The Angel Of Grozny: Life Inside Chechnya - from the bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul

Description

In the early hours of New Year's Eve, 1994, Russian troops invaded the Republic of Chechnya, plunging the country into a prolonged and bloody conflict that continues to this day. Asne Seierstad was a foreign correspondent in Moscow at the time, and travelled regularly to Chechnya to report on the war, describing its effects on those trying to live their daily lives amidst the violence. In 2006 and 2007 she returned, travelling in secret, under constant danger. The tragedy in Chechnya had continued, but the world had moved on, its attention on other conflicts. In a broken, devastated society, she meets the orphans, the wounded, the lost. And she meets the children of Grozny, those who will shape their country's future. What happens to a child who grows up surrounded by war, who grows accustomed to violence? Whose childhood is ruined? A compelling, intimate and often heartbreaking portrait of Chechnya today, The Angel of Grozny also offers a vivid account of its violent history, and its ongoing battle for freedom.

Asne Seierstad (born 1970) has worked as a correspondent in Russia, China, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, amongst many other places. She has received numerous awards for her journalism. She lives in Oslo.

[Asne Seierstad] has produced the best book in English about one of the world's most brutal and under-reported conflicts' Sunday Times 'Anyone wanting to understand the Russia of today should read this compelling, shocking book about the forgotten suffering of Chechnya... a powerful book of heartbreaking yet flamboyant reportage from a forgotten hell' Evening Standard 'If Kapuscinski was the modern master of literary reportage, then Asne Seierstad's The Angel of Grozny proves her a worthy follower with this bleak but beautiful book' Sunday Herald 'Extraordinary and deeply harrowing...a tenacious and compassionate reporter, [Asne Seierstad] finds her way into the homes of Chechens and tells their stories...[a] brave, disturbing book' Scotsman 'touching stories of loss, survival and bravery...an invaluable account of the stormy conflicts that have blighted the area for centuries' Time Out 'As a crash course on recent Chechen and Russian history, Seierstad's account is invaluable: she presents all the confusing contradictions of the conflict in a straightforward, accessible way, which is no mean feat...she has a real eye for detail and the human heart of a story' The Observer '[Asne Seierstad] tells their stories with poignancy and compassion. The Angel of Grozny reads at times almost like a novel; the pity is that Seierstad isn't making it up' Independent