The <i>War and Peace</i> of the 20th century
- Antony Beevor,
One of the greatest masterpieces of the twentieth century
Times Literary Supplement
It is only a matter of time before Grossman is acknowledged as one of the great writers of the 20th century... <i>Life and Fate</i> is a book that demands to be talked about
Guardian
One of the finest Russian novels of the 20th century
Daily Telegraph
What better time to read Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman's epic novel about the second world war, to put our current troubles into perspective? Grossman's book, which traces the fate of the family of the brilliant physicist Viktor Shtrum at the time of the Battle of Stalingrad, records how humanity endured the monstrous evils of Nazism and Stalinism, surviving like weeds in the cracks of concrete slabs
Financial Times
Life and Fate is an epic tale of twentieth-century Russia told through the fate of a single family, the Shaposhnikovs, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Stalingrad.
As the battle of Stalingrad looms, Grossman's characters must work out their destinies in a world torn by ideological tyranny and war.
Completed in 1960 and then confiscated by the KGB, this sweeping panorama of Soviet Society remained unpublished until it was smuggled into the West in 1980, where it was hailed as a masterpiece.
'One of the finest Russian novels of the 20th century' Daily Telegraph
'Compelling... Grossman's portrait is timelessly relevant... Life and Fate is worth all the audience it can find' The Times