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richardpapenapologist's review against another edition
3.0
I want to give this book a higher rating but it spends WAY too long getting to its climax, and that part is WAY too short. otherwise it was great — I would’ve enjoyed it more if I didn’t spend months getting through it thanks to exams.
also she didn’t even get invited to a bonfire :/
also she didn’t even get invited to a bonfire :/
meganpbell's review against another edition
4.0
This one comes out of nowhere and gets under your skin. Zoya Andropova comes over from Russia as a young orphan, dropped into an all-girls boarding school in 1920s New Jersey. Zoya is alienated and alone when her favorite Russian novelist arrives with his beautiful, aristocratic, calculating wife. What results is a quiet, burning meditation on deception, identity, class distinction, nationality, loyalty, & art, that rages into a holy conflagration and will leave you with a kind of delicious smoke in your eyes.
outtoexist's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kelic's review against another edition
2.0
Synopsis- The seductive story of a dangerous love triangle, inspired by the infamous Nabokov marriage, with a spellbinding psychological thriller at its core.
In the 1920s, Zoya Andropova, a young refugee from the Soviet Union, finds herself in the alien landscape of an elite all-girls New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home, and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by the malice her peers heap on scholarship students and her new country’s paranoia about Russian spies. When she meets the visiting writer and fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov—whose books Zoya has privately obsessed over for years—her luck seems to have taken a turn for the better. But she soon discovers that Leo is not the solution to her loneliness: he’s committed to his art and bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera.
As the reader unravels the mystery of Zoya, Lev, and Vera’s fate, Zoya is faced with mounting pressure to figure out who she is and what kind of life she wants to build. Grappling with class distinctions, national allegiance, and ethical fidelity—not to mention the powerful magnetism of sex—Invitation to a Bonfire investigates how one’s identity is formed, irrevocably, through a series of momentary decisions, including how to survive, who to love, and whether to pay the complicated price of happiness.
Review- This book wasn't bad just dull. The story was well constructed, the prose was decent and set a tone, the main character was fairly fleshed out but everything moved at a snail's pace. There wasn't enough action or drama to move the story along. There were some interesting reveals about our main character's life and personality but not enough. I get that our MC was dull or maybe she was just trying to be inoffensive, I'm not really sure actually, it might be a bit of both, but either way I don't think the story should have followed suit. The ending was the best bit but it's not so good that it's worth the investment.
Rating - Two boring though not bad stars. ⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel
In the 1920s, Zoya Andropova, a young refugee from the Soviet Union, finds herself in the alien landscape of an elite all-girls New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home, and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by the malice her peers heap on scholarship students and her new country’s paranoia about Russian spies. When she meets the visiting writer and fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov—whose books Zoya has privately obsessed over for years—her luck seems to have taken a turn for the better. But she soon discovers that Leo is not the solution to her loneliness: he’s committed to his art and bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera.
As the reader unravels the mystery of Zoya, Lev, and Vera’s fate, Zoya is faced with mounting pressure to figure out who she is and what kind of life she wants to build. Grappling with class distinctions, national allegiance, and ethical fidelity—not to mention the powerful magnetism of sex—Invitation to a Bonfire investigates how one’s identity is formed, irrevocably, through a series of momentary decisions, including how to survive, who to love, and whether to pay the complicated price of happiness.
Review- This book wasn't bad just dull. The story was well constructed, the prose was decent and set a tone, the main character was fairly fleshed out but everything moved at a snail's pace. There wasn't enough action or drama to move the story along. There were some interesting reveals about our main character's life and personality but not enough. I get that our MC was dull or maybe she was just trying to be inoffensive, I'm not really sure actually, it might be a bit of both, but either way I don't think the story should have followed suit. The ending was the best bit but it's not so good that it's worth the investment.
Rating - Two boring though not bad stars. ⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel
erinelainey's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
adxthx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
icg233's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
fiendfull's review
3.0
Invitation to a Bonfire is the story of Russians in 1930s America, unnerving relationships, and the price of being known as a great writer. Zoya Andropova in a Russian refugee at a New Jersey boarding school, where she struggles to fit in. This doesn't stop her staying and getting a job there, and that's how she meets Leo Orlov, a writer come to teach at the school, and his cold-seeming wife Vera. Zoya is drawn into a strange situation, a love triangle that puts her in an ominous position unless she can find a way to win.
What feels most memorable about the book is that most of it happens in the second half. It is written as a collection of papers—a diary by Zoya, letters from Leo to Vera—but the start mostly concerns how Zoya came to America from Russia and how her time as a student at the school was. This sets up the scene very emphatically, but it is a little strange to be waiting so long and then everything with Leo to happen so quickly. The end is sinister and twisting, which is satisfying, though again quite fast. What mostly emerges from the narrative is that Zoya is a far more intricately drawn and interesting character, despite the importance of Leo and Vera and their relationship upon Zoya.
The premise and twisted connection between the characters are absorbing parts of Invitation to a Bonfire, but the unexpected narrative pacing makes it a slightly weird reading experience, with it feeling like the ending actually needed to be far more dragged out to suit the pace and style. Nevertheless, it does capture an atmosphere and Zoya is a fantastically realised character.
What feels most memorable about the book is that most of it happens in the second half. It is written as a collection of papers—a diary by Zoya, letters from Leo to Vera—but the start mostly concerns how Zoya came to America from Russia and how her time as a student at the school was. This sets up the scene very emphatically, but it is a little strange to be waiting so long and then everything with Leo to happen so quickly. The end is sinister and twisting, which is satisfying, though again quite fast. What mostly emerges from the narrative is that Zoya is a far more intricately drawn and interesting character, despite the importance of Leo and Vera and their relationship upon Zoya.
The premise and twisted connection between the characters are absorbing parts of Invitation to a Bonfire, but the unexpected narrative pacing makes it a slightly weird reading experience, with it feeling like the ending actually needed to be far more dragged out to suit the pace and style. Nevertheless, it does capture an atmosphere and Zoya is a fantastically realised character.
thedoctorsaysrun's review against another edition
5.0
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2019 Task #1: An epistolary novel or collection of letters