Moscow Underground
It is 1934, and the long-awaited Moscow subway system is finally being built, its tunnels burrowing beneath some of the city’s most important and historic buildings. Archaeologists are brought in to advise on the underground walls, cellars, and hidden passages that may help – or hinder – the construction. But work is interrupted when one of those archaeologists is found murdered, and Anton Belkin is called upon to investigate.
The son of a pre-revolutionary artist, Anton is a lawyer whose job it is to investigate routine low-level corruption, but he is dragged into the enquiry by a high-ranking woman with whom he has a long and complicated relationship. As the story progresses, we meet gangs and corruption, buried treasure, and a yearning for a lost past. Like the underground, the story and its politics are labyrinthine. It is hard to know who the enemy is, and who you can trust.
The author is an acknowledged expert on Russia and its 20th century history. She paints a vivid picture of a state poised between revolution and totalitarianism. There is a chasm between aspiration and reality: ‘they wanted gleaming Soviet steel and the white heat of science, but Moscow reeked of horse manure, dry rot and home-made booze’.
Food – or the lack of it – is a recurring theme. I enjoyed the character of Anton’s friend Misha, a gourmet chef who caters for the elites but always manages to find a delicious morsel for Anton to eat. He seems to symbolise a regime that tries to crush the human spirit, but doesn’t quite succeed.
However, there is a slight danger of drowning in detail. The novel is densely written, and it occasionally feels a bit like a history book. But that doesn’t stop it from being a thrilling adventure and a compelling read.
