The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland
It is Moscow, in 1939. The great author Isaac Babel is spending his last days in the infamous Lubyanka prison, forbidden to write. His final works have been consigned to the young archivist Pavel Dubrov, who must destroy them. But Pavel makes a reckless decision in the face of a vast bureaucracy of evil: he will save the stories of the writer he so admires, whatever the cost.
'Quietly devastating.. The book captures the stark chill of totalitarianism better than anything since 1984' Peter Ho Davies, The Times 'Holland writes exquisitely ... The beauty and reality of this novel linger long after one has read - reluctantly - its last page' Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian 'Pavel's story is told in uninflected prose, as if embellishing the harsh, despairing world the characters inhabit would somehow be morally false. The simple style makes its flashes of eloquence and sombre imagery even more startling' Time Out 'An extraordinary first novel ... exquisite ... The novel is a wrenching threnody of human suffering - Russian and universal' Michael Binyon, The Times
Travis Holland has an MFA from the University of Michigan, where he was twice awarded the Avery Jules Hopwood Award as well as the Meijer Award. His stories have appeared in Ploughshares, Glimmer Train and Five Points. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is his first novel.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780747593201 |
| ISBN 10 | 0747593205 |
| Title | The Archivist's Story |
| Author | Travis Holland |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2008-08-18 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2009 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |