Book description
Shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize
Longlisted for the 2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
'Crackling with energy, irony, wit and terror, The First Friend is a timely and cautionary reminder of the stifling, murderous logic of strong man politics.' Tim Winton
'Razor-sharp, wildly imaginative, bold, brilliant and…
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Why read it?
1 author picked The First Friend as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Malcolm Knox has written a highy intelligent black comedy about Stalin's Soviet Union which simultaneously amused and horrified me . Set in 1938 amid the coterie of Laventry Beria, the psychopathic governor of the Georgian Republic, the narrative is written from the viewpoint of Beria's loyal driver, Murtov, who, despite being a childhood friend, realises he is on a doomed journey. The book exposes the paranoia, absurdities and murderous activities of a world where oppression is the fabric of life, and treachery is the only way to survive.
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