Ο σύντροφος Κόμπα

by Robert Littell

Μετά τον ξαφνικό θάνατο του πατέρα του, πυρηνικού φυσικού, και τη σύλληψη της μητέρας του στη διάρκεια των σταλινικών εκκαθαρίσεων, ένα χαρισματικό αγόρι, ο Λέον Ρόζενταλ, μαζί με άλλα παιδιά, των οποίων οι γονείς έχουν συλληφθεί ή εκτελεστεί, κρύβεται από τη NKVD στο λαβύρινθο των μυστικών δωματίων του Κτιρίου του Αναχώματος, ενός τεράστιου κτιρίου στη Μόσχα, όπου ζουν πολλοί ανώτεροι Σοβιετικοί αξιωματούχοι και επιστήμονες. Σε μια από τις περιπλανήσεις του, ο Λέον συναντά τυχαία έναν αινιγματικό ηλικιωμένο άντρα, που του συστήνεται ως σύντροφος Κόμπα, βετεράνος του Μεγάλου Πατριωτικού Πολέμου, μέλος του Πολιτικού Γραφείου και δεξί χέρι του Στάλιν. Εντυπωσιασμένος από την ασυνήθιστη ευφυΐα του αγοριού, που του δηλώνει ότι είναι υπεύθυνος μιας σχολικής εφημερίδας, ο ηλικιωμένος άντρας τού προτείνει να του παραχωρήσει μια σειρά από συνεντεύξεις.
Μέσα από τις συναντήσεις ενός χαρισματικού παιδιού και ενός παρανοϊκού ηγέτη, ο Ρόμπερτ Λίτελ δημιουργεί στον Σύντροφο Κόμπα ένα συναρπαστικό μυθιστόρημα και ταυτόχρονα ένα εξαιρετικό πορτρέτο του Σοβιετικού δικτάτορα, δείχνοντας την ανθρώπινη πλευρά του και ταυτόχρονα την πλήρη αδιαφορία και άγνοια του πόνου που προκάλεσε στον ρωσικό λαό.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Russia, Espionage, Novels, Historical

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2020

About the author

An American author residing in France. He specializes in spy novels that often concern the CIA and the Soviet Union. He became a journalist and worked many years for Newsweek during the Cold War. He's also an amateur mountain climber and is the father of award-winning novelist Jonathan Littell.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love love this short novel!!!!!!!!!!!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the AUDIOBOOK...(read by Andrew Eiden,....and a little reading from Rachel Jacobs).

People who know me on Goodreads know that when I say LOVE LOVE LOVE --this many times --first thing --along with 5+++++ stars -- its because --I REALLY LOVED it....

But?...
..... must I write a review? -- reveal all the reasons why?-- A girl needs a few private moments --you know?.... to *FEEL*....and *THINK*....

I'll say a few things: (leave the deeper political aspects for others to digest -- I'll share some of the fun things) ...

First:
Read the review by ***DARWIN8u***......His review caught my attention. Hopefully he will for you too!
After LISTENING to the sample AUDIOBOOK, I was sold...really sold!!! (enough to listen now!)

I listened to this audiobook in one sweep....(one-sweep listening is starting to be a habit for these shorter audiobooks). They make perfect walking companions-and a pool soaking buddy.
The audiobook is only 4 hours and 51 minutes long. A GEM!!!
GREAT...STORYTELLING... CHARACTERS...DIALOGUE....HISTORY....
I laughed, I cried. I feel a 'little' smarter, too....(well, a little more aware)...
Do you ever cry because you 'feel' your own limitations? Ever want to knock yourself over the head--for not knowing some of the basic things that most people know?
Well...it happens to me...
but...who I must really thank for opening my eyes--is this author: Robert Littell. (I felt a little like the 10 1/2 year old kid in the book--who enjoyed visiting the old man in the book --so he could learn from him). I did learn some things --but didn't have to fall flat on my face suffering to do so.

THANK YOU, Robert Littell-- for writing this book the way you did. Its powerful -- yet even a child could feel the impact --and some of us older folks too.
Its written with soooo much charm!!! Its books like this one that brings out the word "heartfelt" so easily.
I felt like a fool for not knowing what NKVD stood for? (thanks --I've done my homework now)...

Why to read this?
1- You'll meet Leon Rozental (I'd like to invite him to dinner) >> ok, I'd like to invite many people to dinner -- but I really enjoyed Leon.
2-I'll not forget the OLD MAN. I will often think about him in years to come --(as Leon does)
3-Wonderful writing and quotes. Little things like, "One generation plants the trees, the next generation enjoys their shade".
Or....old reminder quotes: "No chain is stronger that its weakest link"....etc. etc.
4 - Enjoy vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce (without gaining weight) - a game of chess, and pick-up-sticks. Yes, pick-up-up-sticks.
5-Leon asked the old man -- "Do you have any regrets?" The old man said -- "Dumb question, kid, everyone has regrets when you're my age"
6- I'm tempted to describe the WAY Leon describes the old man's face, eyes, teeth, hair, hands.....but -- I'll let you enjoy it yourself.
7-If you were afraid of spiders as a kid-- You won't feel alone.
8-Poety, sex, and poetry & sex together.....(don't ask me to explain--just know --if you don't smile --then you need to go back to school to get a higher degree in 'funny-education')
9-The ending-- and close to the ending -- is where I cried. I actually hurt -- was really sad --but also very moved.
10- love -- aren't all the best books -at least a little about love? no matter how much one tries to deny it- or hide it ?

I'm sure there are better -more informative reviews -- READ THEM...
Most --trust me?/!........This book --small in size --big in heart -- is worth choosing.

Thanks again, Darwin!

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It is not enough to love Soviet power. Soviet power has to love you."
- Robert Littell, Comrade Koba



A wonderful novella by Robert Littell. Think of a Russsian Holden Caulfield, age 10, interviews a old, cranky member of the Politburo in 1953 (three years after Catcher in the Rye is published in America) . I'll write more, review more, clarify (without clarifying TOO much) tomorrow. Goodnight comrades. I'm off to organize the disorder and disorder the organized.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley, the author and Overlook Press/Abrams the publisher for the Advanced Reading Copy of this book.

To the best of my knowledge, I have not previously read any books by ROBERT LITTELL. Based on my exceedingly pleasant experience with COMRADE KOBA, there will be a lot more reading in the future.

The story takes place in Moscow, Russia between 1949 and 1953. The primary narrator is Leon Rozental who is about 10 to 14 years old. His father David was a prominent nuclear physicist who died in a nuclear reaction accident while developing Russia’s nuclear weapons. His mother was Anastasia a well-respected heart doctor in Moscow’s best hospital. She is arrested early in the story for plotting to poison Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union. Nikita Khrushchev was also a resident.

A co-narrator is one of Leon’s best friends, a girl named Isabeau who is about a year older than Leon. Her chapters are few. Twin boys Pavel and Vladimir are also featured as characters but not narrators. They all live in a huge apartment block called the House on the Embankment (a real place) where most of the residents are prominent Russian elite. All of the kids are parentless but not all the parents are dead. Some are under arrest which means not likely to return. All of them are Jewish. Included among the residents is Joseph Stalin’s daughter Svetlana. The building has lots of secret rooms and passages of which the kids make full use.

Leon Rozental is extremely smart. He has taught himself “American” by reading the book “Catcher in the Rye”. When he writes or speaks, you can see that book’s influence through his usage of words.

Through his wanderings in the building, Leon discovers a room as big as an airplane hangar. Near the far end is a group of uniformed men with their weapons. The men are playing chess and the weapons are stacked along a wall. Leon walks over to them and after a brief discussion and search, he is allowed to stay. An old man appears and invites Leon to come upstairs for some vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. Thus begins once of the most unusual friendships in modern literature.

The book is told as a series of conversations between the old man and Leon. Isabeau does not believe that Leon has this friendship. They discuss nuclear research, Judaism, purges, literature, movies. Eventually, the old man begins giving Leon big bundles of cash that the kids use to buy food.

In a startling finale, many questions are resolved. This is a wonderful story told by a gifted writer. If you are a fan of THE GENTLEMAN FROM MOSCOW, then this is a must read. If you are a fan of history, this is a must read. If you are a fan of good writing, this is a must read. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! If I could give more than 5 Stars, I would do so. This not a lengthy book being well under 200 pages.

GO! BUY! READ!

[George K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Βαθμολογία: 9/10

Ο Ρόμπερτ Λίτελ είναι ένας πάρα πολύ ενδιαφέρων συγγραφέας κατασκοπευτικών θρίλερ, αλλά από τα κάμποσα μυθιστορήματα που έχει γράψει μόνο τρία κυκλοφορούν στα ελληνικά (και όχι τα πιο γνωστά του). Το "Ο Σύντροφος Κόμπα" μόλις βγήκε στη γλώσσα μας από τις εκδόσεις Μέδουσα, και φυσικά δεν άργησα να το τσιμπήσω και να το διαβάσω (δεύτερο βιβλίο του συγγραφέα που διαβάζω, μετά το πάρα πολύ καλό "Φίλμπυ" που διάβασα το 2016). Λοιπόν, δηλώνω εξαιρετικά ικανοποιημένος. Πραγματικά το λάτρεψα το μικρό αυτό βιβλίο. Είχα βέβαια κάποιες προσδοκίες, αλλά τόσο καλό δεν το περίμενα. Το βρήκα πολύ έξυπνο, οξυδερκές, αιχμηρό εκεί που χρειαζόταν, με ωραίο χιούμορ και υποδόρια ειρωνεία. Νιώθω ότι σε σχετικά λίγες σελίδες ο Λίτελ είπε τόσα πολλά πράγματα, καταφέρνοντας σε μεγάλο βαθμό να αναδείξει και την ανθρώπινη πλευρά του Στάλιν (ναι, φαίνεται ότι είχε και τέτοια!), με πολύ ιδιαίτερο τρόπο και ωραίο στιλ. Σίγουρα το "Ο σύντροφος Κόμπα" είναι για μένα μια από τις ωραίες και ξεχωριστές στιγμές της φετινής αναγνωστικής χρονιάς. Μακάρι να βλέπαμε και άλλα μυθιστορήματα του συγγραφέα στα ελληνικά (μόνο το "Η πεταλούδα της Σιβηρίας" έχω στα αδιάβαστα).

[Constantinos Capetanakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Littell's magnificent The Company was followed by his acute and nail biting Legends. His Philby had all the ingredients of being great but didn't totally touch base. Yet his Comrade Koba is indeed up to par and shows yet again Littell's ease when dealing with complex personalities.

A Stalin portrayal through an unlikely and scarcely believable plot, yet given in a humane (if that is possible) way, seen through a young boy's eyes. It flows seamlessly, it is highly interesting and gives away vignettes of this strange creature who defined USSR and the world in many aspects which he didn't even envisage.

Very enjoyable.

[Apostol Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cartea „Tovarășul Koba” este o privire în ansamblu asupra a ceea ce a făcut Rusia din copii săi, o țară de orfani și nu doar. Într-un fel fascinant autorul a descris timpul de la revoluție până la conducerea lui Stalin prin așezarea pieselor dintr-un timp greu de digerat într-o incursiune de amintiri destăinuite unui copil aparent fragil însă destul de pragmatic pentru vârsta sa. Este, de asemenea, o poveste de supraviețuire, deoarece copiii se trezesc fără protecția sau îndrumarea părinților lor. Ce mai pot spune despre această carte e că tot ce se scrie îți dă un sentiment profund al realității disperate încât ești ca în balanță, sau să citești totul ca un însetat de istorie sau să lași cartea din mână fără a răscoli tristeți, copilării distorsionate și inocențe furate. Recomand cu drag cartea celor ce apreciază bibliografiile celor mai sunătoare nume din istorie, celor ce doresc să afle și să despice firul în a poziționa în propriile gânduri unele secvențe ce au fost tăinuite până acum sau pur și simplu omise din lipsă de interes!

link blog: https://vorbepentrusufletblog.wordpre...

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

How have I missed this author? This is a wonderfully presented story of a boy who spends time with Stalin at the end of Stalin's life - - but the boy doesn't know that he is talking with Stalin. Of course Stalin expounds in an interesting way (at the boy's level) about the revolution and "running" the Soviet Union. There is lots of humor, and of course a much deeper sense of desperate reality. This short novel was interesting to read, particularly with its unique character twist (the boy not knowing exactly to whom he as talking).

[Gică Andreica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Din când în când, după ce citesc câte cinci sau șase romane de suspans, simt nevoia să las puțin crimele deoparte și să mă apuc de ceva mai senin, ceva care să-mi aducă zâmbetul pe buze și să-mi vorbească despre frumusețea și fericirea ce însoțesc însăși ideea de ființă umană. Astfel, cu o săptămână în urmă, fiind atras de sinopsisul ce defilează aproape zilnic pe pagina de Facebook a editurii Publisol, am decis să-i dau o șansă romanului „Tovarășul Koba”, primul volum tradus în română al celebrului autor de cărți de spionaj, Robert Littell. Și acum, după o lectură foarte rapidă – nici nu are cum să-ți ia mai mult de două zile, la cât de subțire e cărticica –, pot să spun că am făcut o alegere foarte bună. Pe lângă faptul că mi-a plăcut subiectul abordat, am ajuns să empatizez cu cei doi protagoniști și să-mi pun întrebări existențiale despre ce reprezintă moralitatea și care este punctul din care binele personal poate ajunge să pericliteze echilibrul universal.

Recenzia:
http://www.cartilemele.ro/2022/03/rec...

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Comrade Koba by Robert Littell is a novel in which a child, hiding in Communist Russia from the NKVD, meets an old man who is a high ranking government official, and the two strike a strange friendship. Mr. Littell is a published author and journalist who specializes in spy novels.

Leon Rozental is a Jewish kid, son of a heroic nuclear physicist who gave his life to save many, and a doctor. Leon’s problem? He is living in Stalinist Russia where the purge of Jewish doctors has begun and his mother, even though the widow of a hero, has been arrested.

Leon hides from the NKVD in secret rooms in a large building in Moscow. One day he meets an old man, Koba, who lives in the building and his a high ranking office in the Soviet government with insight into the internal workings of the bureaucracy in general, and Stalin specifically.

This book attempts to explain the Stalinist regime to ten year olds, a certain smart ten year old at that. I felt that this was a smart tool to explain to everyone what happened during Joseph Stalin’s reign and make a complicated and nuanced part of history, a bit simpler.

There are parts of Comrade Koba by Robert Littell which are far-fetched, such as a group of kids whose parents been arrested surviving in Moscow, evading the NKVD. I have had to suspend my belief in reality for far more unbelievable series of events, however, than told in this book. The book goes back and forth between Leon hiding in an empty building with his friends, whose parents have also been hiding, and his “interview” with Koba. A few chapters are told from the point of view of Isabeau, Leon’s friend, which help “sell” the story of Leon and how his friends slowly believe his outlandish adventure. Besides that Isabeau’s chapters don’t move the story along, but there aren’t many and I thought they brought in a different, valuable, perspective to the novel.

It is unclear what role Koba plays in Stalin’s government, except that he is a very high, and admired advisor. Koba, like Stalin, also came from Georgia and, like Stalin, excuses the crimes which the regime commits as a path to a greater “worker’s paradise”. It is a very interesting exercise to explain such concepts to an audience, especially if they’re ten year olds. Koba, at points, seem to be trying to convince himself of the deeds he is a part of, instead of convincing Leon. Asking question after question, Leon doesn’t let Koba get away with propaganda talks, especially when it comes to his mother (and the mothers of his friends in hiding). At times, Koba gets frustrated because there simply isn’t enough words in the world to justify these crimes.

This book was short and a very fast read, I found it interesting even though, I believe, it was not meant for my age group, but more towards that of Leon’s. I know that when I was around that age, these are the type of books I enjoyed very much.

[Dom Silla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book looked really interesting at first and it has a fairly decent storyline running through it. If you know who Koba is, you know and it makes the whole thing a lot more interesting.

But I did not really care for the gratuitous cursing and sexual allusions throughout the book however. Definitely rated R. Probably won't read it again for that reason. Just wasn't for me.

It hasn't put me off Robert Little but I have to read another of his books before I cast final judgement.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The juxtaposition of kids-who-sound-like-kids and the terror of Stalin's last days results in a novel that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and disturbing. Sometimes farce is the only real way to dissect the banality of evil in the world, and Robert Littell's writing conveys this in a compelling, efficient way.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

3+

[Michelle Hogmire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Overlook Press for an advance Netgalley of this title, which came out yesterday Nov 10, 2020--

Robert Littell's Comrade Koba is a short novel with an incredibly intriguing premise; unfortunately, I'm not sure if the frame successfully sustains itself for a full book-length narrative.

Leon Rozental is a precocious 10-year-old, living in the famous House on the Embankment in Moscow in the 1950s; his father, a nuclear physicist, died of radiation poisoning, and his mother was arrested by the NKVD in a purge of Jewish doctors. Leon, and his group of young friends, are secretly still staying in the building together--despite the fact that all their parents are gone.

One day, while traveling through the building's tunnels, Leon discovers an old man living in an enormous dwelling. The man "Koba" claims to be a high-ranking Soviet official who is close to Comrade Stalin. Because Leon doesn't recognize the old man, Koba feels comfortable speaking with him. A majority of the book continues as a conversation between Koba and Leon--with Leon writing down Koba's words after their conversations--alongside the various adventures of Leon and the other kids in the House on the Embankment.

This premise allows Koba to be honest, maybe saying things to a young boy that he wouldn't to anyone else. We get wide ranging disquisitions on the Soviet Union and Stalinism, from two characters with hugely varying opinions and life experiences. There are fights. There are moments of genuine humor and moments of a genuinely disturbing lack of care for human life. Oh, and Koba's real name...is Joseph. Hmm.

Comrade Koba is well-written, with a clever conceit, but it starts to seem a bit repetitive and unrealistic as the book goes on. Leon is so smart and Koba trusts him so much that they both start to seem less like real characters, and more like devices created to hash out certain conversations and ideas. I do think this could have sustained itself for a short story, even a long one, but I can see the seams a little in this novel-length narrative.

[Jean Kolinofsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leon Rosental lost his father, a nuclear physicist, in 1949. His mother was a doctor at Moscow hospital who was arrested in Stalin’s purge of Jewish doctors. At the age of ten, Leon survived with several other children who lost their parents by hiding in the apartments that had been sealed by the NKVD in the House on the Embankment, a building housing Russian officials. Traveling the tunnels below the building he finds an open door that leads to an unexplored passage. At the end is a large room where two men are competing in a game of chess. After displaying his own knowledge of the game, he is introduced to Stalin, who calls himself Comrade Koba.

Koba lives alone in a large apartment guarded by soldiers. It is a solitary existence and he welcomes Leon’s visits, where he shares tales of his life and the changes in Russia since the days of the revolution. He speaks of his time in Siberia as well as his meetings with Roosevelt and Churchill in Yalta. There are stories of Lenin and Trotsky as well as the women in his life. Leon may only be ten, but he realizes that Koba wields power and he questions the guilt of those who were swept up in the purges, including his mother and the parents of his fiends. He plays chess at an advanced level and retains the information that he reads, including the contents of his father’s physics books. It is sometimes easy to forget his age until he reminds Koba when the conversations touch adult subjects or when he spends time with the other children exploring or playing Monopoly.

Robert Littell’s novel is a fascinating look at Russia from the revolution through Stalin’s rule through his recollections. It is also a story of survival as the children find themselves without the protection or guidance of their parents. History fans will enjoy this look at Stalin’s final days and find it difficult to put this book down. I would like to thank NetGalley and Abrams Publishing for allowing my review of this book.

[Jean Kolinofsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leon Rosental lost his father, a nuclear physicist, in 1949. His mother was a doctor at Moscow hospital who was arrested in Stalin’s purge of Jewish doctors. At the age of ten, Leon survived with several other children who lost their parents by hiding in the apartments that had been sealed by the NKVD in the House on the Embankment, a building housing Russian officials. Traveling the tunnels below the building he finds an open door that leads to an unexplored passage. At the end is a large room where two men are competing in a game of chess. After displaying his own knowledge of the game, he is introduced to Stalin, who calls himself Comrade Koba.

Koba lives alone in a large apartment guarded by soldiers. It is a solitary existence and he welcomes Leon’s visits, where he shares tales of his life and the changes in Russia since the days of the revolution. He speaks of his time in Siberia as well as his meetings with Roosevelt and Churchill in Yalta. There are stories of Lenin and Trotsky as well as the women in his life. Leon may only be ten, but he realizes that Koba wields power and he questions the guilt of those who were swept up in the purges, including his mother and the parents of his fiends. He plays chess at an advanced level and retains the information that he reads, including the contents of his father’s physics books. It is sometimes easy to forget his age until he reminds Koba when the conversations touch adult subjects or when he spends time with the other children exploring or playing Monopoly.

Robert Littell’s novel is a fascinating look at Russia from the revolution through Stalin’s rule through his recollections. It is also a story of survival as the children find themselves without the protection or guidance of their parents. History fans will enjoy this look at Stalin’s final days and find it difficult to put this book down. I would like to thank NetGalley and Abrams Publishing for allowing my review of this book.

[Reeca Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leon’s mother has been arrested by the KGB. Leon is hiding in his apartment complex, The House On the Embankment. He comes across an old man’s apartment one day. This man is heavily guarded but somehow Leon manages to meet the man and they strike up a “friendship”.

I enjoyed reading this point of view about Stalin or Koba, as he is known in this novel. It is extremely unique and interesting. I did not think the author got the children quite right though. I am not exactly sure what is missing. This story also leaves you wanting more at the end. I have mixed feelings about books which do this. However, this left enough to the imagination to determine Leon’s future.

This was not the book I expected when I started reading. I always just barely scan the blurb of a book. I saw the words Stalin and Russia and thought…GREAT… a change of pace. And this was! It was a wonderful change of pace for me. It is very well researched and rich with history. And I am a little torn with looking at Stalin the man and not Stalin the dictator. Very unique indeed.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

[Lyuba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comrade Koba is a story about a 10-year old boy Leon who lives in the famous House on the Embankment in Moscow - a large apartment building known for the fact that many of its famous residents were arrested during Stalin's purges in the 1930s and 40s. Leon's father was a physicist who died when one of his experiments went awry, and soon after Leon's mother gets arrested as part of the infamous "doctor's plot" -- a drummed up case against some medical professionals working in the Kremlin who were wrongly accused of plotting to kill Stalin.

Leon and several other children keep living in the secret passages of the building after their parents are taken away by the NKVD. One day, Leon has to take an underground passage into the city in order to sell one of his mother's paintings and on the way back he takes a different turn and ends up in Stalin's apartment. If you suspend your disbelief that (a) one could just wander in there, and (b) that the security officers guarding the place actually let him in, the rest of the story is pretty interesting.

During his multiple conversations with Leon, Stalin reveals facts about his childhood, his years as an underground revolutionary, facts about his relationships with his wife, children, Lenin, Trotsky, Kirov and other historic figures. I would say if you don't know much about Stalin, this is a great overview of his life and an insight into how troubled and paranoid his was for most of his life. It was especially interesting to view these encounters from the point of view of a little boy who did not know who he was speaking with. In his innocence, he says things that no one else would ever dare say to Stalin, and thus acts as a conscience of sorts for the reminiscing dictator.

5 out of 5 stars. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing an e-ARC for my review.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful little story about the horrors of revolution and war. Leon is a child prodigy who belongs to a troop of youngsters whose parents have been killed or arrested in the post-WWII Soviet Union. The author is very matter-of-fact about the atrocities these kids witness and their resilience and inventiveness in dealing with them.

The star, though, is Leon, whose parents were a physician and a nuclear physicist. In Leon's wanderings around subterranean Moscow to scrounge out the children's needs, he stumbles on a well-guarded facility that houses an irascible old man who befriends him and proceed to instruct him in revolutionary theory.

Comrade Koba is both a comedy and a tragedy. It is a very good story with a humorous twist. Thanks to NetGalley and the Overlook Press for an advance readers copy.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

After his father dies and his mother is arrested by the Soviet secret police, 10-year-old Leon encounters an old man who lives in the lap of luxury near the Kremlin. The man tells him his name is Koba, and is an advisor to Joseph Stalin.


Most of this book take the form of conversations between Leon and Koba which relate the lessons that life has taught Koba about war, women, Soviet politics, and several other topics. Without his parents, Leon and his friends live their lives in dread of being discovered by the secret police and facing possible death or being sentenced to a Siberian prison if discovered.

I gave Comrade Koba four stars on Goodreads. While I didn’t find it super-exciting, it did teach me a lot about Russian history and life in Russia during the early part of the 1950s. While I had suspicions about Koba’s real identity, I didn’t know for sure until consulting Google after I’d finished the book.

[Bonnie Baranoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

"From Leon's notebook," readers are gifted with a fictional look inside what might have been a relationship between a dictator and a temporarily orphaned boy in post-World War II Russia. The guarded rapport that develops between "the old man" and the "kid" blossoms into a wary friendship based on boredom, secrecy, fearlessness, trade, and possibly regret.

The "kid," Leon, is from what we might consider an upper-middle-class upbringing. His father is a nuclear physicist, and his mother is a cardiologist. We discover that Leon is simultaneously naïve yet extremely confident and wise beyond his ten years. He may be an autodidact because he taught himself "American" (the English language) and claims to understand "the quantum field model of the weak nuclear force." Still, for such a wise young man, he doesn't realize his new friend's identity. Or maybe he's an adult transferring his grown-up knowledge into the memories of his adolescent self. Is it real, or is it imagination? It's never clear, and that's part of the fun of Comrade Koba.

Until learning about and reading this novel, I wasn't familiar with author Robert Littell. Comrade Koba is fun and intriguing, and it encourages me to learn more about my Russian ancestry and the country's rich history. I look forward to reading Littell's New York Times bestseller, The Company, and catching up with his fans.

Thank you, NetGalley and The Overlook Press, for sharing the advanced reader copy with me and others. I recommend this book.

#ComradeKoba #NetGalley

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, Robert Littell is so much fun to read, anyone who likes le Carre or Furst needs to add this author to their list.

Mr. Littell moves away from the espionage game and instead writes a short novel about a boy who's lost both of his parents (one died, one was arrested) and his life of privilege during the height of Stalinist Russia. As Leon and the rest of his lost children make their way by living in secret rooms in the House on the Embankment (the history of which is its own book), Leon runs across a high government official by the name of Koba, who takes a liking to the 10-year-old boy and begins to use him as an unofficial biographer. We hear about Koba's role in the revolution, his views on the other communist leaders, and thoughts on what has become of the Bolsheviks. Since Leon doesn't know who Koba is, he shows no fear, and asks the questions that might get others arrested. We see Koba trying to justify what the USSR has become, why people had to suffer, as well as a bit of the human side of Koba as well.

Look, I am not one to justify anything that Stalin did - my family in Poland during WW II directly suffered greatly under the decisions he made. Overall, Stalin killed many more people that Hitler or any other dictator, he was truly a tyrant. Despite all of this, I did enjoy this book. It is after all fiction, and should be accepted as the well-written, interesting, fictional story that it is.

[Vera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book! I won a copy from the BookExpo PW Galley Grab, and I didn't have any particular expectations for the book prior to reading it. I'm still not totally sure what to make of it. There were some aspects I enjoyed, such as the narrative voice of the main narrator, Leon. I found him endearing and I was curious to learn more about him. I enjoyed reading about his adventures and his meetings with Koba. I was a bit confused as to why a few chapters were narrated from the perspective of Leon's friend Isabeau, since I didn't feel like it contributed much to the story to switch perspectives. Her voice and character needed to be more fleshed out in order for the perspective shifting to work. I'm also not totally sure what the point of the book was. It was a cute story in some ways, and gave some insights into the time period in Stalinist Russia, but I'm not sure it was particularly meaningful. I think if it had been longer and fleshed out more, it would have been more successful. Not a bad book, overall, but there was nothing that particularly stood out about it either.

[Eileen Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a secret room Leon watches his mother get arrested. His father was a recognized scientist who died of radiation poisoning. Leon has a small group of friends who have also lost parents and are illegally squatting in their apartments. On one of his ventures outdoors, he discovers in the underground tunnels of Moscow a door of an airplane hangar that houses an apartment upstairs. It is here he meets Comrade Koba, an advisor to Stalin, the Communist dictator, and begins an odd friendship between a grumpy, experienced old man and an intelligent, precocious ten year old. Leon “ interviews” Koba for a potential future news article if, as he says, he’s allowed to grow up. His friends listen intently to his descriptions of the visits, although one is skeptical. Leon is an endearing protagonist and Koba at times seems not so cruel and odious, merely practical. I am an admirer of Robert Littell‘s work; I find this unique perspective particularly enjoyable. As Leon listens and observes, the reader learns about Communist Russia and the leaders, motives and actions that guided the country through the revolution and its aftermath during the first half of the twentieth century.

[Joann Im · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating premise about an unusual friendship between a naive boy and the old man whom is an advisor to the dictator Stalin in the backdrop of Russia's post- World War II. This book is written in series of conversations between the old man comrade Koba and the "kid" Leon. In their various conversations, they delved into philosophical topics as well as about the Communist Russia and their motivational force leading to the revolution. This story was pleasantly unexpected with unique perspectives. There were moments in the book that made me wonder if the old man was a figment of Leon's imagination. This possibility is feasible through Robert Littell's imaginative and compelling writing. Through memorable characters with the ill-tempered and enigmatic old man and the charming and irresistable "kid" Leon, it engraved an unforgettably delightful and quirky story that touched my heart.

Thank you to Net Galley and Abrams/The Overlook Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Across the Moscow River from the Kremlin lies the House on the Embankment. Built from 1928 to 1931, as Joseph Stalin was cementing his power at the helm of the Soviet Union, the building housed the nation’s elite. Top Party aparatchiks. Leading scientists. Artists. Writers. Journalists. Sports stars. Generals. Spies. Thus, during the purges of the 1930s, which eviscerated the Communist elite, the building witnessed the highest per capita arrests and executions of any residential building in Moscow. And it’s there that the acclaimed espionage novelist Robert Littell sets his inventive twentieth novel, Comrade Koba. It’s a biography of Joseph Stalin, a journey through Soviet history through the twisted mind of the dictator himself.

The historical setting

In the early 1950s, Joseph Stalin was dying. He had ruled the Soviet Union unchallenged for a quarter-century, his paranoia unchecked by the toadies who surrounded him. Nobody loved Stalin. They feared the man, mindful that he had executed hundreds of those closest to him in the Communist hierarchy and even forced his own wife to commit suicide. And despite his encroaching death and the desperate need for able medical treatment, he launched a purge of the predominantly Jewish medical establishment. Stalin, or his henchman Beria, concocted a conspiracy theory called the “Doctors’ Plot” and proceeded to have dozens of physicians arbitrarily arrested and tortured until they confessed to planning the murders of senior Party officials.

A biography of Joseph Stalin as told to a child

Against this backdrop Leon Rozenfeld enters the scene. He is “ten and a half.” Leon is the son of a nuclear physicist who had lost his life from radiation poisoning when working on the first Soviet atomic bomb. His mother, a physician, had been arrested by the NKVD in the roundup attributed to the Doctors’ Plot. The family was Jewish, though unobservant. Roaming free through the House on the Embankment, Leon joins other children whose parents had fallen victim to Stalin’s paranoia. And they manage to evade the notice of adults by slinking through the building’s many secret rooms and passageways known only to them.

The secrets of the House on the Embankment

Leon is a prodigy. From his father, “I learned about relativity, electromagnetism, gravitation, quantum mechanics, particle physics, non-Euclidean geometry, the way babies learn Russian. . . My dad once told me, at the rate I was going, I could apply to Moscow State University when I reached thirteen. Hey, if I somehow reach thirteen I’d love to go to university. Most of the girls there probably have breasts.” Yes, Leon is otherwise a normal boy and adventurous to boot. Hunting through the building’s many basement levels and secret tunnels, he finds his way underground across the river to the Kremlin—and up a secret stairway into Joseph Stalin’s apartment. Except that Leon hasn’t a clue where he is.

A meeting with an “assistant tsar”

When Leon then blunders into the dictator’s office in 1953, all he sees is an old man, scarred by smallpox, with a withered arm, unwashed gray hair, the coloring of a corpse, and “cloves of garlic on a string around his neck.” Since the old man bears no resemblance to “esteemed Comrade Stalin,” the boy accepts his claim that he is Koba, a revolutionary colleague of Stalin’s. (The name was, in fact, one of Stalin’s many noms de guerre in the Revolution.) He describes himself as “sort of an assistant tsar who helps run the country.” The boy sees no reason not to believe this. He is delighted when the old man orders his unusually attentive “housekeeper” to bring him “two heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream smothered in chocolate sauce.”

Soviet history as told by Joseph Stalin

In a series of several visits to the old man, Leon learns the story of the dictator’s life and records it verbatim in his journal. It’s a picture of the Communist Revolution through the eyes of the man who guided its fortunes for nearly three decades—an authorized biography of Joseph Stalin, if you will. And somehow Littell pulls it off. It’s all there. Stalin’s miserable childhood in Georgia and his time at the seminary in Tiflis. The fraught relationship with Lenin and especially Lenin’s wife, Krupskaya. The underhanded effort to build a personal power base in the Party while other leading Bolsheviks fought the Whites in the Russian Civil War. The collectivization of agriculture and the ensuing mass famine and murder of the kulaks. The purges of the 1930s. The war with Germany.

As “Koba” tells the boy, “Written history tells us more about the historian than history. It tells us what the historian has decided to remember. The Party can help him decide what to remember.” And isn’t that always the case?

Blame it all on “historical inevitability”

The old man explains away all the millions who died at his hands, insisting to Leon that “any idiot can see that Stalinism was the ultimate manifestation of Communism.” In other words, it was merely historical inevitability at work once again. “A few hundred thousand kulaks croaking, a few million Ukrainian peasants dying of famine wasn’t pretty, I grant you, but it was the price we Bolsheviks had to pay for crash industrialization. The peasants, who know a thing or two about graveyards, say the death of one individual is a heartbreak, the death of one million is a statistic.” This is a biography of Joseph Stalin as the man himself would have wished.

About the author

Comrade Koba was published in November 2020 as Robert Littell (1935-) approached his eighty-sixth birthday. The first of his twenty novels saw the light in 1973. He is best known for The Company (2002), a novel about the CIA that spans the period 1950 to 1995. Littell was an officer in the US Navy for four years and later took up journalism, serving as a foreign correspondent for Newsweek. He is of Russian Jewish origin

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Leon is a precocious ten year old boy existing within the confines of 1950’s communist USSR. Through happenstance he gains the friendship of an elderly, and seemingly important, Politburo member. His visits with the old man, Comrade Koba, ensure Leon will satisfy both his intellectual curiosity as well as a fetish for vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce while the old man regales the boy with his memories of the revolution and the Great War.
At times Koba’s reminiscences of USSR political history can be hard to wade through but when the narrative focuses on fearless Leon, his friends, or his engaging relationship with cantankerous Koba, this is an engaging and enjoyable read.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy. It has been an interesting experience.

This book. is somewhat of an enigma to me. We read about the death of his father and later the arrest of his mother. It seemed she knew that Leon would be left on his own when we learned Leon knew what and where to sell. the art from the apartment. I found it difficult to believe that children would have been successful in living on their own after their parents disappeared.

Even more unbelievable was the discovery of the flat of the older gentlemen who was involved with the government of Stalin and his access to it at will. Am I the only reader who wondered about the first names of the older man and the younger boy? Joseph and Leon. It seemed almost too much.

[Diogenes · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short novel that would have been better classified as a short story. Stalin's "autobiography" as told by a 10 year-old precocious child interviewing him is fun at first, but soon loses its novelty and turns monotonous. The history is sound, but the medium becomes less plausible.

[Yves Panis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas terrible. Vraiment pas un bon Littell. A oublier je pense

[John]

Comrade Koba is an unusual book. It describes a series of conversations with a precocious young orphaned boy with the WWII Soviet dictator, Stalin. The boy does not know he is conversing with Stalin, but thinks he is someone very close to Stalin who helps him run the country. The point of view is the boy with a few chapters sprinkled in from the point of view of a close friend of the boy.

This is a very innovative book structure, but was a little difficult for me to accept. I found the boy a little too precocious for his own good. Nevertheless, I found myself drawn into the book and did enjoy it a great deal. If you are interested in the history of the Stalin era, you will most likely enjoy this book. For me, it was an interesting follow-up to a reading of the outstanding A Gentleman in Moscow. It evokes that same era and atmosphere. The author is quite skilled at drawing a believable portrait of the earthy Stalin, the man from peasant stock who never quite gets the magnitude of the evil he unleashed and has no comprehension of the monster that he is. The "kid" as he is known in the book is a likeable character, and the artifice that he does not know that he is speaking to the actual Stalin is entertaining and provides a great deal of suspense for the reader wondering just what happens to "the kid" and his circle of family and friends.

The book seemed quite short to me, perhaps a tribute to the tight writing and storytelling of the author. The book moves quickly and draws the reader into the story in a clever way.

I have not read any of Robert Littell's previous work. Comrade Koba shows that he knows his way around the Soviet Union, and I will try to read some of the author's previous work.

Thank you to Overlook Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of Comrade Koba in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading it.