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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
3.75/5?
I did enjoy this one but found aspects hard to believe, mostly how easily the protagonist fit into the Russian court and what happened to Anastasia.
I did enjoy this one but found aspects hard to believe, mostly how easily the protagonist fit into the Russian court and what happened to Anastasia.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Solid three star rating. I'm willing to suspend quite a bit of disbelief in terms of historical fiction, so my issues with the book are less about historical inaccuracies per se as they are about a lack of character/relationship development. For example, Georgy's relationship with Anastasia just kind of happens, and we never get to see it develop in any meaningful way. I enjoyed the read overall for what it was- a romance that took a lot of liberty with history, but I did feel that the characters and the relationships between them needed more development to feel believable.
La historia nos presenta a Georgi, un anciano cuya esposa se encuentra a punto de fallecer. Al enfrentarse a este momento, el protagonista hace un recorrido a lo largo de su vida. Desde su infancia en su pueblo natal hasta su entrada como guardián del joven zarévich, Alexis, en el Palacio de Invierno de la Rusia de los zares.
Me ha gustado mucho cómo está escrito, el autor ha logrado dejarme fascinada con su forma de escribir y transmitir emociones en esta novela. Los capítulos se van alternando entre, por un lado, distintos años del siglo XX, relacionados con vivencias de Georgi y Zoya; y, por otro lado, la vida pasada de Georgi como sirviente de la familia Romanov. Creo que todos los personajes está muy bien definidos, especialmente el de Rasputín y su relación con la zarina Alejandra. El romance principal de la novela me parece muy bonito y se desarrolla de una manera muy natural a lo largo de la historia.
Era difícil que este libro no me gustara porque la época en la que se desarrolla me resulta fascinante y el autor retrata de forma objetiva cómo debieron ser aquellos años para Rusia y para la dinastía Romanov.
Mientras leía el libro, creía que iba a darle las cinco estrellas porque me estaba encantando y creo que es un libro estupendo, pero el final del mismo me ha parecido un poco apresurado y precipitado, así que se ha quedado en cuatro estrellas, que tampoco está nada mal.
Eso sí, el "twist" final de la historia: más que predecible.
Me ha gustado mucho cómo está escrito, el autor ha logrado dejarme fascinada con su forma de escribir y transmitir emociones en esta novela. Los capítulos se van alternando entre, por un lado, distintos años del siglo XX, relacionados con vivencias de Georgi y Zoya; y, por otro lado, la vida pasada de Georgi como sirviente de la familia Romanov. Creo que todos los personajes está muy bien definidos, especialmente el de Rasputín y su relación con la zarina Alejandra. El romance principal de la novela me parece muy bonito y se desarrolla de una manera muy natural a lo largo de la historia.
Era difícil que este libro no me gustara porque la época en la que se desarrolla me resulta fascinante y el autor retrata de forma objetiva cómo debieron ser aquellos años para Rusia y para la dinastía Romanov.
Mientras leía el libro, creía que iba a darle las cinco estrellas porque me estaba encantando y creo que es un libro estupendo, pero el final del mismo me ha parecido un poco apresurado y precipitado, así que se ha quedado en cuatro estrellas, que tampoco está nada mal.
Eso sí, el "twist" final de la historia: más que predecible.
With book club books, I usually wait until after the discussion before I rate them. However, this one I'm going out on a limb and rating early. Boyne of [b:The Boy in the Striped Pajamas|39999|The Boy in the Striped Pajamas|John Boyne|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1366228171s/39999.jpg|1148702] fame has dazzled us again with his lovely and I mean lovely writing. He creates sympathetic and engaging characters. I loved Georgy and found myself sympathetic to him from the first page. However, I had a hard time reconciling this courtly, intelligent, bookish elderly gentleman with the Muzhik of his early childhood. The story of Georgy and his wife Zoya as Russian emigres fleeing the communists fell apart because I couldn't suspend my disbelief that Georgy's life from penniless peasant to privileged bodyguard could have occurred. The transgressions got bigger as the story progressed! This story written from the fascination that Boyne had with the Romanovs from the time he encountered Maissie's [b:Nicholas and Alexandra|133486|Nicholas and Alexandra|Robert K. Massie|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1333577599s/133486.jpg|2453716] as a young boy, belongs in the YA realm.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When Georgy is sixteen in 1915, an event occurs that sees him leave his impoverished Russian village and thrust into the life of a bodyguard to the young Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II. As a witness and participant in the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy carries a heavy burden of secrets throughout his life.
Sixty-five years later, Georgy’s wife Zoya is in a London hospital and memories of their life together wash over and haunt him.
This is a beautifully constructed book that is told from two perspectives: Georgy in Russia in 1915 and how he comes to be in the service to the Tsar, and Georgy in his more current life in London which then works backwards in time until it intertwines with his life in Russia.
It is a beautiful story of love (not just romantic love), loss, trauma and survival. I do have to say that the story is quite slow, the historical aspect is not completely accurate and there are a number of rather amazing (or unbelievable) coincidences, which will probably greatly annoy those who can’t look past them. That said, I was able to overlook these as in John Boyne’s hands, this is still a wonderfully nostalgic story that I very much enjoyed and was quite touched by. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Sixty-five years later, Georgy’s wife Zoya is in a London hospital and memories of their life together wash over and haunt him.
This is a beautifully constructed book that is told from two perspectives: Georgy in Russia in 1915 and how he comes to be in the service to the Tsar, and Georgy in his more current life in London which then works backwards in time until it intertwines with his life in Russia.
It is a beautiful story of love (not just romantic love), loss, trauma and survival. I do have to say that the story is quite slow, the historical aspect is not completely accurate and there are a number of rather amazing (or unbelievable) coincidences, which will probably greatly annoy those who can’t look past them. That said, I was able to overlook these as in John Boyne’s hands, this is still a wonderfully nostalgic story that I very much enjoyed and was quite touched by. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No