Eastern Europe Fiction

Since its beginnings, Poland has been a moving target, geographically as well as demographically, and the very definition of who is a Pole has been in flux. In the late medieval and early modern periods, the country grew to be the largest in continental Europe, only to be later wiped off the map for more than a century. Yet even under these constraints, Poles persisted in their desire to wrest from their oppressors a modicum of national dignity and, ultimately, managed to achieve much more than that.

In light of Russia's aggressive 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Goodbye, Eastern Europe is a crucial, elucidative read, a sweeping epic chronicling a thousand years of strife, war, and bloodshed, from pre-Christianity to the fall of Communism—illuminating the remarkable cultural significance and...

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2025 An adrenaline-fueled thriller about a disgraced comedian-turned-politician who takes on the role of a lifetime: infiltrating a corrupt Eastern European country to spy on their brutal dictator Hal Knight, a comedian and movie star-turned politician, is no...

A KIRKUS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE FREUDENHEIM TRANSLATION PRIZE From “one of the great—if not the greatest—contemporary Yiddish novelists” (Elie Wiesel), the long-awaited English translation of a work, Tolstoyan in scope, that chronicles the last...

The stunning story of the breathtaking journey of nine extraordinary men from Budapest to the New World, what they experienced along their dangerous route, and how they changed America and the world. In a style both personal and historically groundbreaking, acclaimed author Kati Marton (born in Budapest) tells the tale of their youth in Budapest's Golden Age of the early 20th century, their flight, and their lives of extraordinary accomplishment, danger, glamour, and poignancy.

Victory and defeat, love and loss are the prevalent realities of Letters from the Greatest Generation, a remarkable and frank collection of World War II letters penned by American men and women serving overseas. Here, the hopes and dreams of the greatest generation fill each minute, and their voices ring loud and clear. "It's all part of the game. But it's bloody and rough," wrote one soldier to his wife. "Wearing two stripes now and proud as an old cat with five kittens," marked another.

. A tale of international intrigue that will appeal to military-spy thriller readers around the world, Into Hell's Fire is an action-packed page-turner which pushes the boundaries between fact and fiction. Lucas Martin, a retired contractor of the U.S. government, is recalled to duty to help the U.S. State Department decide its Balkan policy at the beginning of the Siege of Sarajevo. Hired to accumulate accurate intelligence and monitor the crisis as it develops, little time passes before he is ensnared in a deadly struggle with a sinister, Yugoslav general. Crossing regional borders, ...

Russian literature exudes an atmosphere of mysticism, which is said to be a natural result of the simplicity of her people. Often, instead of being "about" anything, Russian stories sometimes seem to be the "thing" in itself. Be this as it may, it is an undeniable fact that with hardly any portent of future greatness to come, Russian literature suddenly sprang fully developed into existence in the 19th century.

"Thrilling… Scibona has built a masterpiece." – The New York Times Book Review "All of it — all of it — is just so ridiculously beautiful." – Jason Sheehan, NPR.org "The rewards are enormous. This is a spectacular work of fiction." – San Francisco Chronicle A long-awaited new...

In the volatile and shifting political atmosphere of Eastern Europe after World War II, an inexperienced homicide detective fresh out of the academy is assigned a crime that no one wants to solve. Set in a bombed-out city in an unnamed country formerly occupied by the Germans and now by the Russians, the story follows Emil Brod as he unravels the threads of the cover-up of a brutal murder, while supporting his grandparents, his only family, in the equally brutal city.

National Book Award finalist Cristina García delivers a powerful and gorgeous novel about the intertwining lives of the denizens of a luxurious hotel in an unnamed Central American capital in the midst of political turmoil The lives of six men and women converge over the course of one week...

New York Times bestselling author China Miéville delivers his most accomplished novel yet, an existential thriller set in a city unlike any other–real or imagined. When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for...

In this sweeping novel, James A. Michener chronicles eight tumultuous centuries as three Polish families live out their destinies. The Counts Lubonski, the petty nobles Bukowksi, and the peasants Buk are at some times fiercely united, at others tragically divided. With an inspiring tradition of...

Transylvania, 1463. A land of fortress cities, whispered heresies, and shadows cast by Vlad Dracula (the man, not the vampire.) Kate Webber, a 28-year-old Saxon healer, has always lived between reverence and suspicion. Her gift with herbs and midwifery makes her indispensable - and dangerous - in Kronstadt (today Brașov) , a medieval city where fear rules and women are silenced. Her marriage to the powerful, secretive Magyar promised safety, but instead bound her voice. One bitter Advent night, Kate breaks her husband’s command and saves a dying mother and child. Her defiance sparks awe ...

In the tradition of Herman Wouk's sweeping historical war epics, Fallout of War follows Lieutenant Commander James Fairbanks, a career naval submarine officer assigned as a military attaché to the American embassy in Kyiv in late 2021. Fairbanks arrives in Ukraine with his wife, Lucy, a State Department analyst, just as tensions with Russia reach a critical juncture. A thoughtful, disciplined officer known for his strategic acumen and unvarnished assessments, Fairbanks quickly becomes immersed in the complex political and military landscape of Eastern Europe. Fairbanks tours the Chernobyl ...

A moody, atmospheric literary thriller and “a timeless tale of migration” (The Guardian), from one of Europe’s biggest-selling authors Despite its Biblical title—which comes from the opening lines of the Book of Exodus—award-winning novelist Tommy Wieringa has crafted perhaps his...

State Security Officer Brano Sev is the secretive member of the Ministry for State Security. No one else quite trusts him, but it is part of his job to do what the authorities ask, no matter what. So when he gets an order to travel to the village of his birth in order to interrogate a potential defector, he goes. When a man turns up dead shortly after he arrives and Brano is framed for the murder, he assumes this is part of the plan and allows it to run its course.

Welcome to Bulgaria, my adopted country in the south east of Europe, a land of snow-blanketed mountains and sun-baked plains, deep pine forests and fragrant rose plantations, studded with remnants of past eras – ancient Thracian and Roman, medieval, Ottoman and Communist. Join me on a fictional journey to remote villages where you'll meet native Bulgarians, travellers and expatriates, demons and ghosts. I’ve blended my personal experiences with Bulgarian folklore and mythology, and let my imagination roam. All the events and characters are my inventions, yet they’re steeped in ...

From the #1 bestselling author of The Historian comes a mesmerizing novel that spans the past and the present—and unearths the troubled history of a gorgeous but haunted country. A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD A searing debut about the transcendent power of love in wartime, hailed as “an absolute masterpiece” (Sarah Jessica Parker, Entertainment Weekly)—from the renowned author of Mercury Pictures Presents ...