Owen Matthews (1)Recensioni

This is a well-written book about Richard Sorge, a Soviet spy who Ian Fleming says was "the most formidable spy in history." Nevertheless I, and most people, have never heard of him.

Anyone who is interested in non-fiction espionage would want to read this book. (I never really understand why people read espionage fiction when they can just as well find great books that are just, if not more exciting because they present the real thing.) For this reader, Sorge was not a particularly likeable character. And yet I found myself rooting for him and very pained at what happened to him. He was a womanizer and yet he inspired great loyalty in at least two of his women: his Russian wife and his Japanese mistress. He was much loved. And he was greatly liked by men. He was charming. He was brilliant. He created a spy network that infiltrated the highest ranks of Japanese and German government.

As Ben Macintyre says, "A superb biography ... Detailed, wry, sympathetic and oddly moving." And that's what surprised me. It really was oddly moving.

The inside story of Putins's war against Ukraine

I enjoyed the historical fiction material, but not the crime drama. The information about the nuclear weapons and thoughts about it were interesting, though nothing new. The police procedural was painful. It didn't seem like the KGB investigator had any skill. He just made appointments with suspects, asked a few questions, and seemed to expect the answer to appear. I had a "what was the point?" feeling too many times.
113 members; 3.3 average rating; 11/14/2023

This is a brilliant book. Owen Matthews, a veteran journalist covering Russia, tells the story of the run-up to Putin's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and the months that followed. The book was completed at the end of September, which means the author managed to reach the point in the war where it first began to seem that Ukraine might actually win. Writing a work of history while the events are taking place is an almost impossible task, but Matthews does it with aplomb in this very readable book. Highly recommended.

ספר מתח שמתרחש בקירייה הגרעינית הסודית ברוסיה לאחר מותו של סטלין ועוסקת בפיתוח פצצת המימן הגדולה ביותר ובקצין קהגהבה שחוקר מקרה רצח בעיירה. האקונומיסט אהב, אני פחות. הרקע מעניין וחלקו בנוי על ההיסטוריה אבל סיפור המתח די עלוב, הדיאלוגים לא אמינים, ויש המון ניפוח של סיפור המתח עם סיפורי רקע על רוסיה. האמת שספר נונפיקשן על התקופה והמקום היו יכולים להיות הרבה יותר מעניינים½

Owen Matthews knows the Soviet Union. First of all, he was born in Leningrad. He went on to become a journalist there, serving as Newsweek’s Moscow correspondent for years. He wrote an excellent biography of the Soviet super-spy Richard Sorge. For all those reasons, I expected a better book.

Black Sun is a thriller that belongs to a particular sub-type of the genre: the honest cop investigating the murder of one individual in a totalitarian state where mass murder is the norm. An early example of this is the series that began with Gorky Park. There are other series, by different authors, set in Nazi Germany. I think this story has already been done to death and can only work if the writer is an extraordinarily gifted story-teller, or if there’s an incredible story to tell. Unfortunately, neither is the case here.

I see that the book was a commercial success and further volumes are planned, but I cannot imagine why.

A good combination of spy story, political thriller, and suspenseful submarine/war thriller. Set within the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, it's got several complex characters, mostly Russians. The whole Soviet system comes across as paranoid and inhumane: is it the Russian way or just the Soviet system? The book is a fictional narrative based on actual events and people, thus making it educational narrative too. There's a list of references at the end of the book for those who want to pursue further reading and study of the missile crisis and the role of the four Russian submarines.

Richard Sorge fue un hombre con dos patrias. Hijo de padre alemán y de madre rusa nacido en Bakú en 1895, se movió en un mundo de alianzas inestables e infinitas posibilidades. Sorge pertenecía a aquella generación indignada y decepcionada que encontró nuevas y radicales ideas tras su experiencia en los campos de batalla de la primera guerra mundial; se convirtió en un fanático del comunismo y en el mejor espía de la Unión Soviética.

Como muchos buenos espías, Sorge fue un seductor incansable, combinando su encanto con un despiadado poder de manipulación. Gracias a su magnetismo consiguió sobrevivir en todos los ambientes, conquistar a todas las mujeres y trabar amistad con todas las grandes personalidades con las que se cruzó. Como corresponsal extranjero se internó y tuvo influencia en las más altas esferas de las sociedades alemana, china y japonesa en los años previos y durante la segunda guerra mundial. Su historia personal resulta fascinante por la cantidad de escenarios donde sucede (desde la Rusia revolucionaria hasta el Japón imperial, pasando por las trincheras alemanas de la primera guerra mundial al ascenso nazi o los Estados Unidos prebélicos y la China sacudida por la guerra civil). Se convirtió en un valor incalculable para nazis, japoneses y rusos, y desde la otra punta del mundo será él quien advierta de la Operación Barbarroja y las intenciones japonesas de no invadir Siberia en 1941, que resultó fundamental para la contraofensiva soviética en la Batalla de Moscú, y que a su vez determinó el resultado de la guerra.

1961 and the USSR is about to test the biggest nuclear bomb ever made. At the laboratory in Arcadem one of the chief scientists is found dead,his influential father does not agree with this so a KGB agent, Alexander Vasin is sent North to investigate. Vasin finds himself thwarted at every turn by the local bureau who feathery are undermined and by the scientists who have much to bide. In solving the case Vasin must decide whether truth is more important than the national good.
The story here is fascinating, based on some real life events, and winding a solid crime story.around then. Matthews is confident in his writing about Cold War Russia and his knowledge of the everyday life in the darkest.Soviet times is excellent. The plot is a little.too confused at times and some of the characters are less than believable but this is strong book.

Témoignage / enquête touchant sur la séparation et les retrouvailles; de deux êtres qui s'aiment et de deux mondes qui s'aiment peut être...

[Black Sun] - copy via Netgalley

Hardback out now - Paperback edition is out next week in the UK.

Despite the trippy opening pages (from the murder victim's perspective as he suffers a truly awful end from radiation poisoning) this is a gripping thriller set in a 'secret' city where the USSR under Khrushchev is developing the bomb to end all bombs. An elite young man, son of a high ranking scientist, is killed and KGB agent Vasin is sent to investigate. He finds an odd society where the shops are full and people free to read and discuss what they like: so long as the bomb is a success. The book is full of details about Russian life, alongside Vasin!s struggles with the ethics of his job. Despite being in an elite position, many of the scientists have been through denunciation, Gulag and (of course) the war. The book highlights the new guard of the "Secret Speech" era facing off those who only know strategies of power, denunciation and blackmail. This is the first book in a planned trilogy, so more intrigue to come.

One to pick up if you are a fan of Martin Cruz Smith, John Le Carre or Helen Dunmore's KGB books

Normally I'm not much of a mystery reader, but set one in the middle of the Soviet nuclear program, I'm interested!

The mystery seemed pretty standard, as far as murder mysteries go. Only the situations and materials involved are a bit more interesting due to the setting. I was engaged for most of the novel, but I felt the parts of the narrative were a bit dull (the flashbacks and seemingly endless walking around and noticing things). The setting seemed pretty authentic to Soviet life in the 60's. I don't know if I was supposed to like the main character very much. It is a bit hard to empathize with a KGB agent.

I really did like the ending, where KGB agent Vasin is being debriefed by his boss. Spot on.

Un étrange roman/témoignage/intrigue policière... Inclassable, comme l'est cette aventure.

An entirely serviceable, if workmanlike, account of Nikolai Rezanov's life and adventures in Russian America. The narrative gets a bit plodding at a few points, but generally moves along quite nicely and is filled with interesting historical tidbits about Russian settlements in North America, and about Rezanov's disastrous embassy to Japan. A useful example of "what might have been," had Rezanov been more successful with his schemes.½

Owen Matthews Eltern mussten lange kämpfen um zusammenzukommen: Seine Mutter ist Russin, sein Vater Engländer - eine Beziehung, die im kalten Krieg unmöglich erschien.
Der 1971 geborene Autor erzählt seine Familiengeschichte akribisch, recherchierte genau und über viele Jahre. Er beginnt mit den Großeltern. Sein Großvater Boris Bibikow war ein linientreuer Kommunist, der aber dem Stalinismus zum Opfer fällt. Die beiden Kinder kommen in Waisenhäuser und finden sich erst durch einen unglaublichen Zufall wieder. Die Mutter des Autors ist trotz aller Schwierigkeiten eine frohe, lebenbejahende Person geblieben.
Mir hat das Buch gefallen. Der Autor streut immer wieder Ausblicke und Rückblicke ein, erzählt auch seine eigene Geschichte. Ich fand es sehr interessant.½

This is one of the most entertaining histories I have ever read. Glorious Misadventures is the perfect title because Nikolai Rezanov was so far ahead of his time in terms of his vision of what could be done with the "new world" and yet kept skittering off the mark. A perfect example of brilliant ideas coupled with arrogance, egomania, and short-sightedness making a perfect recipe for failure. That Russia twice sold land that provided the two biggest gold rushes of the 19th century pretty much says it all. I enjoyed this right to the last page of the epilogue.

In Stalin's Children, British journalist Owen Matthews traces his family's deep involvement twentieth-century Russia back several generations. His maternal grandfather was a rising star in pre-Stalin Soviet Russia, and imprisonment and subsequent execution by the KGB. Matthews's mother struggled to survive after her mother was also imprisoned, but eventually met a nice Welsh man and decided to get married...only to wait eight years as Matthews's father was barred repeatedly from entering Russia.

Matthews ties in his own experience as a young man in post-Cold War Russia. The book doesn't have a really tight structure, but it works wonderfully. It's captivating, and is a love letter of sorts to the author's parents, and the country and people who are inextricably linked to his family's history.

Owen Matthews is een Britse journalist van gemengd Brits en Russische afkomst. In de jaren '90 van de 20e eeuw komt hij -als journalist - terecht in Moskou. Het zijn de jaren van Jeltsin, het wilde kapitalisme, snel om zich heen woekerende criminaliteit en een heftige party-scene. Matthews laat zich meezuigen door dit snelle en wilde leven, tot hij een vriendin krijgt, vader wordt en hij zich gaat verdiepen in zijn eigen herkomst.

Die herkomst is - naar mijn mening - een stuk interessanter dan zijn eigen leven, en dan vooral de herkomst van zijn moeder,Ljoedmila, dochter van een communistisch partijlid, dat in de jaren '30 slachtoffer werd van de zuiveringen van Stalin. Ook Owens oma werd opgepakt. Zij bracht jaren door in een gevangenenkamp in Kazachstan en zag haar twee dochters pas jaren later weer. De dochters kwamen in een kindertehuis terecht. De titel van het boek verwijst naar alle kinderen die door de terreur van Stalin hun ouders kwijtraakten en werden opgevoed door de staat. Het waren geen gemakkelijke jaren, ook al was de leiding van het kindertehuis zorgzaam. De Tweede Wereldoorlog brak uit, de kinderen vluchtten, raakten elkaar kwijt, werden her en der opgevangen en Owens (latere) moeder werd ernstig ziek, maar overleefde. Dit is veruit het meest interessante deel van het boek, en ik vond het erg jammer dat er zoveel hiaten zaten in dit verhaal. Owen Matthews baseert zich op de verhalen van zijn tante en moeder, maar heeft dit nauwelijks aangevuld met eigen onderzoek. Dit zou handig geweest zijn aangezien de beide dames
zich niet altijd evenveel herinneren van die moeilijke tijden.

Het tweede deel van het familieverhaal betreft de liefde tussen Owens vader, Mervyn, en Ljoedmila. In de jaren '60 werkte Mervyn op de Britse ambassade in Moskou en ontmoette daar Ljoedmila. Het was een verboden liefde, niet toegestaan door de Sovjet Staat en niet gesteund door de Britten. Mervyn werd de toegang tot het land ontzegd, maar via een intense correspondentie hielden de geliefden contact met elkaar. Na jaren lukte het Mervyn om Ljoedmila naar Engeland te krijgen. Voor dit deel van het verhaal baseert Mervyn zich bijna geheel op de correspondentie tussen zijn ouders. Aangezien hij veel bronnenmateriaal heeft gaat hij in dit deel van het boek nogal uitvoerig, naar mijn mening veel te uitvoerig, in op deze liefdesgeschiedenis, op alle acties die Mervyn ondernam om Ljoedmila naar Engeland te krijgen. Ik vond het boek daardoor uit balans. Het interessantste deel werd het minst gedetailleerd beschreven, terwijl de liefdesgeschiedenis weer zo tot in detail is uitgewerkt dat ik er bijna bij in slaap viel! Misschien dat een goede historicus het nog eens over kan doen?½

I found the historical aspects of the book to be fascinating, but it is not the fastest paced book I have ever read. Interesting, but took awhile to plow through.

Her kan du lese min bokomtale:

http://no.librarything.com/work/5722151/details/73425517½

Journalisten Owen Matthews har i denne boka skrevet historien om sine besteforeldre, foreldre og sitt eget liv, samtidig som han forteller historien om 1900-tallets Russland og senere Sovjet-unionen, hvor epoken med den kalde krigen er viet størst oppmerksomhet.

Forfatterens besteforeldre Bibikov og Marta vokser opp i Ukraina på begynnelsen av 1900-tallet. Marta er en svært avstumpet kvinne rent følelsesmessig, og samtidig som dette avspeiler seg groteskt i hennes oppdragelse av de to barna hun etter hvert får - Lenina og Ljudmila - er det også svært forståelig ut fra det hun selv har opplevd.

Mens barna er små, blir Bibikov arrestert, anklaget for kontrarevolusjonær virksomhet. Når man først ble fanget opp av Stalins terrorregime, var det ingen vei ut av dette. Om du ikke tilsto selv, var det alltid noen andre som tilsto dine påståtte forbrytelser for å slippe unna selv. Marta blir også internert etter hvert og sendt til GULag, og i forbindelse med et nervøst sammenbrudd tilstår hun hva det skulle være, også sin manns påståtte forbrytelser.

Ljudmila og Lenina vokser opp på barnehjem, og i mellomtiden har hungersnøden bredt om seg i landet. Mens kommunismen tvangsinnføres, og folket tvinges til å ta avstand fra alt de har trodd på gjennom generasjoner, handler det egentlig bare om å overleve. De som ikke "skjønner" at de skal slutte å tenke selv, fordi dette gjør nå staten for dem, havner i GULagene. Som ved et mirakel overlever barna denne grusomme perioden av Sovjets historie. Enkelte andre går lenger i kampen om overlevelse, og historier om salg av kjøtt fra parterte barn verserer.

Ljudmila, etter hvert kalt Mila, forelsker seg under den kalde krigen i utlendingen Mervyn. Han befinner seg i Moskva som oversetter på den britiske ambassaden. Rett før de skal gifte seg, blir imidlertid Mervyn sendt ut av landet av KGB. Deretter starter en kamp fra Mervyns side for å få Mila ut av landet, slik at de kan leve sammen som mann og kone. For å klare presset i denne prosessen, skriver Mila og Mervyn hundrevis av brev til hverandre. Og til slutt - mange år etter - får de omsider sitt store ønske oppfylt. Bare for å erfare at det å starte opp et normalt familieliv er vanskeligere enn de hadde tenkt ... Deres kjærlighet ble i årenes løp nærmest et fantasifoster, på mange måter kunstig opprettholdt pga. adskillelsen og problemene KGB skapte for dem ...

Forfatteren selv, Mila og Mervyns sønn, har personlig opplevd 1990 årenes Sovjet, da det atter ble kastet vrak på gamle verdier, og det rene verdi-anarkiet oppsto. Ville fester, dop og alkohol overtok der kommunismen og de bærende elementer i denne ideologien sprakk for alvor. Fra Jeltsin fremsto som landets håp, til han til slutt kun var en patetisk drukkenbolt, ute av stand til å føre Sovjet gjennom de reformer som måtte til for å få landets økonomi på fote igjen ...

Historien Owen Matthews her forteller, er i tillegg til å være meget interessant også grufull. Det har vært mulig for ham å rekonstruere så vidt mye av historien takket være tilgang til gamle Sovjet-arkiver, brevvekslingen mellom faren og moren og intervjuer. Kommunismen levnes liten eller ingen ære, og det legges ingenting i mellom når vanskelighetene Sovjet står overfor beskrives. For meg som svært godt kan huske den kalde krigen, kommunismens fall, Gorbatsjov og Jeltsin, ble det ekstra interessant å lese denne boka. Boka er for øvrig velskrevet og spennende bygget opp. Anders Ribu fungerte som vanlig svært godt som oppleser. Jeg synes imidlertid det var en fordel å kunne bla i papirutgaven av boka underveis, fordi denne inneholder bilder av personene som omtales. Jeg synes boka fortjener terningkast fem.½

Stalin's Children is a memoir that follows the author's family from his maternal grandparents caught up in Stalin's purges, to his English father's efforts to reunite with his mother during the height of the Cold War, to his own experiences living in Moscow as a journalist during the fall of the Soviets and the subsequent Chechen war. Through their stories, mainly the lives of his mother and father, their courtship and bureaucratic struggles to be together, Matthews shows how the global politics of WWII and the Cold War effected the personal lives of common people living in Russia.

I found the story of his parents to be compelling and heart-wrenching, even though I knew generally how it would end (the author was born, after all), and the story of his grandparents and early life his mother and aunt under Stalin to be equally interesting, but the interjections of the author's own life and experiences in Moscow were too disjointed and random to be interesting. I believe the intention was to draw parallels between his experiences in Moscow in the 90's with that of his parents, but they lacked the narrative quality of the rest of the arc and I found them to be distracting. However, these stories amount to less than ten percent of the book, so they do not detract too much from the rest of the book.

This is not a book that will teach you about the global politics and high level machinations of the Soviet system through the twentieth century, but if one is already familiar with the geopolitics of the time, it will give you insight into how those politics effected the personal lives of the people living in Moscow during that time. All in all a very compelling read.½

Owen Matthews's book is a history of Russia from the 1930s on, as shown through three generations of his family. The title, I think, is somewhat misleading. His grandfather, a loyal-Party worker was swept up in Stalin's purges, never to be seen again. His story and that of his wife and two daughters was fascinating reading. But when the story moved forward to daughter Mila's romance with Mervyn Matthews (Owen's parents), I found their story of fighting bureaucracy in the 1960s much less interesting. The third generation, represented by Owen Matthews, himself, in Russia in the 1990s, struck me as even less interesting. I've decided to read further about Stalin and Russia's role in World War II, topics that, based on this book, I think will be of much more interest to me. "Stalin's Children" has a good selection of photos of many of the people involved.½

"Stalin's Children" is an incredible account encompassing three generations. I didn't really know too much about the time or place, but I was utterly fascinated. Owen Matthews is a wonderful storyteller.

Not knowing a lot about Russian history, I found this book to be very interesting, but it took a long time to get through as I tried to comprehend the political and cultural aspects of it. It's great to see the insights and experiences of 3 generations,..it helps to understand how people survived and coped with all of the things happening to and around them that were not within their power to control.