View source for Requiem for a Lost Empire

{{short description|2000 novel by Andreï Makine}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Requiem for a Lost Empire
| image             =
| image_size        =
| border            =
| alt               =
| caption           =
| author            = [[Andreï Makine]]
| title_orig        = Requiem pour l'Est
| orig_lang_code    = fr
| translator        =
| illustrator       =
| cover_artist      =
| country           = Franc
| language          = French
| subject           =
| genre             =
| publisher         = [[Éditions Gallimard]]
| pub_date          = 22 February 2000
| english_pub_date  = 1 August 2001
| media_type        =
| pages             = 228
| isbn              = 2715221940
}}
'''''Requiem for a Lost Empire''''' ({{langx|fr|Requiem pour l'Est}}) is a 2000 novel by the French-Russian writer [[Andreï Makine]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hansen |first=Julie |year=2013 |title="La simultanéité du présent": Memory, History, and Narrative in Andreï Makine’s Novels Le Testament français and Requiem pour l’Est |journal=[[Modern Language Notes|MLN]] |volume=128 |issue=4 |pages=881–899 |doi=10.1353/mln.2013.0053 }}</ref>
==Plot==
The novel follows a Russian family over three generations. It begins during the [[History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)|Stalin era]] and centres on the farmer Pavel who is in conflict with the regime during the [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|collectivisation]]. Later in the 20th century, Pavel's son is involved in [[KGB]] espionage and goes to the United States to seek out the murderers of his lover. Pavel's father is introduced and was a deserter from the [[Red Army]].<ref name=":1" />
==Reception==
''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' wrote that the book is beautifully and lyrically written, praising Makine's treatment of memories and repetitions over the generations.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781559705714 |title=Requiem for a Lost Empire |newspaper=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=16 July 2001 |access-date=20 November 2023 }}</ref> ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' called the book moving and resonant, but wrote that "geopolitical conflict is analyzed with a tad too much discursive insistence", comparing it to ''[[The English Patient]]'' and calling it "a lesser work".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/andrei-makine/requiem-for-a-lost-empire/ |title=Requiem for a Lost Empire |newspaper=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=1 July 2001 |access-date=20 November 2023 }}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.gallimard.fr/Catalogue/MERCURE-DE-FRANCE/Bleue/Requiem-pour-l-Est Gallimard]
* [https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/arcade-publishing/9781611457650/requiem-for-a-lost-empire/ Arcade Publishing]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/07/books/chapters/requiem-for-a-lost-empire.html New York Times: First Chapter: 'Requiem for a Lost Empire']
{{Andreï Makine}}
[[Category:2000 French novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Andreï Makine]]
[[Category:Éditions Gallimard books]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Stalin era]]
[[Category:Cold War spy novels]]
[[Category:Novels about families]]