The Stalin Epigram: A Novel Audiobook

" Novel about the poet Mandelstam. Based on a true incident. Somewhat forgettable. "

" This novel about the life of the Russian poet Osip Mandenstam was both a gripping story and a close look at the consequences of being an honest and courageous artist in Soviet Russia. The story is told from several points of view, including Osip's devoted wife and his cellmate, a weightlifter/circus strongman. The cruelties that the prisoners were subjected to made me think of the US prison at Guantanemo and hope that we are not practicing similar acts there. "

" Suitably depressing. Felt like I've read (too many) similar stories elsewhere. "

" I really enjoyed this historical fiction of how a poet is arrested and sent off to work camps in early soviet Russia for writing a poem denouncing Stalin. "

" Poet Mandelstam suffers through the worst of 30's Stalinism "

" A poet takes on Stalin and loses. Well-crafted. "

" Well written from various perspectives, but I wanted to like it more than I did "

" Historical fiction about the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam and his opposition to Stalin. Told from several points of view from historical and imaginged people. Shows the difficulty of living in such a repressive society. "

" If anyone wants to know what happened when Russians offended Stalin.... "

" Very good historical fiction with a wonderful cast of characters. It is so readable, sometimes funny and often heartbreaking and if you are interested in reading about Stalin's terror this book brings it brilliantly, vividly and painfully to life. "

" Read it in a day. It was beautiful. "

" After recently finishing a non-fiction account of Stalin's court (Court of the Red Tsar) this further personalized the Terror from a so-called criminal's perspective. It also shows the naivete that so many had during this time. "

" Not the usual cold war Spy v. Spy, but an imagined account of true events in USSR in the 30's. Not a gripping plot; some of the stories (the weight lifter) seemed too formulaic, but I think he conveyed some of what it must have been like for various people during that terrible time and place. "

" A bit long but an interesting book. Life in the USSR during the great purge years of the 30s. "

" Harrowing examination of Stalin's Russia in the 30s. Finished it in a day--narrative structure of switching between narrators keeps the pace going and provides other relevant and interesting viewpoints. "

" Hier steht der russische Dichter Ossip Mandelstam im Zentrum und ein Epigramm, das er auf den "roten Zaren" geschrieben hat und das ihm zunächst die Verbannung und schließlich den Tod gebracht hat . Eine gute Lektüre. "

" Beautiful book about the Gulag. Can you believe it? It's beautiful in a Russian kind of tragic, this isn't going to end well sort of way. Stalin's megalomania and paranoia are up against one of Russia's finest poets. "

" A bit long but an interesting book. Life in the USSR during the great purge years of the 30s. "

" Suitably depressing. Felt like I've read (too many) similar stories elsewhere. "

" Not like Littell's other spy novels, this fictionalized account of a poet under Stalin in the 20s and 30s was very well written. I found it hard to read though and struggled at times to finish it, but in the end I'm glad I read it. "

" This book was enjoyable but not all that I had hoped it would be. "

" Poet Mandelstam suffers through the worst of 30's Stalinism "

" Harrowing examination of Stalin's Russia in the 30s. Finished it in a day--narrative structure of switching between narrators keeps the pace going and provides other relevant and interesting viewpoints. "