''The Betrayal'' is a 2010 historical novel by English writer
Helen Dunmore
Helen Dunmore FRSL (12 December 1952 – 5 June 2017) was a British poet, novelist, and short story and children's writer.
Her best known works include the novels ''Zennor in Darkness'', '' A Spell of Winter'' and ''The Siege'', and her last ...
. It is set in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1952, ten years after the
Siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...
, and takes place during
political repression in the Soviet Union
Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, tens of millions of people suffered political repression, which was an instrument of the state since the October Revolution. It culminated during the Stalin era, then declined, but it continued to exist ...
and
the plot against doctors in the
Stalin era
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
. The book was longlisted for the 2010
Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
,
[ and shortlisted for the 2011 Commonwealth Writer's Prize and the ]Orwell Prize
The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...
.[
''The Betrayal'' is the second of a two-book series. The first, '']The Siege
''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a fictional situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony ...
'' was published in 2001 and is set in Leningrad during the siege.
Synopsis
Anna, Andrei and Kolya have survived the siege of Leningrad. Anna and Andrei marry and live in the city where she is a nursery-school teacher and he is a paediatrician at the local hospital. It is 1952 and they live in Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's repressive regime where it is prudent not to draw attention to yourself.
Andrei unwittingly takes on the case of a young boy, Gorya, who has a cancerous tumour in his leg. The child is the son of Volkov, a Commissar of State Security, and while Andrei knows the dangers if things go wrong, he is determined to give the boy the best possible care. Andrei tells Volkov the only course of action to prevent the cancer spreading is to amputate Gorya's leg. Volkov is unhappy with this decision, particularly because Brodskaya, the surgeon who will perform the operation, is Jewish. Andrei insists that she is an excellent surgeon and Volkov reluctantly agrees to the amputation. The operation is successful, and after intensive physiotherapy
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
, Gorya is discharged.
Several months later Gorya returns. The cancer was not contained and has spread to his lungs. Volkov accuses Andrei of butchering Gorya for no reason and of being part of a conspiracy by doctors to murder Soviet leaders. Andrei is arrested and taken to Lubyanka prison
The Lubyanka ( rus, Лубянка, p=lʊˈbʲankə) is the popular name for the building which contains the headquarters of the FSB, and its affiliated prison, on Lubyanka Square in the Meshchansky District of Moscow, Russia. It is a large Ne ...
in Moscow. Anna tries to elicit help from some of Andrei's colleagues, but they all shun her for fear of being implicated themselves. She sends Andrei money, but has no way of knowing whether it gets through to him. Andrei is subjected to brutal interrogation, which includes prolonged sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary ...
. After several weeks he is interviewed by Volkov, who tells Andrei that Brodskaya was also arrested, but "suffered a heart attack". He promises to spare Andrei if he signs a document admitting "insufficient vigilance". Andrei signs the "confession" and is exiled to Siberia for 10 years.
When news arrives that Stalin has died, an uneasy calm descends over the country. The Doctor's plot is ruled to have been a fabrication, and all sentenced doctors are freed. Andrei slowly makes his way back home, while Anna wonders if she will see him again.
Reception
In a review in ''BookBrowse
''BookBrowse'' is an online magazine and website that provides book reviews, author interviews, book previews, and reading guides. The magazine is independent of publishers and does not sell books that it reviews. The site offers both free and pre ...
'', Sarah Sacha Dollacker called ''The Betrayal'' " powerful novel" with "expertly drawn" characters, convincing dialogue and believable conflicts.[ Unlike some historical fiction that places the emphasis on setting rather than characters, Dollacker opined that Dunmore uses her characters to "paint" the setting for her.][ British poet ]Carol Rumens
Carol Rumens FRSL (born 10 December 1944) is a British poet.
Life
Carol Rumens was born in Forest Hill, South London. She won a scholarship to grammar school and later studied Philosophy at London University, but left before completing her ...
wrote in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' that Dunmore's dialogue is "powerful" and "subtle", and connects the book's two adversaries, Volkov and Andrei "in a way that shocks, surprises and moves us".[ She praised the author's depiction of children, adding that Gorya "is hauntingly portrayed".][
Reviewing ''The Betrayal'' in '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Susanna Rustin described the novel as "an absorbing and thoughtful tale of good people in hard times".[ She praised the author's "meticulous" research into Soviet bureaucracy, hospitals and Leningrad at the time. Rustin remarked that while ''The Betrayal'' "falls far short" of other historical works, like ]Pat Barker
Patricia Mary W. Barker, (née Drake; born 8 May 1943) is an English writer and novelist. She has won many awards for her fiction, which centres on themes of memory, trauma, survival and recovery. Her work is described as direct, blunt and pl ...
's ''Regeneration
Regeneration may refer to:
Science and technology
* Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs
* Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis
...
'' trilogy, Dunmore's "intelligence and gift for narrative" makes her books something to look forward to.[ Jane Shilling wrote in '']The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' that ''The Betrayal'' is a "lovely, thoughtful novel".[ She said the book's "impalpable apprehension", Andrei's conflict between his doctor's instinct to heal and his "panic-stricken desire" to protect his family, "is chillingly described".][ But Shilling felt that once apprehension turns to horror, Dunmore's "power to disturb weaken . What happens to Andrei "has become so familiar that it is hard to find original ways to write about it".][
]
References
Works cited
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betrayal, The
2010 British novels
Russian historical novels
Novels set in 20th-century Russia
Novels set in Saint Petersburg
Novels set in the Stalin era
Novels about political repression in the Soviet Union
Novels by Helen Dunmore
Penguin Books books
1950s in Leningrad
Fiction set in 1952