First published 2010
Boris Pasternak finds himself caught between artistic integrity and survival in Stalin's Moscow. The celebrated poet must navigate the treacherous waters of Soviet literary politics, where a single poem can mean the difference between acclaim and exile. As Stalin's paranoia deepens and the purges intensify, Pasternak watches colleagues disappear while struggling to protect his own work and family. He faces impossible choices: compromise his art to please the regime, or risk everything for truth. The poet's relationship with his craft becomes a dangerous dance with power, where words themselves become weapons. At its heart, this is a story about the price of artistic conscience in a world where creativity serves the state, and where one man's refusal to bend threatens everything he holds dear.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, russian-literature
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: artistic-conscience, enemies-to-lovers
Setting: Moscow, Soviet Union
Period: 20th Century
334 pages · Paperback · Yediot Ahronot Books