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Hunger
Hunger
Oct 29, 2024 9:29 PM

Author:Elise Blackwell

Hunger

When German troops surround Leningrad and cut off food supplies in the autumn of 1941, no one imagines that the siege will last almost three years and take hundreds of thousands of lives. As the first 'hungry winter' sets in, the city's residents strip the bark off trees, boil and eat moss-covered stones, and trade priceless antiques for half a loaf of bread - and sex for a chunk of sugar.

But the scientists at the Institute of Plant Industry pledge to protect their collection of rare seeds, painstakingly gathered from all over the world, no matter what the human cost. But as the siege continues, the group divides into those who would preserve their principles at the price of starvation, and others who turn to deception - and more sinister measures - to survive.

A powerful, stunningly precise and beautifully written novel about human nature under life's harshest pressures. Reminiscent of Rachel Seiffert's The Dark Room and Bernhard Schlink's The Reader in its brevity, spareness and power, it is a quite remarkable debut.

Reviews

Blackwell skilfully fillets [the] starkest passages [of this dark chapter of history]... In its blunt, end-of-the-road honesty this book exudes a compelling authenticity and poetic power.

—— Observer

Perfectly judged, beautifully executed.... Hunger has been called harrowing, but it is also uplifting. It comes back again and again to the human being's ability to surprise himself, or surprise another, or to be surprised.

—— Daily Telegraph

Haunting- a brilliant account of a violent era which is beautifully written, and very moving.

—— Publishing News

A coolly crafted traditional family novel

—— A S Byatt , Guardian

Némirovsky's last stories are a living history of the occupation, written in real time

—— Sunday Times

'Jeff Shaara's To the Last Man lets you live WWI in the air, in the mud, and in the councils of government in a way that makes you understand how the participants experienced it. Von Richtofen, Lufbery, Ludendorff, and Pershing come alive and their collective experience makes you wish you been there to watch it, but glad you didn't!'

—— John S. Grinalds, Major General, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

Tells the slowly unfolding story of Baines' journey of self-discovery with great subtlety

—— Sunday Times

Quinn has a cinematic eye for narrative scope... Like all good novels this book tells us something new

—— Spectator

An absorbing tribute to the city and its unsung heroes

—— Holly Kyte , Sunday Telegraph

In a novel of cinematic denouements, Quinn has reclaimed an intriguing chapter of Liverpool's past

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

A real page-tuner

—— Mail on Sunday

He [Anthony] hooks you in with his deep, complex characters; he meticulously sets the scene

—— www.thebookbag.co.uk

A constantly engaging and witty novel from a tremendously clever writer.

—— Telegraph

Plausiby drawn....strong central characters, interesting subplots and well-sketched minor characters.

—— TLS

As idiosyncratic as it is ambitious...given shape and purpose by a true literary craftsman. The book both keeps you reading and makes you think.

—— Sally Cousins , Sunday Telegraph

I drank in Nigel Farndale's The Blasphemer in huge lungfuls, and mourned it when it was finished. For anyone who loved Saturday, Atonement or Birdsong, this is the generational novel at its best.

—— Mail on Sunday
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