Life and Fate (Russian: Жизнь и судьба), is a 1959 novel by Vasily Grossman, and the author’s magnum opus. Technically, it is the second half of the author’s conceived two-part book under the same title, but while the first half (the novel For the Right Cause), written during the reign of Joseph Stalin and first published in 1952, expresses loyalty to the regime, Life and Fate sharply criticises Stalinism. Le Monde described it as “the greatest Russian novel of the twentieth century.”
 
Life and Fate takes place during Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, mainly focusing on the Battle of Stalingrad. The German invasion, which started June 22, 1941, had three main spearheads. One was focused on Leningrad in the North West part of the Soviet Union, another targeted Moscow, the capital, and the final spearhead was Stalingrad. When the Germans reached Stalingrad, which is known as Volgograd in modern times, Life and Fate begins. This book begins when Germany laid siege to the city, trying to move through Stalingrad and to the oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains. During Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, one of the main German spearhead was focused on the city of Stalingrad. Throughout the book, there are references of the decaying city and the damage of the aerial bombardments from artillery based around the city. There are also occasions in the Russian novel in which the German barricade is quite noticeable. The characters are suffering from starvation and the lack of clean water.
 
Bron: en.wikipedia.org