3rd ORB Review

Dimitri Kastrinakis
Feb 21st 2010
Accel English
Mr. BG
3rd Quarter ORB Review “The Secret Speech”
The book The Secret Speech is the second book in its series after Child 44 and takes place in fictional Communist Russia during the early 1960s. The protagonist is Leo Demidov, and is written in omniscient third person, giving the reader thoughts about other characters in the story. It is just after Stalin dies, and Russia is in chaos. There is mass arrests and “denouncements” of innocent ones, in which the names are given by the accused to prevent their families from suffering the same torture as them. Leo is the head of a shunned murder cabinet in the police, and as a former KGB agent he knows what he’s doing. The whole basis of the story is on a speech created by the new president, calling the ones making arrests the “bad guys” and Stalinism is dead. It is about Leo and his family trying to survive revolt after revolt in several cities.
“As in Child 44, Smith’s plotting is elaborate, and his pacing is relentless. His characters are wonderfully drawn, and the near-nonstop action is utterly gripping.” –Booklist. I absolutely agree with this critic, as it shows the exact things I liked in The Secret Speech. Its characters develop amazingly throughout the book and it is not boring to read, as well as there is a lot of action throughout, which I like a lot. There is also a sense of moody and depressing sense at some points, but adds a very thick plot to the mix, which makes it all very interesting.
The writing style in this book is very descriptive, without being a boring read however. It is one of my favorite books, and I like how the plot shifts from different persons at key points. “Cowardice lay behind the shameful arrangement. The ecclesiastical authorities, having rallied every church congregation behind Stalin during the war, were now an instrument of the State, a ministry of the Kremlin. This demolition was a demonstration of that subjugation.” (5) During the beginning of the story, this is about a church being blown up and continues from events in the previous book. Here the author uses important language and complex, making me need a dictionary at some points.
Reading this book, I liked how Leo was made to be a likeable protagonist and is not in fact as evil as other KGB members are depicted in the book. He is shown to have a heart, which is not always a good thing at some points. I especially enjoyed reading this as I like reading about these areas and points in time as I know so little about them. It also makes me wonder on some things in communist Russia. I like reading fiction about these events and even non-fiction about the same events.