Child 44 is a 2008 thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith. It is the first novel in a trilogy featuring former MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union.[1]
Themes
This novel, the first in a trilogy, takes inspiration from the crimes of Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, the Butcher of Rostov, and the Red Ripper. Chikatilo was convicted of and executed for committing 52 murders in the Soviet Union, though his crimes occurred after the Stalin era. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era crime in a state where "there is no crime", the novel explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, orphanages, homosexuality in the USSR and mental hospitals.[2]
The second and third books in the trilogy, titled The Secret Speech (April 2009) and Agent 6 (July 2011), respectively, also feature the protagonist Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa.[3][4][2][5]
Reception
In Bookmarks July/Aug 2008 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (3.5 out of 5) with the summary stating, "Most also mentioned the clumsy ending, but they felt that it detracted very little from this compelling thriller".[6][7]
The New York Times called Child 44 a "tightly woven", "ingeniously plotted", "high-voltage story".[8]The Sunday Telegraph praised it as a "memorable debut": "the atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim".[9]Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, calling it "smashing"; "nerve-wracking pace and atmosphere camouflage wild coincidences".[10] In The Observer, Peter Guttridge praised it as a "thrilling, intense piece of fiction".[11]
Another New York Times reviewer called it "an adequate police procedural",[12] and a review of the paperback edition in The Guardian said "the story is exciting, but the characters and dialogue are underdeveloped, and the prose studiously bland".[13] This view was mirrored by a further review for The Guardian, by Angus Macqueen, who stated that while "this is a compelling detective story", "the desire for the plot to encompass every element of Soviet history eventually overrides any sense of artistic seriousness". Macqueen did state that the novel "remains a real achievement" and that it delivers "all the pleasures of a brilliant airport read".[14]
Awards
Child 44 has been translated into 36 languages. Additionally, it was nominated for 17 international awards and won seven.[15]