Stalin's Ghost [Paperback]

For more than a quarter of the century, Martin Cruz Smith has made his readers experts on Renkology. In fact, Arkady must be the most loved Russian made of ink. At least, he is for me. So I am willing to forget a couple of flaws in the last two novels. In fact I could forgive any flaws. I would still enjoy a Renko novel even if Arkady recited Moscow's phone book for 300 pages. So, here are a couple of thoughts on Stalin's Ghost.

FOR RENKO LOVERS : You will find all Smith's trademarked nihilistic, ironic and laconic gems of dialogue that have been keeping you awake at 3 am and unproductive at the office the next day. You will find the excellent supporting Russians, Chechens, chess grand masters, devoted detectives, all orbiting Renko. They are all unique, they all speak wise and they never ever seem ersatz. You will also read some poigniant chapters about Arkady as a child. And you will discover that Arkady can even waltz.
However an Arkady novel every year is different from an Arkady novel every 5 years. Don't expect the complicated plots of Gorky Park, Polar Star, Red Square and Havana that secure second, third and nth readings. This Arkady looks more like a mini series. Think of an analogy. If Godfather I and II were adopted into a TV series (with the director and all of the original casting) it would still be great but it wouldn't be... the same.
I don't want to ask the writer to wait for 5 years until he delivers the book that even Pribluda would canonize. I am very happy with one Renko every year, adding to his belly scars from Gorky Park and his butchered back from Red Square a strangulation and a shot in the head. Long live Arkady. 3  stars.

FOR RENKO BEGINNERS : Start chronologically. First read Gorky Park. Then re-read it. Then take ten days off and read the other 5 novels. As you read, keep reminding yourselves that you are the luckiest people of all since, what you will be enjoying in 10 days, took some others 25 years.

FOR RENKO HATERS : There are no Renko haters in our universe. Only in his.

He hates him much that would upon the rack of this tough world
stretch him out longer." King Lear, Act IV, Scene 3.

I have read and very much enjoyed Martin Cruz Smith's previous Arkady Renko novels. Renko's erratic career path as a police inspector has seen him survive, barely, the apparatchiks of the Soviet regime in "Gorky Park". He survived the USSR's imminent demise in "Polar Star" and the emergence of bloody cowboy capitalism, Russian-style in "Red Square". In "Wolves Eat Dogs" Renko operated in a Russia dominated by an elite group of billionaire oligarchs who fed like vultures, even upon the radioactive ruins in the Ukraine and Belarus created by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Now, in Smith's new novel "Stalin's Ghost", Renko lives in a Russia in which the dislocations caused by the last twenty-five years have left many Russians feeling nostalgic for the security and certainty they felt under Stalin. Stalin's ghost may or may not be vexed by being placed upon the rack of this tough, brave new world that is Russia but his presence is most certainly still felt.

An article in "Foreign Affairs" magazine in January 2006 contained a poll by a Russian polling organization indicating that as late as 20003, 20% of Russians would vote for Stalin if he were to return to life and run for President. The sentiment forms the thematic undercurrent for Renko's latest investigations. Renko is ordered to investigate the alleged appearance of the ghost of Stalin at a Moscow underground (subway) station. This appearance, real, imagined, or fraudulent seems connected to the Senate campaign of one Nikolai Isakov. Isakov is a former member of the Russian army's elite "Black Berets" and a `hero' of the last Russian campaign against Chechnya. Isakov is the candidate of an ultra-nationalist ticket who urges a return to the greatness enjoyed by the USSR in its glory days and is quick to invoke the name of Stalin in support of that campaign. Renko's investigation is complicated for a number of reasons. Isakov happens to be a police investigator who has also managed to win the affections of Renko's love interest, Eva, who during the course of the novel leaves Renko for Isakov. During his investigation into the ghost, Renko also comes across a series of murders which may or may not be connected to Isakov's alleged heroic acts in Chechnya.

These three plot lines: the investigation into Stalin's ghost; the personal dynamic amongst Renko, Isakov, and Eva; and the murders of Isakov's Black Beret colleagues gradually converge until they meet in a nicely dramatic conclusion.

"Stalin's Ghost" is a welcome addition to the Arkady Renko series. Smith's plotting and writing is first-rate. I think Smith has shown over the years that he has developed not only a real feeling and affection for his creation, Renko, but also for Renko's homeland, Russia. It would be very easy for a western writer to dip into stereotypes about the old USSR and the new Russia but Smith writes without disdain in my opinion and that is always a plus. He doesn't paint a rosy picture but, grim as it is, Smith is not condescensing about Russia or its people. Smith is also a realist. We don't get happily ever after endings for Renko but the endings Smith creates are, nevertheless, very satisfactory.

If I had to point a critical finger anywhere, I would suggest that in "Stalin's Ghost", Renko's ability to survive countless attempts to put him in an early grave, once verging on the miraculous seems to be a bit more of a stretch than I've seen in previous Renko novels. Basically, Smith came close, in my opinion, to losing some of that practical grounding that marked his earlier Renko efforts. Ultimately, that is a relatively minor quibble as Smith did not go `over the top' to the point where it detracted from the plot. This is particularly true for someone like me, who has developed quite an attachment to this fictional character over the years.

"Stalin's Ghost" is an excellent piece of fiction that transcends any categorization of it as a piece of genre writing. I think any reader should enjoy Smith's latest saga in the life and times of Investigator Renko. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig (4.5 stars o/o 5).

I've read four of the five previous books in the Arkady Renko series, and while some are more successful than others as thrillers, each takes the reader into an interesting part of Soviet/Russian modern history. So it was only a matter of time before Chechnya appeared as part of a Renko plotline. In this sixth installment, the increasingly creaky Renko doesn't actually go to Chechnya, but the breakaway republic looms in the shadows at the heart of the book. Instead, the story stays mostly in Moscow, with a trip to Tver (a nondescript small city about 150km NW of Moscow).

The story begins with Renko and his partner Victor investigating a murder-for-hire scheme that may involve two fellow detectives, Isakov and Urman. These two served in OMON (aka the Black Berets, a militia special forces outfit perhaps best known in the West for their ineptitude in the Beslan hostage crisis) in Chechnya, and are certified war heroes. At the same time, Renko is told to look into alleged sightings of Stalin on a metro platform. These plotlines dovetail, as Renko quickly discovers the Stalin sightings to be a stunt organized by two American political consultants working for the fringe ultranationalist party Isakov is running as candidate for. A third thread involves the deaths of several of the men who served under Isakov in Chechnya. A fourth plotline involves Renko's relationship with the Ukrainian doctor Eva (from the previous book in the series), who also happens to have a history with Isakov from Chechnya. A fifth plotline involves the chess prodigy street kid whom Renko is semi-foster parent to.

All of becomes a bit much, as the plotlines interweave to the point of excess. As always, Renko doggedly pursues the truth against the orders of his superiors, and even against his own best interests. He appears especially detached in this outing, and there's a good deal of backstory given about his relationship with his father, who was a favorite of Stalin. It's certainly not a bad book, but it lacks the focus and deep texture of some the previous in the series.

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