THE BOOK FAIR

Author:      Simon Sebag Montefiore

Published: 2013

Genre:        Historical Fiction

Cover:        Paperback

Pages:         454

 

 

Review :

Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping novel, “One Night in Winter”, epitomizes life in Russia during Stalin's reign of terror, and is based during the latter 1940's, after WW II.  The story centers on a group of wealthy, privileged teens who attend the same school and subsequently form a group called the Fatal Romantics' Club. The teens meet often and read poetry by Pushkin and act out plays.  The club leader refers to the leadership of his club as the Romantic Politburo; a velvet notebook is kept to record the meetings.

 

The parents of the teens are high level government officials.  When a shooting occurs and two of the teens are killed, a police investigation proceeds.  After the police find the incident an accident, the investigation is then turned over to Stalin’s secret police.  Stalin, dissatisfied with the findings and reports, insists the “accident” is part of a larger conspiracy and through threats, forces his inner circle to find the guilty parties.

 

Well written, intricate plot; realistic historical depiction of Stalin’s paranoia, coupled with both the love and fear of Stalin in the society.

 

Note:
British born author, Simon Sebag Montefiore, (born in 1965) is a descendant of Sephardic (Spanish) Jews of diplomats and bankers.  Simon Montefiore’s great uncle, the renowned Moses Montefiore, (1784-1885), a philanthropist, together with the Rothchild family, a German Jewish banking family, invested in projects in the land of Israel.