The Wizard of the Kremlin by Amazonundefined

Price last update: 09/03/2024

Description

THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION - a stunning work of political fiction about the rise to power of Putin's notorious spin doctor 'A great book, casting light on the creatures that crawl and slither behind the Kremlin's walls, on the mineral hardness of Putin, on the chaos engine that is his way of hurting us' John Sweeney 'An acute and timely dissection of Russian power, told through the eyes of a shadowy political advisor to Putin' Financial Times 'A fictional wandering through the dark corridors of the Kremlin' The Times, Biggest Books of the Season __________ They call him the Wizard of the Kremlin. Working at the heart of Russian power, the enigmatic Vadim Baranov-Putin's chief spin doctor-has used his background in experimental theatre and reality TV to turn the entire country into an avant-garde political stage. Here truth and lies, news and propaganda, have become indistinguishable. But Vadim is growing increasingly entangled in the dark secret workings of the regime he has helped build, and now he is desperate to get out... Propelling the reader from the fall of the Soviet Union to the invasion of Ukraine, this breathless story of politics and power has become an international sensation.
Recenzja
A great book, casting light on the creatures that crawl and slither behind the Kremlin's walls, on the mineral hardness of Putin, on the chaos engine that is his way of hurting us. Read this book and you will understand the Russian mind-fuck. Read it
John Sweeney
A captivating novel that sails close, perhaps too close, to reality
Financial Times, Books of the Year
His novel has become a guide - devoured by many western politicians - to the mindset of the Kremlin -- Simon Kuper, Lunch with the FT
Financial Times
"You need to be credible, to get into a character's head and present their point of view... But it has to be entertaining, and it has to be convincing." His book succeeds on both measures -- Peter Conradi
Sunday Times
A novel exploring the inner workings of [Putin's] government that has captivated France...has become a popular guide for understanding [his] motives
New York Times
A highbrow entertainment cast squarely in the Umberto Eco mould, The Wizard of the Kremlin is a political thriller propelled more by ideas than action... A propulsive novel ... [whose] central contention - that the fates of nations hang on stories spun by "reality show personalities" - remains uncomfortably relevant -- Victoria Nelson
TLS
I doubt I have anywhere seen a cleverer portrayal of the Russian view of power, politics and the world, or a better explanation of how the colourless, secret police bureaucrat Putin swelled into the monstrous, fascinating thing he has become... Take this magical mystery tour of the Kremlin and see if it does not make you think. And what pleasure is greater than that? -- Peter Hitchens
Daily Mail
A highly economical, well documented pageturner, describing twenty years in the corridors of Russian power, with a simple, seductive style and unmatched realism -- Frédéric Beigbeder
Le Figaro
An acute and timely dissection of Russian power, told through the eyes of a shadowy political adviser to Putin
Financial Times
A chilling perspective on Putin's Russia... I am a dyed-in-the-wool Russophile, so this novel is right in my sweet spot. It called to mind Emmanuel Carrère's Limonov, the nonfiction of Peter Pomerantsev, the political thrillers of Robert Harris, the documentary films of Adam Curtis, and the cold-hearted logic of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Grand Inquisitor. I loved Baranov's company, his pitch-black cynicism, his self-awareness and his sharp political analysis -- Marcel Theroux
Guardian
The Wizard of the Kremlin takes us inside the mind of Putin's spin-master [and] has enjoyed phenomenal success... A fast, easy read, smartly translated by Willard Wood, which efficiently dramatises great sweeps of Russia's recent political history -- David Sexton
New Statesman
A journey into the dark heart of power
El País
You cannot put this book down... Fascinating and suffocating. A clinical analysis of the art of authoritarian rule
France Inter
An absolutely extraordinary novel... You feel you're sitting on a sofa next to Putin, that you are inside his head -- Patricia Martin
Le Masque et la Plume
Of course this novel sheds a revealing light on current geopolitical events. But it will outlive them thanks to its unwavering lucidity and sparkling style
Le Monde des Livres
A staggering account of the mental makeup and aggressive logic of Vladimir Putin... A story of great literary and historical force that you must read if you want to understand what, from here, seems incomprehensible
Libération
This chilling and propulsive political thriller... has caused a sensation across Europe and rightly so - it is both a great novel and a savage commentary on modern Russia
Daunt Books
A must-read for anyone wondering what Russian President Vladimir Putin is up to and what the Russian people have had to go through during his tenure...this powerful book...is a page turner
Foreign Policy
This is an intellectual rather than an action thriller, with the focus on machinations and mindset instead of straightforward menace
The Times, Best Thriller Books of the Month
Brilliantly tells the story of one of Putin's closest advisors... Unputdownable
Lire magazine littéraire
Empoli is a skilled storyteller and with such rich material to hand it is unsurprising that [The Wizard of the Kremlin] is compelling and convincing, fully deserving of its bestseller status...Its literary achievement elevates the novel above a reductive political analysis of the workings of the Kremlin, bringing it at times closer to Dostoevsky than an academic article or an op-ed
New Statesman
A factually-based and brilliantly narrated pageturner
Die Zeit
Propelled by its searing topicality, this modern, visionary book nevertheless has the timeless elegance of a classic
Les Echos
Smart, sharp, and timelier than ever[Da Empoli's book has been described] as a guide to Putin's mind. Such readings of The Wizard of the Kremlin are not wrong. The novel is more than this, however. It is also about how power and privilege can be a trap, and why politics cannot be suppressed by power, no matter how much tame intellectuals like Baranov try to justify their obedience to power and complicity with it
Irish Independent
Every good work of fiction is more interesting and more sophisticated than the phenomenon it describes. Exactly the case here. This novel makes the jug of spiders (that's what Kremlin really is) and the spiders within much more interesting and sophisticated than they are. A very good novel. -- Boris AkuninIt's easy to understand why it became a literary sensation: a slim, pacy book dealing with weighty, complex real world affairs, it will appeal to anyone seeking insights into Russia since the turn of the millennium
Irish Independent
A portrait of Putin the Terrible... The Wizard of the Kremlin is one of those novels that make reality starker... Giuliano da Empoli has given the venality of power the most inscrutable but recognisable face in fiction
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O autorze
Giuliano da Empoli is an Italian and Swiss writer and political scientist living in France. He was once a senior advisor to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Wizard of the Kremlin is his debut novel. It has sold more than half a million copies in France, where it also won the Grand Prix du Roman and was a finalist for the Goncourt Prize. It has since gone on to become an international bestseller, being translated into thirty languages across the world.