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Document Z

Andrew Croome    
Format: Paperback - B format
Pages: 264
AUD $22.99 inc. GST
Document Z

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A masterful, taut and atmospheric novel of political espionage and intrigue, telling the story of the Petrov defection during the Cold War of the 1950s. Winner of the 2008 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award.

Description

Evdokia knew that the crowd was here for her. Hunting her. From the back seat of the Cadillac, she peered into their faces beyond the glass. Angry looks. Perplexed and desolate. Some were already shouting, trying the handles on the doors. There were Russian voices. English voices. Several times the sound of her name.She was certain these people would kill her before they'd let her through the terminal and onto the plane. Beside her, Zharkov thrust the door open and Evdokia stepped out following, thinking she must be mad. Just close your eyes, she thought. Keep your feet marching like the Pioneer Youth. Guns under the jackets of her escorts. This might be it, she realised. A chaos building, a climbing potential. Defector's Wife Dies in Airport Shootout.
Canberra, 1951. The Cold War is at its height. Into an atmosphere of paranoia, rumour and suspicion, Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov are among a group of new arrivals at the Soviet Embassy in Canberra. Both are party loyalists, working for the MVD, Moscow intelligence. Yet all is not well in the new city of Canberra. The atmosphere in the Embassy is tense and suspicious; the Ambassador resents their presence, and is secretly working to have Vladimir disgraced and recalled. In the meantime, ASIO are determined to discover who in this new group works for the MVD. Only three short years later, Vladimir has defected and his wife Evdokia is held prisoner at the Soviet Embassy, waiting to be transported back to Russia to face punishment or death for his crime. How did it come to this?
A tightly told story of secrets, lies, deception and betrayal - both personal and political - Document Z, the winner of The Australian/Vogel Literary Award, is a taut and atmospheric novel of political espionage and intrigue which brings our recent history vividly and immediately to life.
'Impressive. A distinctive voice, taut writing ... a brooding atmosphere of shadows and spooks.' - Marele Day
'A remarkable achievement . . . a story that is emotionally and politically complex as well as consistently human . . . distinctive and significant' - Matt Rubinstein
'Very impressive . . . absorbing, sophisticated ... beautiful suspenseful writing. A powerful and complex piece, wonderfully crafted.' - Cate Kennedy

Awards

Winner, 2010 NSW Premier's Literary Award - UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing for Fiction
Finalist, 2010 Sydney Morning Herald 2010 Best Young Novelist
Shortlisted, 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize - Best First Book in the South East Asia and Pacific region
Shortlisted, 2010 Ned Kelly Awards - Best First Fiction
Winner, 2008 The Australianl/Vogel Literary Award

Andrew Croome was born Canberra but grew up in Hobart and Albury/Wodonga. In 1998, he moved to Melbourne to attend university and is yet to leave. He has worked as a computer programmer, creative writing tutor and copywriter, and is soon to complete a PhD in Creative Writing at The University of Melbourne. Document Z is his first novel.

ISBN: 9781741757439
Australian Pub.: August 2009
Publisher: ALLEN & UNWIN
Imprint: ALLEN & UNWIN
Subject: Literary fiction
Edition Number: 1

Listen to Andrew Croome discussing his book on ABC Radio National's The Book Show

Reader reviews

'Andrew Croome cleverly begins with the events surrounding the iconic photo of a distressd Mrs Petrov surrounded by KGB agents after her husband had defected during the Cold War so that the rest of the story can focus on Evdokia Petrov the person. Croome has skilfully portrayed the ordinariness of Canberra life in the 1950's with the covert activities of the Soviet Embassy, the conflict of Marxist ideologies while living in a capitalist society, lethal office politics where mistakes can be proof of disloyalty to Stalin and the dubious motives of key players behind the defection.  Evdokia Petrov is portrayed as more than a Cold War heroine and is fleshed out as a sympathetic person who just wants to do her job well while thoroughly detesting the Ambassador's wife. 
Document Z is an enjoyable trip down memory lane when Cold War paranoia in Australia was as real as concerns over the environment today. It inspired me to look up more about the Petrov Affair, surely a good thing when a book makes you want to learn more about real events!' - Kris Foreman

'Canberra in the 1950s now seems such an unlikely setting for a hotbed of political intrigue and yet, as the Cold War raged, it was. Andrew Croome's story rapidly draws the reader in - from the very first page of the prologue, we are put in Evdokia Petrov's shoes (shoe?), faced with the terrible, confusing reality of her husband, Vladimir's defection. We are then taken back to life in the Russian Embassy, where spying was part of the job description and where everything was reported back to Moscow -- national secrets as well as petty interpersonal squabbles. Where one always had to be on guard -- from co-workers as well as from ASIO operatives. Where the consequences of a misstep might be being sent home in disgrace or harm to a loved one still there.

Croome's tale is told authentically, with audible Russian accents, palpable summer heat and mounting tension, which make it easier to stop every so often and reflect that the story isn't fiction, it is a very strange, almost implausible truth.' - Marlies Lagerberg

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