The Last of the Vostyachs

As a child, Ivan and his father worked as forced labourers in a mine in Siberia, the father having committed some minor offence against the regime. He is then murdered in front of his young son, after which Ivan - who is a Vostyak - is struck dumb. 20 years later the guards desert their posts and Ivan walks off free. The Last of the Vostyachs won two literary prizes in Italy.