Short Synopsis
Legendary spy novelist and bestselling author Robert Littell presents a luminous historical novel chronicling the famous Russian poet Osip Mandelstam's defiance of Stalin's regime, his subsequent exile, and his tragic death.

Full Synopsis
The Stalin Epigram is a masterful rendering of the life of Osip Mandelstam, one of Russia's greatest poets of the twentieth century. His heroic protest against the Stalin regime—particularly his outspoken criticism of the collectivization that drove millions of Russian peasants to starvation—finally reached its apex in 1934. When he composed a searing indictment of Stalin in a sixteen-line poem, secretly passed from person to person through recitation, the poet was arrested. It is widely accepted that Stalin himself was directly involved in Mandelstam's exile and his death in a Siberian transit camp in 1938.

A master of historical detail and cultural authenticity, bestselling author Robert Littell based this novel in part on a memorable, intimate meeting with Mandelstam's wife in 1979. Narrated by Mandelstam's wife, his friends Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova, and Mandelstam himself, this lucid account of the relationships between the artists, politicians, and proletariat of Stalinist Russia is an astounding moment in history brought to life by a perceptive, immensely talented writer.

"A masterpiece of historical reconstruction, psychological estimation and literary architecture." ---San Francisco Chronicle

"Firmly in the tradition of Orwell, Kafka and Koestler---and equally harrowing." ---Kirkus

"Littell is unflinching in his portrayal of Osip's tragic arc, bringing a troubled era of Russian history to rich, magnificent life." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"This novel will be treasured long after the derring-do of espionage tales is forgotten." ---Library Journal Starred Review

Publishers Weekly Review

Library Journal Review

Washington Post Bestseller