The Shoemaker and his Daughter

An absolutely terrific book - moving, informative, an extraordinary story beautifully written.

</i>Martin Fletcher, former foreign correspondent and foreign editor of <i>The Times

Takes us into the hidden heart of Soviet Russia... an illuminating combination of history, politics, geography and humanity that's personal and close... An arresting and evocative story, brought alive through a host of characters, not least, the vast, hostile, secretive Russia herself.

</i>Keggie Carew, author of <i>Dadland

Brilliant! Conor O'Clery shows more about how people really live in the former Soviet Union than any foreign writer before him. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know about today's Russia.

</i>Fred Coleman, author of <i>The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Empire

Conor O'Clery's latest book is a tour de force - a sweeping account of the turbulent decades of the Soviet Union and the new Russia, told through the prism of a Russian-Armenian family. The story features love, politics, murder, wars, and the fracturing of ties, personal and ethnic, brought about by Stalin and his Kremlin successors. O'Clery is a gifted writer. His subject is one he knows well: his wife's father, mother and relatives, as they make their own sure-footed journey through a treacherous twentieth century.

</i>Luke Harding, #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i> Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House

Conor O'Clery is a legend among foreign correspondents. Over four decades - in Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia - he has established himself as a voice of wit, close observation, and sane good sense. His new book will be welcomed by everyone who cares about good writing, and about the human stories that enable us to understand the great movements of world history.

</i>Richard Lloyd Parry, author of <i>Ghosts of the Tsunami

A fascinating way to illuminate a century of Russian history. Conor O'Clery uses the story of his Russian-Armenian in-laws to explore the reality of life in Russia and the Soviet Union.

Martin Sixsmith

This is not a book about heroic dissidents or murderous fanatics, but about everyday people trying to navigate a system that frustrates them yet provides them with priceless opportunities...Enchantingly written, thoughtfully structured and a model for all the other journalists who pass through Moscow.

Economist

Transcends the confines of a mere family history... With his easy humour, engaging style and innate sympathy for the little guy, O'Clery shows how events and decisions in Moscow affected millions of Russians in myriad life-changing ways.

Financial Times

A moving testament to these decent people whose ordinary lives coincided with extraordinary times and testing circumstances.

Irish Independent

[O'Clery] is an elegant and scrupulous writer. His consistently excellent reportage is further enriched by Zhanna’s memories.

Irish Times

[A] superb, illuminating book ... A memoir of great power and poignancy.

Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday

An often brilliant exploration of nearly a century of Soviet and post-Soviet history ... highly readable, deeply informed telling of an ordinary, extraordinary story.

Sunday Times, Ireland

Highly readable, deeply informed telling of an ordinary, extraordinary story.

Sunday Times

An unusual chronicle of the end of the Soviet Union, seen through the eyes of an extended family... O'Clery tells their story with tender clarity.

Xan Smiley, Literary Review