Child 44

Child 44
Child 44  
Author(s) Tom Rob Smith
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Thriller
Publication date 2008
Media type Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages 400
ISBN 1847371264
Followed by The Secret Speech

Child 44 is a thriller novel by British writer Tom Rob Smith, and features disgraced MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Stalin's Soviet Union.

The novel is based on the crimes of Ukrainian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, also known as the Rostov Ripper, who was convicted of and executed for 52 murders in the Soviet Union. In addition to highlighting the problem of Soviet-era criminality in a state where "there is no crime," the novel also explores the paranoia of the age, the education system, the secret police apparatus, orphanages, homosexuality in the USSR and mental hospitals.

The book is the first part of a trilogy. The second part is called The Secret Speech and also features the character of Leo Demidov and his wife, Raisa. The third part, called Agent 6 was published by Simon and Schuster in the UK in July 2011. [1] It will be published in the US in early 2012.

Child 44 has been nominated for 17 International Awards and was the winner of seven. It was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and was the winner of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award in 2008. Child 44 was on the Richard and Judy Book of the Decade list and won the Waverton Good Read Award in 2009. It was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize for a first novel in 2008. Tom Rob Smith was awarded the 2008 Galaxy Book Award for Best New Writer.

The New York Times called it a "tightly woven", "ingeniously plotted", "high-voltage story".[2] The Sunday Telegraph praised it as a "memorable debut": "the atmosphere of paranoia and paralysing fear is brilliantly portrayed and unremittingly grim".[3] Kirkus gave it a starred review, calling it "smashing"; "nerve-wracking pace and atmosphere camouflage wild coincidences".[4] In a Guardian review, Peter Guttridge praised it as a "thrilling, intense piece of fiction".[5] It was also called "an adequate police procedural" by another New York Times reviewer [6], and a review of the paperback edition in The Guardian said that "the story is exciting, but the characters and dialogue are underdeveloped, and the prose studiously bland."[7]

A movie based on the novel was supposed to be in the works, with Ridley Scott as director.[8] As of October 2010, the movie is still categorized as "in development" on IMDB. However, there is no such listing as of January 2011.


References

External links

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  • child — n pl chil·dren 1: a son or daughter of any age and usu. including one formally adopted compare issue ◇ The word child as used in a statute or will is often held to include a stepchild, an illegitimate child, a person for whom one stands in loco… …   Law dictionary

  • child — child; Children Progeny; offspring of parentage. Unborn or recently born human being. Wilson v. Weaver, 358 F.Supp. 1147, 1154. At common law one who had not attained the age of fourteen years, though the meaning now varies in different statutes; …   Black's law dictionary

  • child — child; Children Progeny; offspring of parentage. Unborn or recently born human being. Wilson v. Weaver, 358 F.Supp. 1147, 1154. At common law one who had not attained the age of fourteen years, though the meaning now varies in different statutes; …   Black's law dictionary

  • child — W1S1 [tʃaıld] n plural children [ˈtʃıldrən] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(young person)¦ 2¦(son/daughter)¦ 3¦(somebody influenced by an idea)¦ 4¦(somebody who is like a child)¦ 5 something is child s play 6 children should be seen and not heard 7 be with child …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Child & Co. — Child Co. Type Subsidiary Industry Private Banking and Wealth Management Founded 1664 Headquarters …   Wikipedia

  • Child — (ch[imac]ld), n.; pl. {Children} (ch[i^]l dr[e^]n). [AS. cild, pl. cildru; cf. Goth. kil[thorn]ei womb, in kil[thorn][=o] with child.] 1. A son or a daughter; a male or female descendant, in the first degree; the immediate progeny of human… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • child — [ tʃaıld ] (plural chil|dren [ tʃıldrən ] ) noun count *** 1. ) a young person from the time they are born until they are about 14 years old: The nursery has places for 30 children. The movie is not suitable for young children. He can t… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • child — child; child·hood; child·ing; child·ish; child·less; child·ly; fair·child·ite; grand·child; twi·child; un·child; child·ish·ly; child·ish·ness; child·less·ness; child·like·ness; …   English syllables

  • Child — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Desmond Child (* 1953), US amerikanischer Songschreiber, Komponist und Produzent Eilidh Child (* 1987), britische Leichtathletin Jane Child (* 1967), kanadische Musikerin und Popularmusiksängerin Josiah… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • child — [chīld] n. pl. children [ME, pl. childre (now dial. childer; children is double pl.) < OE cild, pl. cild, cildru < IE * gelt , a swelling up < base * gel , rounded (sense development: swelling womb fetus offspring > Goth kilthei, womb …   English World dictionary

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