Red Sky at Noon by Simon Sebag MontefioreMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Vladimir Putin’s use of convicts as wartime fighters is nothing new for Russia. Red Sky at Noon, by Simon Sebag Montefiore, tells the story of political prisoner, Benya Golden, who is given a chance to “redeem” himself and escape the gulags by fighting for Russia against the Germans in WWII. Unlike the tough criminals with whom he has been imprisoned, fighting and killing do not come naturally to this scrawny intellectual. But becoming a soldier seems like a better option than being worked to death in the mines and, as a Jew, fighting against the Nazis is a worthy cause.
As the book progresses, we watch Benya use a combination of his intelligence, people skills, and – spurred by fear – growing ability to battle, in order to try to survive. Along the way he faces innumerable ups and downs. By the latter part of the book, I actually began to wonder if he’d survive, even though he is the protagonist and novels don’t normally kill off their protagonists. To me, that ability to keep me wondering is a sign of great writing.
As with the previous novel I read by Montefiore, Shashenka , I feel that the main weakness of this one is the author’s lack of understanding of women. As in Shashenka, he has a woman falling instantly, madly in love with Benya and acting in ways that, I felt, lacked credibility. Fortunately, the love affair was a relatively small part of the plot in this one, so it didn’t detract too much from the overall novel. Interestingly, Benya’s love of his horse was better developed and more credible than the relationship with the woman. Montefiore also has Stalin’s 16-year-old daughter falling in love with a Jewish journalist. Her naïve behaviour was more credible, since she was a lonely teenager, and it was interesting to see how Papa Stalin would react once he found out. In fact, this part of the story is based on her actual affair with 38-year-old Jewish filmmaker, Aleksei Kapler. (Papa Stalin did not take it well.)
Overall, Montefiore yet again gives a rich exploration of the characters and realities of the wartime environment and the Stalinist political world. The storyline is gripping and filled with wonderful, historically accurate details that bring the scenes alive. It explores the ambiguities of wartime: who is really a friend? Who might be a spy? Who can you trust? What risks are worth taking? I highly recommend this novel.
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