Question by Mbiko N: Looking for a book set in early 1900 Russia in St Petersburg?
A young man commits suicide. His step dad travels from country side Russia to investigate his death. In St Petersburg he lives in a widow’s apartment with whom he gets involved. He discovers his son was involved with some polical organisation and might have been murdered.
Answers and Views:
Answer by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING
You are thinking of The Master of Petersburg, by J. M. Coetzee
From Library Journal
“St. Petersburg is poised for revolution as Fyodor Dostoevsky returns from Germany to claim his deceased stepson’s papers. Although the police rule Pavel’s death a suicide, the famous writer is drawn into a group of shady characters, including the anarchist Nechaev, who is possibly Pavel’s killer. Plagued by seizures and tormented by a torrid affair with his stepson’s landlady, Dostoevsky struggles to ascertain once and for all a writer’s responsibility to his family and society. The strength of South African writer Coetzee (Age of Iron, LJ 8/90) lies in his ability to draw characters and scenes evoking the dark mood of the master’s novels. Unfortunately, this story of action and ideas lapses into monotonous debate in its final chapters, but there is much to enjoy despite the flagging plot. Recommended for literary collections.”
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