρόνια στα Ελληνικά και δεν θυμόμουν τίποτα. Το διάβασα τώρα στα Αγγλικά και δεν νομίζω ότι η πλοκή θα μου μείνει για καιρό. Όχι το πιο κακό βιβλίο που έχω διαβάσει, αλλά όχι και τόσο καλό...
This book takes place in '89 mainly in the Soviet Union. There is a parallel plot of a book supposedly written by the protagonist of the story, which takes place in Prague in '83. Stelios Kouloglou I think tries to write an interesting spy/political thriller or action book, set in a very turbulent and interesting era. Due to his experience, I think he intended to give the climate of the era and a taste of the everyday life of the citizens in the Soviet/Communist countries and much more. There are lots of real events and people in the book, descriptions of real buildings and lay-out of the cities, especially Moscow and the author certainly managed to transpire up to a large extent the spirit of how things worked there and then, the various social strata, the mentality and the different "microenvironments" in the then USSR and East Germany.
But... For the most part, the book didn't win me over that much. The characters seem two-dimentional and the main character is completely naive and without common sense or awareness/knowledge that someone in his position should possess. Leaders and security service figures, politicians and others behave like caricatures and in a completely unrealistic way towards the protagonist. The romances and declarations of love within a few days are always unconvincing and irking on my opinion. And the way the relationships between the characters are described here, whether friendly or romantic or whatever, are dry. Show us why so-and-so fell in love with so-and-so, don't tell us, it's a novel, not a reportage.
The action is constantly interrupted by discussions and lectures about all kind of stuff, especially oddly inserted in dialogues at completely irrelevant moments. In general, the book suffers from the usual mistake authors make, in historical novels mainly, but not only. They want to add so and so information, so and so event and so and so place, regardless of whether it breaks the rhythm or destroys the veracity of the book or does not fit at all with the plot of the book at that moment. In the above observation is included the author's device of the second story supposedly writen by the main character. Kouloglou justifies the existence of this device towards the endof the book, but let's be honest, it is an excuse for the author to transport the readers to Czechoslovakia and tell about some events there.
In fact, there are no italics or quotation marks or anything else to distinguish that we are now transported to the second narrative, so at first suddenly switching to other characters, place and time is completely confusing. Things don't improve much even when realising what's going on.
It's a shame that the book has so many flaws, because it had the potential for something much better and some parts are very captivating. All in all it is rather averrage though.
In fact, I had read this many years ago in Greek and didn't remember anything. I read it now in English and I don't think the plot will stay with me for long. Not the worst book I've ever read, but not that good either...
Το βιβλίο διαδραματίζεται το '89 στη Σοβιετική Ένωση κατά κύριο λόγο. Υπάρχει μία παράλληλη πλοκή ενός βιβλίο που γράφει υποτίθεται ο πρωταγωνιστής της ιστορίας, που διαδραματίζεται στην Πράγα το '83. Ο Στέλιος Κούλογλου προσπαθεί να γράψει νομίζω ένα ενδιαφέρον κατασκοπικό/πολιτικό θρίλερ ή βιβλίο δράσης σε μία πολύ ταραχώδη και ενδιαφέρουσα εποχή. Λόγω και της εμπειρίας του, νομίζω ότι είχε σκοπό να δώσει το κλίμα της εποχής και γεύση από την καθημερινότητα των κατοίκων στις Σοβιετικές/Κομμουνιστικές χώρες και πολλά άλλα. Υπάρχουν πραγματικά πλήθος πραγματικών γεγονότων και προσώπων μέσα στο βιβλίο, περιγραφές πραγματικών κτηρίων και χαρτογράφηση των πόλεων, ιδίως της Μόσχας και σίγουρα σε βάζει σε μεγάλο βαθμό στο πνεύμα του πως λειτουργούσαν τα πράγματα, στην ανθρωπογεωγραφία, την νοοτροπία και τα διαφορετικά "μικροπεριβάλλοντα" στην τότε ΕΣΣΔ και την Ανατολική Γερμανία.
Όμως... Στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος το βιβλίο δεν με κέρδισε τόσο. Οι χαρακτήρες μοιάζουν χάρτινοι και ο κεντρικός χαρακτήρας είναι εντελώς αφελής και χωρίς κοινή λογική ή γνώσεις που αποκλείεται να μην ξέρει κάποιος στη θέση του. Αρχηγοί και πρόσωπα υπηρεσιών ασφαλείας, πολιτικοί και άλλοι συμπεριφέρονται σαν καρικατούρες και με καθόλου ρεαλιστικό τρόπο προς τον πρωταγωνιστή. Τα ρομάντζα και οι δηλώσεις αγάπης μέσα σε λίγες μέρες είναι πάντα απίστευτα και εκνευριστικά μέσα στα βιβλία. Και πολλές φορές ο τρόπος που περιγράφει τις σχέσεις μεταξύ των χαρακτήρων, είτε φιλικές είτε ερωτικές είτε οτιδήποτε είναι ξερός. Δείξε μας γιατί ο τάδε ερωτεύτηκε την τάδε, μην μας το λες, είναι μυθιστόρημα, δεν είναι ρεπορτάζ.
Η δράση διακόπτεται συνεχώς από συζητήσεις και διαλέξεις περί παντός επιστητού, ειδικά μέσα σε διαλόγους σε εντελώς άσχετα σημεία. Γενικά το βιβλίο πάσχει από το συνηθισμένο λάθος των συγγραφέων στα ιστορικά μυθιστορήματα κυρίως, αλλά όχι μόνο. Θέλουν να προσθέσουν και την τάδε πληροφορία, και το τάδε γεγονός και τον τάδε τόπο, άσχετα αν κόβει τον ρυθμό ή αν καταστρέφει την αληθοφάνεια του βιβλίου ή δεν ταιριάζει καθόλου με την πλοκή του βιβλίου εκείνη τη στιγμή. Στην παραπάνω παρατήρηση, εντάσσεται αλλά δεν περιορίζεται μόνο σε αυτό, το εύρημα με την δεύτερη ιστορία που γράφει ο πρωταγωνιστής. Δικαιολογεί την ύπαρξη αυτού του ευρήματος ο Κούλογλου προς το τέλος, αλλά να μην κοροϊδευόμαστε, ουσιαστικά είναι ένας τρόπος να μας μεταφέρει και στην Τσεχοσλοβακία και να πει για κάποια γεγονότα εκεί.
Μάλιστα, δεν υπάρχουν πλάγιες γραμμές ή εισαγωγικά ή κάτι άλλο να ξεχωρίσει ότι πλέον μεταφερόμαστε στην δεύτερη αφήγηση, έτσι αρχικά η εναλλαγή σε άλλα πρόσωπα, χώρο και χρόνο μπερδεύει τον αναγνώστη εντελώς και στη συνέχεια δεν βελτιώνεται και πολύ αυτό.
Είναι κρίμα που το βιβλίο έχει τόσα ελαττώματα, γιατί είχε προϋποθέσεις για κάτι πολύ καλύτερο και κάποια σημεία είναι πολύ καθηλωτικά. Σαν σύνολο όμως δεν νομίζω ότι ξεφεύγει από τη μετριότητα. Για την ακρίβεια το είχα διαβάσει πριν πολλά χρόνια στα Ελληνικά και δεν θυμόμουν τίποτα. Το διάβασα τώρα στα Αγγλικά και δεν νομίζω ότι η πλοκή θα μου μείνει για καιρό. Όχι το πιο κακό βιβλίο που έχω διαβάσει, αλλά όχι και τόσο καλό...
July 13, 2026
Never Go to the Post Office Alone is a compelling political thriller that skillfully blends historical reality with imaginative storytelling.
Stelios Kouloglou creates a narrative that captures the uncertainty and intensity of one of the most significant moments in modern history.
The story is both engaging and intellectually stimulating from the very first page.
Kevin Danaher is a convincing protagonist whose journey feels authentic and emotionally grounded.
The historical backdrop enriches the narrative without overshadowing its human elements.
The transition between fact and fiction is seamless and thoughtfully executed.
The pacing maintains suspense while allowing readers to appreciate the emotional weight of each event.
The writing is clear, confident, and remarkably immersive.
The political themes are explored with balance and insight.
Every chapter deepens the sense of tension as history unfolds through personal experience.
The novel offers a fascinating perspective on the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Its emotional depth makes the historical events feel immediate and personal.
This is a memorable work that will appeal to readers of historical fiction and political thrillers alike.
Never Go to the Post Office Alone is both entertaining and thought provoking.
Stelios Kouloglou has crafted a remarkable novel that lingers long after the final page.
Stelios Kouloglou creates a narrative that captures the uncertainty and intensity of one of the most significant moments in modern history.
The story is both engaging and intellectually stimulating from the very first page.
Kevin Danaher is a convincing protagonist whose journey feels authentic and emotionally grounded.
The historical backdrop enriches the narrative without overshadowing its human elements.
The transition between fact and fiction is seamless and thoughtfully executed.
The pacing maintains suspense while allowing readers to appreciate the emotional weight of each event.
The writing is clear, confident, and remarkably immersive.
The political themes are explored with balance and insight.
Every chapter deepens the sense of tension as history unfolds through personal experience.
The novel offers a fascinating perspective on the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Its emotional depth makes the historical events feel immediate and personal.
This is a memorable work that will appeal to readers of historical fiction and political thrillers alike.
Never Go to the Post Office Alone is both entertaining and thought provoking.
Stelios Kouloglou has crafted a remarkable novel that lingers long after the final page.
August 30, 2017
Δεν ενθουσιάστηκα με την πλοκή, αν και είναι καλοστημένη και μελετημένη, γιατί την βρήκα κάπως απλή για πολιτικό μυστήριο ή κατασκοπικό - αν και δεν νομίζω ότι αυτό ήθελε να εξυπηρετήσει ο συγγραφέας. Όμως είναι καταπληκτικό στη μεταφορά ατμόσφαιρας, σχεδόν βιώνεις κάτι που δεν έζησες ποτέ, τι είναι αυτός ο περίφημος κομμουνισμός και πώς είναι να ζεις μέσα σε αυτόν, το οποίο είναι και το σημαντικότερο ατού αυτού του βιβλίου.
January 16, 2022
Το καταβρόχθισα μέσα σ' ένα Σαββατοκύριακο με το που το πήρα στα χέρια μου. Ανελλιπώς πνευματώδες, πολύ ενδιαφέρον, με υπέροχο ρυθμό και καθόλου δύσκολο να το παρακολουθήσεις ακόμα και για μένα που δεν είχα ιδιαίτερα στενή επαφή με την ιστορική πραγματικότητα στην οποία αναφέρεται. Αχ! Πόσο μου άνοιξε την όρεξη για βιβλία!
August 24, 2025
i was drawn to this book for no reason really. the blurb just intrigued me.
i do think im way too ignorant on the topics to 100% enjoy this book. that said i was hooked from page one, and really wanted to see how it ended.
i do think im way too ignorant on the topics to 100% enjoy this book. that said i was hooked from page one, and really wanted to see how it ended.
December 12, 2018
Καλό βιβλίο είναι, αλλά νομίζω ότι προτιμών τον Κούλογλου ως δημοσιογράφο, παρά ως συγγραφέα.
July 30, 2023
“Communists are good people, it’s only when they’re in power that they go rotten.”
January 21, 2024
Ωραία περιπέτεια που "τρέχει".
November 20, 2024
2.5 rounded up, giving some benefit that maybe some of it was lost when translated to English
October 30, 2012
«Όταν η γυναίκα σου σε πιάνει να την απατάς, είναι σαν να σε συλλαμβάνει η αστυνομία. Ό,τι πεις, μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί εναντίον σου.»
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