Archangel

by Robert Harris

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A fast paced novel that looks into the soul of russia

In his latest novel, Harris truly makes an admirable attempt to illustrate the deep and lasting effect Communism marooned upon modern day Russian society. Archangel accurately and in great detail isolates the true origins of Communist thought and cleverly incorporates it in a successful and fast paced plot of a modern day mystery.

Harris takes the reader on a journey into the heart of Russia, modern day Moscow, and then for a look into its soul, the far north. The reader follows an unlikely set of characters as they attempt to solve a decade old mystery involving the private writings of J.V. Stalin.

Although the novel is generally well written, the characters come off as stereotypical. They include a pesky, obnoxious reporter, a geeky, eccentric professor, and a street hooker attending law school.

The authors descriptive abilities are outstanding, and combined with thorough research, leave the reader just short of standing along side the characters every step of the way.

What personally amazed me the most was the author's ability to make historical figures come to life. The lives and personalities of Stalin and his Politburo jump out at the reader, leaving a lasting impression.

The plot, although rich in detail and historical fact, at times seems to travel off into absurd or unrealistic, which in my opinion simply makes it that much funner to read.
A great book for history buffs, mystery lovers, and all other Harris fans.

A genuine page-turner

Okay, I have read the other reviews that have already been posted on this book, and I think the important thing to remember is that this is a novel and not a textbook on Russian History. Robert Harris does an excellent job of putting together all the elements of past and modern Russia to make you feel like you are there, and though I admit that his ending is a little bit beyond the realm of believability, that's why this is called historical FICTION and not historical FACT. As an historian, I have several colleagues who despise any work of art or literature which presents itself as the absolute truth (i.e. "J.F.K.") but I don't see any footnotes or endpaper from Robert Harris making any such suggestions and the book does in fact keep your interest for the simple matter of finding out how it ends. The last book I read this quickly was some Agatha Christie mystery, and like those works "Archangel" demands that you find out how it ends and quickly. If you really have more of a problem with endings that fail to support strong set-ups, then I suppose you could deduct another star, but I think you would be denying yourself a decent glimpse into Russian culture and history.