The Wizard of the Kremlin

Reviews / Votes

A great book, casting light on the creatures that crawl and slither behind the Kremlin's walls, on the mineral hardness of Putin, on the chaos engine that is his way of hurting us. Read this book and you will understand the Russian mind-fuck. Read it * John Sweeney * A captivating novel that sails close, perhaps too close, to reality * Financial Times, Books of the Year * A sophisticated fictionalization of the reign of Vladimir Putin -- Rachel Polonsky * TLS, Books of the Year * His novel has become a guide - devoured by many western politicians - to the mindset of the Kremlin -- Simon Kuper, Lunch with the FT * Financial Times * "You need to be credible, to get into a character's head and present their point of view... But it has to be entertaining, and it has to be convincing." His book succeeds on both measures -- Peter Conradi * Sunday Times * A novel exploring the inner workings of [Putin's] government that has captivated France...has become a popular guide for understanding [his] motives * New York Times * A highbrow entertainment cast squarely in the Umberto Eco mould, The Wizard of the Kremlin is a political thriller propelled more by ideas than action... A propulsive novel ... [whose] central contention - that the fates of nations hang on stories spun by "reality show personalities" - remains uncomfortably relevant -- Victoria Nelson * TLS * Dares to get under the skin of Vladimir Putin, offering a compelling portrait of the Russian leader and his inner circle... I was swept up by this propulsive account of Putin's reign and its terrifying vision of what may follow -- Lucy Popescu * New Humanist * I doubt I have anywhere seen a cleverer portrayal of the Russian view of power, politics and the world, or a better explanation of how the colourless, secret police bureaucrat Putin swelled into the monstrous, fascinating thing he has become... Take this magical mystery tour of the Kremlin and see if it does not make you think. And what pleasure is greater than that? -- Peter Hitchens * Daily Mail * A highly economical, well documented pageturner, describing twenty years in the corridors of Russian power, with a simple, seductive style and unmatched realism -- Frederic Beigbeder * Le Figaro * An acute and timely dissection of Russian power, told through the eyes of a shadowy political adviser to Putin * Financial Times * A chilling perspective on Putin's Russia... I am a dyed-in-the-wool Russophile, so this novel is right in my sweet spot. It called to mind Emmanuel Carrere's Limonov, the nonfiction of Peter Pomerantsev, the political thrillers of Robert Harris, the documentary films of Adam Curtis, and the cold-hearted logic of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Grand Inquisitor. I loved Baranov's company, his pitch-black cynicism, his self-awareness and his sharp political analysis -- Marcel Theroux * Guardian * The Wizard of the Kremlin takes us inside the mind of Putin's spin-master [and] has enjoyed phenomenal success... A fast, easy read, smartly translated by Willard Wood, which efficiently dramatises great sweeps of Russia's recent political history -- David Sexton * New Statesman * A journey into the dark heart of power * El Pais * You cannot put this book down... Fascinating and suffocating. A clinical analysis of the art of authoritarian rule * France Inter * An absolutely extraordinary novel... You feel you're sitting on a sofa next to Putin, that you are inside his head -- Patricia Martin * Le Masque et la Plume * Of course this novel sheds a revealing light on current geopolitical events. But it will outlive them thanks to its unwavering lucidity and sparkling style * Le Monde des Livres * A staggering account of the mental makeup and aggressive logic of Vladimir Putin... A story of great literary and historical force that you must read if you want to understand what, from here, seems incomprehensible * Liberation * This chilling and propulsive political thriller... has caused a sensation across Europe and rightly so - it is both a great novel and a savage commentary on modern Russia * Daunt Books * A must-read for anyone wondering what Russian President Vladimir Putin is up to and what the Russian people have had to go through during his tenure...this powerful book...is a page turner * Foreign Policy * This is an intellectual rather than an action thriller, with the focus on machinations and mindset instead of straightforward menace * The Times, Best Thriller Books of the Month * Brilliantly tells the story of one of Putin's closest advisors... Unputdownable * Lire magazine litteraire * Empoli is a skilled storyteller and with such rich material to hand it is unsurprising that [The Wizard of the Kremlin] is compelling and convincing, fully deserving of its bestseller status...Its literary achievement elevates the novel above a reductive political analysis of the workings of the Kremlin, bringing it at times closer to Dostoevsky than an academic article or an op-ed * New Statesman * A factually-based and brilliantly narrated pageturner * Die Zeit * Propelled by its searing topicality, this modern, visionary book nevertheless has the timeless elegance of a classic * Les Echos * [Da Empoli's book has been described] as a guide to Putin's mind. Such readings of The Wizard of the Kremlin are not wrong. The novel is more than this, however. It is also about how power and privilege can be a trap, and why politics cannot be suppressed by power, no matter how much tame intellectuals like Baranov try to justify their obedience to power and complicity with it * Irish Independent * Every good work of fiction is more interesting and more sophisticated than the phenomenon it describes. Exactly the case here. This novel makes the jug of spiders (that's what Kremlin really is) and the spiders within much more interesting and sophisticated than they are. A very good novel. -- Boris Akunin It's easy to understand why it became a literary sensation: a slim, pacy book dealing with weighty, complex real world affairs, it will appeal to anyone seeking insights into Russia since the turn of the millennium * Irish Independent * A portrait of Putin the Terrible... The Wizard of the Kremlin is one of those novels that make reality starker... Giuliano da Empoli has given the venality of power the most inscrutable but recognisable face in fiction * Open *