Helen Dunmore - The Betrayal

Los Angeles Times“Not yet reviewed”

Economist“Not yet reviewed”

Financial Times“Not yet reviewed”

The New Yorker“Not yet reviewed”

The New York Times“Not yet reviewed”

The Boston Globe“Not yet reviewed”

The Times“Heart-pounding force...” It could seem that The Betrayal is too heavily indebted to Orwell. But this would be to overlook Dunmore’s subtlety: her pitch-perfect ear for giveaway dialogue, her scrupulous recording of everyday emotion...

The Telegraph“Lovely, thoughtful...” Dunmore’s lyric gift is at its best when describing the domestic minutiae that seem unspeakably precious in the absence of security. She is good, too, on impalpable apprehension. Only when the horrors become real does her power to disturb weaken...

Guardian“Not morally complicated...” Dunmore has spliced a rather cosy domestic story with the horrible history of Stalin's Russia, and written an absorbing and thoughtful tale of good people in hard times. Compared to other series of historical novels it falls far short...

The Independent“A unique gift for immersing the reader...” t is often said that Dunmore's writing is sensuous, physical and almost synaesthetic. Here, it is all that, but also sparse and elegant when needs be. In fact, the most dramatic moments in the novel read almost like a bleak screenplay...