Let the Dead Bury the Dead is an adult historical novel that includes:
- Graphic violence
- Major character death
- References to combat trauma and PTSD
- Sexual content
- References to past child abuse
- Problematic intimate relationships*
- Characters who perpetuate the evils of empire
- Acknowledgment of cultural and religious genocide (non-graphic)
* There is no rape or sexual assault in the book. There are, however, scenes of characters using sex to achieve questionable ulterior motives, as well as extensive emotional manipulation within an intimate relationship.
If you believe I’ve missed something in this list that should be added, please use the contact form to let me know.
Further, two notes:
The book purposefully does not include homophobia or anti-queer laws or attitudes, although queer people everywhere and in Russia particularly have experienced and continue to experience oppression and violence at the hands of the state. The central characters in this book are queer because people in history have always been queer. I chose to let them have their private lives without challenge from the state, which is my hope for the future for all of us.
While the book engages actively with the question of empire, it is an anti-imperialist story that illustrates an attempt to disrupt the tsarist regime. In no way is it a dismissal of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its attempted cultural genocide of the Ukrainian people. As the author, I stand in support of Ukraine’s right to sovereignty.
Allison Epstein 