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Laura Lăzărescu is a lawyer, a junior associate in a law firm that embarks on the biggest case of the century: defending infamous Marija Popa, the wife of the Yanussian dictator, Constantin Popa, accused of many crimes. Mary Jordan, a biographer of Melania Trump, found her more ambitious and knowing – more like Donald Trump – than is often assumed. Berry comments: “She’s very good at disappearing, even when she’s right there, behind her sunglasses.” At one point in The Dictator’s Wife, Popa insists: “My clothes, my jewellery, they are my amulets. My protection.” The narrator adds: “Protection. Survival. She spoke the language of the hunted, yet who was her hunter?” Demands to be devoured in one sitting. Sumptuously written... One of the most compelling literary debuts of the year' GLAMOUR
In 1993 A team of lawyers from England fly in to represent Popa's widow, Marija. The revolution has happened and the people want to know if she knew what her husband was doing for her to steal her wealth from the people. She's facing the death penalty. Laura (one of the lawyers) and her parents fled Yanussia so this is a personal case for her, once she gets to know Marija it becomes even more so... Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including: Elena Ceausescu: Doctor Horroris. Youtube, 21 Aug. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSoxcc6ZPoI. A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless' LARA PRESCOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept Will she ever find out the truth about her family secrets, and why her family never want her to return to Yanussia, and certainly don't want her to defend Marija Popa?
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The Dictator’s Wife is released on the 17 February and FYI: Waterstones & Goldsboro Books both have exclusive editions! Her interest in chemistry arose when she was briefly employed in a laboratory. In her free time, she attended meetings of the Youth Communists' League, where she met her soon-to-be husband Nicolae. She failed nearly every subject that was taught in Romanian schools. Strange how glamour enchants us, how it makes us forget. A fur coat insists on us ignoring the abattoir".
I’m finally finished! 2.5 stars. I have not enjoyed reading this. It put me in a serious reading slump. That seed was watered by a Saturday Night Live sketch, not about Melania Trump but Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka. It was a parody perfume advert for “Complicit: the fragrance for the woman who could stop all this – but won’t”. Reportedly stung by the bit, which starred Scarlett Johansson, Ivanka Trump told CBS News: “If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact then I’m complicit.” The writing is beautiful, there is a grace and elegance to the prose that is stunning, and this alone made the book an absolute a joy to read. However, there is much, much more to this book than just incredible prose, the plot is compelling. Along with following the main storyline in the present day, I loved how connected the narrator's own past and home life was with her work life. It added another dimension to the story and gave it even more mystery. Especially towards the end when plot twists and coming forward left right and centre, it really made for a well rounded and satisfying ending to the novel in my opinion.
Through her work as a financial and political journalist, Freya Berry was inspired by watching the wives of dictators and strongmen – particularly Melania Trump during the US election in 2016. These women often carry with them an air of detachment, an aloofness that can come across as cold and indifferent, sometimes even calculating. Marija, the dictator’s wife of the title, certainly seems to be all of these things, though she’s so much more – as Laura soon discovers. Marija has a magnetic allure that Laura can’t resist, even though she knows she’s being lured into the spider’s trap. There’s a power play going on between these two women and whilst for much of the novel it feels as if Marija is the one in control, Laura has an innate tenacity that makes her willing to do whatever it takes to dig out the truth – even if it hurts her irrevocably in the process.
A sumptuously written story, which demands to be devoured in one sitting'--GLAMOUR, Top 30 Books Coming in 2022 This is a brilliant novel, in my opinion, and anyone who has an interest in reading novels about the Cold War, post Cold War, and life in Eastern Europe when it was part of the USSR, should seek this one out. The author may have used a fictious country as her setting, but the experiences and circumstances have been based on actual former Eastern Bloc countries and the people who lived there. Outstanding. Elena Ceausescu (1916-89) was the wife of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-89). During the 1970s and 80s, she was one of the two most powerful women on earth (the other was was Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of Great Britain). Her reputation was falsely built up thanks to a fraudulent PhD, appointments to Central Committee positions, and extensive propaganda. Her second novel, The Birdcage Library, is out now: an adventuress discovers an old book containing clues about the disappearance of a woman who vanished 50 years before. Set between a Scottish castle in the 1930s and an exotic animal emporium in Gilded Age New York, it's a twisting Gothic tale of secrets, obsession and murder. Oh, and taxidermy.A gripping, intelligent, utterly-of-the-moment thriller’EMMA STONEX, bestselling author of The Lamplighters
Most of the novel is set in 1993 when Laura Lazarescu, a young London lawyer of Yanussian descent, travels to Yanussia as part of the legal team called in to defend Marija Popa, wife of the former dictator, Constantin Popa. Marija is charged with money laundering, bribery, fraud and corruption. The story is book-ended by events in 2018, when Marija dies and Laura reflects on earlier events. The story is told in the first person by Laura. Assad appears to have almost a cast a spell on the profile writer, Berry observes. “Personal magnetism and charm is very hard to fight against. You look over here and you don’t look at the extrajudicial killings over there.”
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Berry quit the newsroom and travelled to eastern Europe for three months of research. She began in Romania and immediately found herself in the midst of a street protest with hundreds of thousands of people calling for the government’s resignation. She says she is not the person they say, she is not her husband, she is innocent but do we, the reader believe her and can Laura find out the truth?
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