The secret history of Moscow

by ,

Paperback, 303 pages

English language

Published Feb. 24, 2007 by Prime, Diamond, distributor].

ISBN:
978-0-8095-7223-6
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OCLC Number:
156817540

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3 stars (2 reviews)

Just released from a mental hospital, Galina, a young translator and recovering schizophrenic, doesn't quite believe her eyes when her pregnant sister abruptly gives birth and changes into a fleeing jackdaw. Yet others across the city witness similar transformations, including Yakov, a neighborhood detective assigned to investigate a disturbing epidemic of missing-person cases. When street artist Fyodor stumbles on a surprising clue to the avian mystery, Galina and Yakov follow him through a magic portal visible only in window reflections and into an underground world of forgotten misfits and mythical creatures.

1 edition

reviewed The secret history of Moscow by E. Sedia

Review of 'The secret history of Moscow' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Many reviewers draw parallels to American Gods. So read those so I don't have to repeat them.

So this occurs in Moscow, and Russian gods and heads of myth do take part in the story. But what really irked me was how often I just lost the threads of what was going on. I had a hard time making sense of the story multiple times. Or I'd catch myself daydreaming, and then rewinding the audio so I could catch what just happened. Usually multiple times in the same spot.

And that thread of not understanding thankfully kept right up to the conclusion, so at the very least the book is consistently hard to follow.

I don't recommend this. Go read American Gods instead. Or a book of Russian myths.

avatar for Manzabar

rated it

3 stars

Subjects

  • Fantasy fiction
  • Fiction

Places

  • Moscow (Russia)