The Half Life of Valery K: THE TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH

Product Information

Studded with memorable characters and deepened by its exploration of thorny moral issues, The Half Life of Valery K is gripping popular entertainment with a pleasing intellectual heft. Whose only want is a sliver of a moment when the shadow they're talking to isn't just their own (though clutching a pillow fort in bed because he can't fall asleep from the sheer aloneness of everything is a whole new level). I’m so sorry to give such a low rating to a Natasha Pulley’s book, but honestly one star is even more than this book deserves. This city, Chelyabinsk 40, is home to thousands of scientists and workers but is a closely-guarded secret.

this is a work of fiction, yes, but these are real historical events that happened, and not that long ago. I learned a lot about radiation, even if I didn't understand it all, and it appalled me to know this kind of thing has taken place at various times around the world. Every one of them is vibrant and full of life, they jump off the page and you can’t help but root for them, to want them all to live. If you were truly loyal to the Party, you’d have been shot before you worked for the enemy though, wouldn’t you. The way this was revealed was also bonkers and not at all subtle or smart or whatever the fuck the author was going for.

This one was based straight in science and real historical events, which is great for many reasons, but not when most of it are things I looked up myself as I got curious along the way and read up on on wikipedia, only to find the words repeated back to me later in her book, almost verbatim.

When characters travel outside of the Soviet Union to what Westerners might describe as "normal" middle-class life they are shocked by the idea that a woman would not have a job, that she would be content as a housewife, and that her husband would see this as his due. Not all the characters read Russian to me, especially Valery, and I found it distracting because I had to remind myself over and over that he was Russian. The book is a mystery with three main players: Kolkhanov’s former teacher, who has summoned him here and tasked him with studying the effects of radiation on animals, an unusually principled KGB officer with whom Valery develops a friendship, and Valery himself. He quickly discovers that the place is not all that it is supposed to be, and has to decide whether to go along with the lies being told or to stand up and challenge them. He's a KGB security officer who is startlingly naive at times to news of human suffering and atrocities, often committed by men like himself.

Basing her novel The Half Life of Valery K on this event, author Natasha Pulley's fictional "City 40" is modeled on Chelyabinsk-40, or as it is known today, Ozersk. I happen to adore her books, so this was extremely up my alley and had me staying up past any reasonable bedtime because I couldn’t put the book down. The narrative voice is whimsical and engaging and I will certainly be going back through the author's catalogue and reading her other novels that aren't so dark. Pulley indicates in her afterword that much of what happens in the novel is based on true events, though Valery and his comrades are fictional.

and honestly the ending made me feel incredibly queasy, because I honestly doubt Shenkov would have left his children. Her dark humor, which turns on the blind faith given to Soviet authority figures despite their outlandish claims, combines with complex characters and a clear understanding of radiation science to yield an explosive blend. Please also note that they are, more often than not, the sole, and at all vaguely prominent, female character in the book.Based on actual events and information, we follow Valery from the prison camp where he was committed to a secret town where he's to work with others studying the effects of radiation on plants and animals.