Life and Fate: Vasily Grossman's Masterpiece

Published by Stephen Milward in Culture · Friday 09 Jan 2026 · 2 minutes
Tags: Life, and, Fate, Vasily, Grossman, masterpiece, literature, World, War, II, historical, fiction, Russian, literature, human, experience, morality, fate, war, suffering, resilience

'Life and Fate', Vasily Grossman's 1959 novel about a family in the 'Great Patriotic War' is a book that has had a profound impact on me. It's themes of torment, struggle and tragedy based around Stalingrad (now Volgograd), speaks to the battle people have against two enemies, one of whom you are compelled to support.

For a description of the book's plot, characters and Grossman himself, read 'Life and Fate' on Wikipedia. (i)

For me, the themes apply to our world today. We find ourselves facing the growth of fascism, especially in the so-called free world. Trump, the uber-fascist who acts as if he leads a totalitarian state, who says he does not need international law (ii) is playing the role of the new Hitler, a land-grabbing psychopath who demands loyalty of his population and treats dissent as treason. America is a rogue venal state with him and his cabal (Vance, Hegseth, Rubio etc) in charge. Fascists must be fought and defeated, just like Hitler and Nazi Germany. To be an American now is a dangerous thing, even on their own streets. They have liars in charge who normalise and celebrate law breaking.

Grossman's epic novel is a timeless description of humanity's strength to resist evil from whatever direction it comes from. I urge you to read it. You will be affected and strengthened by it as I have been. The proof that literature has the power to portray political society is here for all to see and read.

(i) 'Life and Fate': Wikipedia

(ii) ‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’: The Guardian 08 January 2026