Comrade Koba, Robert Littell
Comrade Koba, Robert Littell
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Comrade Koba
A Novel

Author: Robert Littell

Narrator: Rachel Jacobs, Andrew Eiden

Unabridged: 4 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/10/2020

Synopsis

A tight, captivating story of a naïve child’s encounters with a Soviet dictator, the twentieth novel by Robert LittellAfter the sudden death of his nuclear physicist father and the arrest of his mother during the Stalinist purge of Jewish doctors, young Leon Rozental—intellectually precocious and possessing a disarming candor—is hiding from the NKVD in the secret rooms of the House on the Embankment, a large building in Moscow where many Soviet officials and apparatchiks live and work. One day after following a passageway, Leon meets Koba, an old man whose apartment is protected by several guards. Koba is a high-ranking Soviet officer with troubling insight into the thoughts and machinations of Comrade Stalin.Through encounters between a naive boy and a paranoid tyrant, Robert Littell creates in Comrade Koba a nuanced portrayal of the Soviet dictator, showing his human side and his simultaneous total disregard for and ignorance of the suffering he inflicted on the Russian people. The charm and spontaneity of young Leon make him an irresistible character—and not unlike Holden Caulfield, whom he admits to identifying with—caught in the spider’s web of the story woven by this enigmatic old man.

About Robert Littell

Robert Littell is the author of nineteen other highly acclaimed novels, many about the Cold War and the Soviet Union, including his masterwork, New York Times bestseller The Company, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award winner for best mystery-thriller Legends. An American born in Brooklyn, Robert Littell now lives in France.

About Rachel Jacobs

Rachel L. Jacobs, an AudioFile Earphones and Parent's Choice Award-winning narrator, narrates books full-time. She has years of experience as a theater and musical theater actress, touring the West Coast (of the US) and China. She received a BA from Oberlin College's Theater Program and did intensive study with the American Conservatory Theatre, the National Theater Institute, and Shakespeare and Company. Versatile and emotive, Rachel breathes life into each of the characters and stories she reads.

About Andrew Eiden

Andrew Eiden is an audiobook narrator who came from a long line of theater folk and has been acting since the age of four. He has starred in dozens of commercials as well as multiple television shows. At the age of eleven, he won first place in a local drama festival, which jumpstarted his acting career. He has performed in theaters ranging from the Glendale Center Theater to the Pasadena Playhouse.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on July 19, 2020

Thank you Net Galley, the author and Overlook Press/Abrams the publisher for the Advanced Reading Copy of this book. To the best of my knowledge, I have not previously read any books by ROBERT LITTELL. Based on my exceedingly pleasant experience with COMRADE KOBA, there will be a lot more reading in......more

Goodreads review by Constantinos on December 31, 2021

Littell's magnificent The Company was followed by his acute and nail biting Legends. His Philby had all the ingredients of being great but didn't totally touch base. Yet his Comrade Koba is indeed up to par and shows yet again Littell's ease when dealing with complex personalities. A Stalin portraya......more

Goodreads review by Apostol on February 23, 2022

Cartea „Tovarășul Koba” este o privire în ansamblu asupra a ceea ce a făcut Rusia din copii săi, o țară de orfani și nu doar. Într-un fel fascinant autorul a descris timpul de la revoluție până la conducerea lui Stalin prin așezarea pieselor dintr-un timp greu de digerat într-o incursiune de amintir......more

Goodreads review by Ann on August 05, 2021

How have I missed this author? This is a wonderfully presented story of a boy who spends time with Stalin at the end of Stalin's life - - but the boy doesn't know that he is talking with Stalin. Of course Stalin expounds in an interesting way (at the boy's level) about the revolution and "running" t......more

Goodreads review by Gică Andreica on March 09, 2022

Din când în când, după ce citesc câte cinci sau șase romane de suspans, simt nevoia să las puțin crimele deoparte și să mă apuc de ceva mai senin, ceva care să-mi aducă zâmbetul pe buze și să-mi vorbească despre frumusețea și fericirea ce însoțesc însăși ideea de ființă umană. Astfel, cu o săptămână......more

Quotes

“Comrade Koba balances youthful innocence against infirmity and world-weariness with warmth, humor, and insight.” Historical Novel Society

“A capstone to Littell’s career, his decades-long quest to understand the origins of the Cold War, the nature of spying, and his own reckoning with Jewish identity and assimilation.” InsideHook

“In this short but compelling novel, Littell uses the interplay between a disarmingly discerning if naive boy and a tortured, self-justifying dictator to expose a tragic slice of muddled humanity behind the gray monolith of Stalinist Russia.” Booklist

“Narrator Andrew Eiden presents this fascinating, if slow moving, audiobook with particular attention to the dialogue that shows the trust and understanding of the boy. Narrator Rachel Jacobs shows a wide range of skills while conjuring the voices of Russian women.” AudioFile

Awards

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