A review by secretbookcase
Requiem pour l'Est by Andreï Makine

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Another great Makine novel! The story offers a sweeping view of Russia’s 20th-century history through the interwoven lives of three generations of men – the narrator, his father Pavel and his grandfather Nikolai. It mostly tells of the devastating human impact of the two world wars, the proxy wars during the Cold War, and Russia’s waves of political upheavals. This makes for sombre and contemplative reading as the book feels like it is haunted with a thousand ghosts of the past. It is filled with the sadness of the millions of lives which have been sacrificed on the altar of Russia’s (geo)political struggles. But Makine’s rich and lyrical prose is beautiful, especially the way in which he evokes landscapes (though this comes to the forefront more strongly in some of his other books, such as ‘Au temps du fleuve amour’, than in this one) and feelings of drift overlain with a hankering for belonging and attachment.