This book caught me with the first paragraph and never let go. (I found it browsing in a recycled store.) This epic story of family and romantic love, community, momentous change (the Russian Revolution) and war (the Nazi invasion and genocide) is told in the simple, conversational style of a master storyteller. It has the authentic an compelling voice of a participant, or witness to the events. (I find myself wondering about Rybakov... who is he? Did he live through these times? Is this his family's story? It feels that real.) This book is about far more than the Nazi attrocities (which occupy only about the last 1/4 of the book). It is really about human nature, and the nature of relationships under all sorts of conditions. It is one of the most moving and memorable works I have read, and it is truly a loss that it is out of print. Do search it out.

A wonderful chronicle of a Jewish family in Belarus beginning in the early 20 th century and culminating in its destruction in Hitlers holocaust A cast of remarkable characters illuminates this novel : The fiery Rachel and her soft spoken husband Yacov Ivanovsky,Rachels father the respected and tough Abraham Rakhlenko,the colourful Khaim Yagudin and The Ivanovsky children includin the narrator,Boris and the beautiful Dina. We grow to know and love the characters And it with a profound sense of horror and tragedy that we see their cruel destruction at the hands of the Nazis

It is however through the few survivors such as Boris Ivanovsky and his sister Lyuda and the young Olya that we find hope . I cannot help however being frustrated by the ommission of the horrors of the Bolshevik Revolution and the Stalin years even though it is clear that due to censorship in the Soviet Union when the book was written in the 1970's, the writer could only hint at these things

Many books first written in Russian suffer greatly at the hands of the translator - patently untrue in Rybakov's book, masterly translated by Harold Shukman. It tells of a Jewish family living in Ukraine during WW2. At the outbreak of hostilities following Barbarossa, the family concerned become embroiled in a cultural miasma that leads to many deaths and much heartache. Above all, this is a touching tribute to familial strength and the inability of the atrocities committed by Nazi troopers (as if I need comment further on this) to dent a family's bonds. This is not a study of Shoa crimes, seeking sorrow of the reader for the crimes committed, but a story that leads the reader into the circle of a family that has tremendously strong loyalty and hope. A truly great work and a book that, like an excellent wine, should be savoured and remembered for years to come.

Rybakov is a master story teller and tiller of the human soul.
I have read few books that have a better story and that tell it as well. His view of Soviet Russia in its early years with emphasis on the 30s and 40s is unsurpassed. If anyone seeks any
true knowledge of the Soviet Union and of the Russian people, these books are a must. The characters come alive and Rybakov's
portrayal of Stalin, his fellow Communists and those he had killed is without equal. THESE BOOKS ARE A MUST READ!!!!
Sasha Pankratov lives.

The Arbat Saga continues and , together with greats such as Arthur Koestlers 'A Darkness At Noon' Vassily Grossmans 'Forever Flowing'and the works of Solzhenitsyn ,the Orwellian terror of the Stalin years in the Soviet Union been captured so accurately. The true characters of some of the people who we met in Children of The Arbat are revealed. Sasha Pankratov becomes a wiser,more cynical man who finally realises the nature of the Communist society in Russia. Varya Ivanova blooms into a remarkable young women who faithfully waits for Sashas return and through her mistakes,trials and tribulations has gained great strength One of the most touching aspects of the book is the relationship between Varya and Sashas mother Sophia Alexandrovna who Varya is devoted to and who sees Varya as a beloved daughter Together they help each other through these terrible times .Yuri Sharok fully integrates himself into the NKVD with all the cunning and cruely which this evil organisation requires .Vadim Marasevitch shows himself up as a spineless flunky who sells innocent people out in order to survive.However unlike Sharok ,his conscience destroys him psychologically in MacBethesque fashion.His sister Vika -as opportunistic and immoral as she can be-has to be admired for managing to extricate herself from the Soviet tyranny and through an opportune marriage resettling in democratic France where through her husband and an aqauaintance with a colourful Russian emigre/celebrity she enjoys the high life she has always yearned for.Nina Ivanova for all her blind loyalty to the Communist Party falls victims to its brutal machinations and ,helped by Varya, flees to the Far East ,to escape being another victim of the purges,to her soldier boyfriend Maxim Kostin. Rybakov's extensive delving into Stalins mind is a brilliant study of evil. Ultimately we learn how tyranny and removal of even the most basic freedoms destroys the lives of so many ordinary people . We are forced to realise the terrible horrors we create by letting power be concentrated in the hands of one man,group,clique or party

Fear - Rybakov's sequel to Children of the Arbat continues chronicling the lives of Soviet youths in the 1930's. The nature of the Terror - the Yezhovshchina - is chillingly described. While some have criticized the minor characters, I found they added depth to the story, although I did not care for Stalin's "internal dialogue" - an attempt to see the Terror through the eyes of the beast that created it. Fear is excellent fiction - although still not as good in my opinion as Children of the Arbat; but then again, sequels rarely are as great as the first episode.

This volume was first written in the 1960's Soviet Union under Krushchev's less onerous regime. By the time Children of the Arbat was ready for print Brezhnev had taken power and any dissent was supressed. Arbat was in fact, not printed until 1987.

The novel takes place in 30's Russia on the eve of the Great Purges under Stalin. The Arbat itself is street in Moscow which was once a bazaar and then (and now) the location of several cafe's and ourdoor music.

Children of the Arbat is great work combining literature and political commentary. Rybakov shows the impact of the terror on a small group of friends and relations. His portrayal of Stalin is on the mark, cold and ruthless.

An excellent novel of an era in Russia that should never be forgotten.

This book documents the horrors of the Stalinist reign of terror in the old Soviet Union from a uniquely Russian perspective .It is in fact written in a very similar style to Tolstoys 'War and Peace' The epic develops at just the right pace with well developed characters who are very real.The hero of the story Sasha Pankratov,a loyal Communinst Party member who falls victim to the rotten machinations of the party,the rebellious and strong yet vulnerable Varya Ivaova,the scheming and ruthless Yuri Sharok,the opportunistic Vika Marasevitch,the colourless Nina Ivanova,the vilainous Kostya and a host of other characters who all get caught up one way or another in the evil of the Communist regime

Rybakov refused to have his "Children of the Arbat" published abroad until it was first published in the Soviet Union. After reading how idealistic young Soviets sacrifice themselves to Stalin's lofty plans, in the end betrayed by the very system that they so strongly believed in, one can understand why it took so long before the book went to press. The reader certainly gets a feel for the hope, revolutionary fervor, and idealism of Soviet youth in the 1930's - even while the "Terror" was in full swing. The paths and decisions of the characters take each in widely different (and sometimes opposing) directions - much like life in the real world. Children of the Arbat is a fabulous read - its a pity that it is out of print.

After reading Children of the Arbat and its sequel Fear one can only express one's disappointment with the last part of the Rybakov trilogy. The ending of the story is utterly unbelievable, the characters are just cardboard figures. I guess only Joseph Stalin himself would be happy with this novel. Dust and Ashes is a fine example of "socialist realism", the genre highly appraised and promoted by Stalin and his accolites (and fortunately, only by them)

The third novel of Rybakov's trilogy is terribly disappointing. The characters that were introduced in Children of the Arbat and Fear continue in Dust and Ashes - however, there were several "loose ends":characters and subplots from the preceeding two books that were never brought to any sort of conclusion, and in some cases weren't even addressed in the final novel. But perhaps most disappointing was the hurried fashion in which he concludes the book. (The loose ends are but a part of this sense of rushing to complete the book.) The ending is fitting, given the story line; uniquely Russian I would say. But incomparison to his previous books, this is by far the lesser of the three.

If you want sweeping naturalistic fiction that blends the oppressiveness, madness and occasional terror of Stalinist Russia with a traditional, ultimately melodramatic love story, start with Rybakov's "Children of the Arbat" and continue through the trilogy with "Fear" and this novel. Accurately or not, these novels vividly create a sense of smothered life in Russia, with characters who represent types without becoming stereotypes. These novels are page turners in the tragic Russian tradition.