The Big Green Tent: A Novel
Nov 2015 · Macmillan + ORM
5.0star
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593
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About this ebook
“The Big Green Tent, for all its grand ambition, manages an intimacy that can leave a reader reeling . . . a masterpiece.” ―Colin Dwyer, NPR
With epic breadth and intimate detail, Ludmila Ulitskaya’s remarkable novel tells the story of three school friends who meet in Moscow in the 1950s and go on to embody the heroism, folly, compromise, and hope of the Soviet dissident experience. These three boys—an orphaned poet; a gifted pianist; and a budding photographer with a talent for collecting secrets—struggle to reach adulthood in a society where their heroes have been censored and exiled.
Rich with love stories, intrigue, and a cast of dissenters and spies, The Big Green Tent offers a panoramic survey of life after Stalin and a dramatic investigation into the prospects for individual integrity in a society defined by the KGB. Each of the central characters seeks to transcend an oppressive regime through art, literature, and activism. And each of them ends up face-to-face with a secret police that is highly skilled at fomenting paranoia, division, and self-betrayal.
Ludmila Ulitskaya’s novel is a revelation of life in dark times.
“As grand, solid and impressively all-encompassing as the title implies . . . Ulitskaya's readers will find it hard not to imagine themselves in her characters' place, to ponder what choices we'd make in similar situations.” ―Lara Vapnyar, The New York Times Book Review
“A gripping tale.” ―Leonid Bershidsky, The Atlantic
“Compelling, addictive reading.” ―Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
“[Ulitskaya] writes page-turners that just happen to be monumentally important.” ―Boris Kachka, New York magazine
“Worthy of shelving alongside Doctor Zhivago: memorable and moving.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
With epic breadth and intimate detail, Ludmila Ulitskaya’s remarkable novel tells the story of three school friends who meet in Moscow in the 1950s and go on to embody the heroism, folly, compromise, and hope of the Soviet dissident experience. These three boys—an orphaned poet; a gifted pianist; and a budding photographer with a talent for collecting secrets—struggle to reach adulthood in a society where their heroes have been censored and exiled.
Rich with love stories, intrigue, and a cast of dissenters and spies, The Big Green Tent offers a panoramic survey of life after Stalin and a dramatic investigation into the prospects for individual integrity in a society defined by the KGB. Each of the central characters seeks to transcend an oppressive regime through art, literature, and activism. And each of them ends up face-to-face with a secret police that is highly skilled at fomenting paranoia, division, and self-betrayal.
Ludmila Ulitskaya’s novel is a revelation of life in dark times.
“As grand, solid and impressively all-encompassing as the title implies . . . Ulitskaya's readers will find it hard not to imagine themselves in her characters' place, to ponder what choices we'd make in similar situations.” ―Lara Vapnyar, The New York Times Book Review
“A gripping tale.” ―Leonid Bershidsky, The Atlantic
“Compelling, addictive reading.” ―Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
“[Ulitskaya] writes page-turners that just happen to be monumentally important.” ―Boris Kachka, New York magazine
“Worthy of shelving alongside Doctor Zhivago: memorable and moving.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Ratings and reviews
5.0
1 review
About the author
Ludmila Ulitskaya is one of Russia’s most popular and renowned literary figures. A former scientist and the director of Moscow’s Hebrew Repertory Theater, she is the author of fourteen works of fiction, three tales for children, and six plays that have been staged by a number of theaters in Russia and Germany. She has won Russia’s Man Booker Prize and was on the judges’ list for the Man Booker International Prize.
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