Synopsis
A British spy, captured in the 1950s and sent to a gulag. Eventually released, he is now 80 years old and living undercover in a little Russian village where he has become the revered schoolteacher. However, his identity has been revealed, and he must decide whether to resume his old existence or to continue his life in Russia. This novel was shortlisted for the 1998 Booker Prize.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2000-10-01 |
| Size | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 3.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 8.0 oz |
Publisher's Note
The Industry of Souls is the story of Alexander Bayliss, a British citizen who was wrongfully arrested for espionage by the KGB in the 1950s and was sentenced to 25 years of hard labor in the work camps of Siberia. Eventually freed in the 1970s, he decides not to return to the West - a world he barely remembers and to which he no longer belongs - and instead finds his way to a small Russian village where he becomes a much beloved school master.Now, on the day of his 80th birthday, communism has evaporated and Russia is changed. This moving story weaves from this momentous day to his harrowing past in the camp and his life in the village. And in the end, he is presented with a choice, perhaps for the first time in his life... Martin Booth's brilliantly crafted novel is a celebration of life in the face of death, of humanity in the midst of a system that robs men of their dignity. It stands as a mature and profound exploration of the meaning of freedom and the essence of human friendship.
Industry Reviews
"[T]his novel is often lyrical and nimble, and accomplishes the not-insignificant task of entertaining and enlightening by means of a literary narrative."
Shostak
"THE INDUSTRY OF SOULS can be remarkably moving: a morality tale, essentially, and one that reaches well beyond the obvious."
Eder
"In addition to dignity and decency, Booth's novel is also about an uprightness, or ethical fortitude, that philosopher Jacques Derrida says is possible only through hospitality toward others....While well-executed and often true to Russian reality, Booth's portrayal of [the town of] Myshkino is, ultimately, too idealistic....The group portrait in Myshkino is a weaker part of the novel. Stalinism and the gulag were not only imposed on the best of Russia's Myshkinos, they were also born out of them. Some people of Myshkino were part of the banality of Stalinist evil. And some of the cruelest citizens of the gulag...came from the Myshkinos of Russia."
Plotnitsky
"[T]his meditative, unadorned novel...raises questions about home, freedom and the meaning of a life that resonate long after the final page is turned."
New York Times Book Review - Michael Porter (12/26/1999)
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