Stalin's Nose: Across the Face of Europe

Peter Roberts is the former Canadian Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

The real subject of this very interesting and, for the most part,
beautifully crafted book is the narrator’s favorite uncle, Peter, a
retired KGB general who lives in East Berlin and tends his garden in the
shadow of the Wall. In the very first line of the book, Uncle Peter is
killed by a pig named Winston that falls on him from a tree. Soon after,
Winston further disgraces himself by devouring the false teeth belonging
to Peter’s widow. The widow is the narrator’s favorite aunt, Zita,
long married to a Communist spy but the descendant of an aristocratic
Austrian family. Since it is well known that the best false teeth come
from Budapest, it is only natural that the narrator, Aunt Zita, and the
pig should get into Zita’s ancient Trabant and drive there via Prague
and Brno. And it seems natural, too, that once Zita is fitted out with
teeth, they should all three continue their journey to Poland before
proceeding to Romania and, finally, Russia.

Behind the horseplay with the pig and the teeth lies a profoundly
serious purpose. The narrator wants to know how and why a loved and
admired family member like Uncle Peter could do the dreadful things he
did in the name of Communism, or Fascism, or some other ism; and how
other relatives like Aunt Zita could pretend to themselves that these
things never happened. With its compelling descriptions of cities,
people, food, and the countryside, this is a travel book—but it is
also much more, as the narrator seeks and eventually finds the answer he
needs.

The deadpan frivolity that runs through the first half of the book
cannot be sustained when the travelers reach Poland, whose torment the
author movingly portrays. Nor is it much sustained in Romania and
Russia, countries MacLean clearly found unsympathetic. One almost wishes
that he had omitted these two rather perfunctory concluding chapters,
leaving his readers high on his masterful handling of the Polish
material.