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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Well, I must say, I am very disappointed in this book. The first two were so good. But, I found myself forcing myself to read this one. I'm abandoning it, as I don't see it going anywhere. After reading some of the less-than-happy reviews, I believe I have made the right choice.
I did find the beginning of the book interesting as it dealt with PTSD. This is a real threat to many that have been to war. But, after that, there just doesn't seem to be much plot. So sad...I really do like her writing. This one was just going on and on and on...and I had only read 300 of the 700 pages.
I did find the beginning of the book interesting as it dealt with PTSD. This is a real threat to many that have been to war. But, after that, there just doesn't seem to be much plot. So sad...I really do like her writing. This one was just going on and on and on...and I had only read 300 of the 700 pages.
This is by far that best love story that I have read. The things that Tatiana and Alexander go through are insane. Not once was I bored with this story and I took my sweet time with it so that I could enjoy every single word that was written. I don't re-read books but this is a series that I would love to enjoy again and again. Such a amazingly beautiful story in the most trying of times.
What the hell do I do with my life now? For the past month I have been so engrossed in these books, now that they are over I have no idea what to do with myself. The Summer Garden is the final book in the Bronze Horseman Trilogy. This final book (in my opinion) was set to a completely different pace than the first ones. In both the Bronze Horseman and Tatianna and Alexander there was love, betrayal, tragedy and hope all set against the backdrop of WWII. But in the Summer Garden, their story continues with their life after the war and it really delves into the characters and their day to day relationship. The author gives a very realistic portrayal of post war marriage and the obstacles they must overcome with their wartime past, inner demons, and outer conflicts. Also with adjusting to life outside of Russia.
Since I was so invested in this book and in their relationship, it was really painful and heartbreaking to read it and it felt very REAL to me. Their closeness and intensity became very frigid. It felt like all of the tension could be cut with a butter knife. Their relationship had conquered the violent woes of war so when they begin a new life in the quiet of everyday trifles, everything comes apart. Why does it fall apart? What happened?
“That’s the chasm. You go through something that changes you. You see things you can’t unsee. Then you are sleepwalking through your actual life, shell-shocked.”
"I love you, I'm blind for you. I'm sick with you. Everything that happened to us, everything is because I crossed the street for you. I worship you. You know that through and through. The way I hold you, the way I touch you, my hands on you, God, me inside you, all the things I can't say during the daylight... Tatiana, Tania, Tatiasha, love, do you feel me?"
As I got closer to end of this book my chest started to get heavy. My stomach had butterflies. And my palms were getting sweating. I felt an abundance of feelings. This book just encompassed me SO MUCH. I felt like I was in a vortex and I couldn't get out. It is realistic, it is emotional, it is full of pain, full of healing, which is just an on going theme I've accepted. It's not afraid to reach to the depth of you soul. Paullina holds nothing back in this one. She writes about human beings after all of their hurt and all of their struggle. But now that I'm finished I feel like I have just lost two best friends...
...Until we meet again, Shura and Tania....
A kickass ending to a kickass saga.
* full review: http://www.talonsbereadlist.wordpress.com
Since I was so invested in this book and in their relationship, it was really painful and heartbreaking to read it and it felt very REAL to me. Their closeness and intensity became very frigid. It felt like all of the tension could be cut with a butter knife. Their relationship had conquered the violent woes of war so when they begin a new life in the quiet of everyday trifles, everything comes apart. Why does it fall apart? What happened?
“That’s the chasm. You go through something that changes you. You see things you can’t unsee. Then you are sleepwalking through your actual life, shell-shocked.”
"I love you, I'm blind for you. I'm sick with you. Everything that happened to us, everything is because I crossed the street for you. I worship you. You know that through and through. The way I hold you, the way I touch you, my hands on you, God, me inside you, all the things I can't say during the daylight... Tatiana, Tania, Tatiasha, love, do you feel me?"
As I got closer to end of this book my chest started to get heavy. My stomach had butterflies. And my palms were getting sweating. I felt an abundance of feelings. This book just encompassed me SO MUCH. I felt like I was in a vortex and I couldn't get out. It is realistic, it is emotional, it is full of pain, full of healing, which is just an on going theme I've accepted. It's not afraid to reach to the depth of you soul. Paullina holds nothing back in this one. She writes about human beings after all of their hurt and all of their struggle. But now that I'm finished I feel like I have just lost two best friends...
...Until we meet again, Shura and Tania....
A kickass ending to a kickass saga.
* full review: http://www.talonsbereadlist.wordpress.com
I read Tully in university and LOVED it! I grabbed this book off a shelf at the library only realising after I had read the whole, massive thing that there was actually two books preceding it! It is still a fabulous book, completely raw and utterly moving. It shows just how much two people can love each other and what any marriage can survive.
Only read 136 (out of 776). Lots of sex and people living in the past. Wasn't going anywhere (even though they were moving from state to state).
Em costa entendre als que dieu que aquest llibre us ha semblat lent, que costa més que els altres...
M'ha agradat tant com els previs. La forma d'escriure sentiments de la Paullina Simons és tan poètica... El dia a dia als Estats Units, la seva mena de road movie, fugida cap al no res, desig de permanença. A mi, m'ha semblat fascinant.
M'ha xocat especialment el punt masclista del Shura, només justificat per la seva inseguretat existencial, la seva por a l'abandonament, demanant-li a la Tatia una entrega absoluta, gairebé fent-la renunciar al seu fill, a la seva feina. Però és que aquests dos pobres han passat per tant...
I cal arribar a la part del Vietnam per a que el llibre agafi un ritme vertiginós, redemptor.
En conjunt, la trilogia és "diferent" del que mostren altres llibres de romàntica. Jo crec que és alguna cosa més. Palpes i pateixes l'angoixa de la guerra, la seva inutilitat, tant a Leningrad com a Vietnam. I com les persones queden ferides, no només físicament, i com aquestes ferides triguen a curar o potser no curen mai. Molt trista a voltes, però molt, molt sentida.
M'ha agradat tant com els previs. La forma d'escriure sentiments de la Paullina Simons és tan poètica... El dia a dia als Estats Units, la seva mena de road movie, fugida cap al no res, desig de permanença. A mi, m'ha semblat fascinant.
M'ha xocat especialment el punt masclista del Shura, només justificat per la seva inseguretat existencial, la seva por a l'abandonament, demanant-li a la Tatia una entrega absoluta, gairebé fent-la renunciar al seu fill, a la seva feina. Però és que aquests dos pobres han passat per tant...
I cal arribar a la part del Vietnam per a que el llibre agafi un ritme vertiginós, redemptor.
En conjunt, la trilogia és "diferent" del que mostren altres llibres de romàntica. Jo crec que és alguna cosa més. Palpes i pateixes l'angoixa de la guerra, la seva inutilitat, tant a Leningrad com a Vietnam. I com les persones queden ferides, no només físicament, i com aquestes ferides triguen a curar o potser no curen mai. Molt trista a voltes, però molt, molt sentida.
I (finally) finished The Summer Garden. I'll be honest -- I'm actually really glad I read it! It's much different than the first two because it spans over 60 years, but I personally liked the pacing. It was an emotionally brutal ending to their story, but necessary.
The second half of this book is so much better than the first half which is why it didn't get five stars. I really hated alexander for the majority of the book but the ending was so exciting, it made up for the repetitiveness of some of the story. Highly recommended!
My advice? Treat the Bronze Horseman series as a duology; don't read this book.
Seriously, I wouldn't recommend reading [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474]. I just want to be clear: I've never been the type of person that talks shit on books. I'm a firm believer that all books deserve a chance and I've never in the hundreds of reviews I've posted on this website said that people shouldn't read a book just because I didn't like it.
But god... this book. I loved [b:The Bronze Horseman|83144|The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327921996s/83144.jpg|12615171] so much. I knew it was somewhat problematic and ridiculously overdramatic, but I still sincerely loved it. I loved strong but naïve Tatiana, and caring but overly protective Alexander. [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474] ruined the image I had of them. Alexander was never perfect; he was a little borderline obsessive, protective, and bossy - but it was the siege of Leningrad, for fucks sake. For all his downfalls, he was never physically or emotionally abusive in [b:The Bronze Horseman|83144|The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327921996s/83144.jpg|12615171]. But he was in [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474].
The shit I couldn't stand, in list format:
(fyi: I tagged the details as spoilers, but if you're on the app they may not be hidden)
- The biggest one: spousal rape.
- Alexander's gross, misogynistic hatred of Tatiana having a job. Seriously, the only reason they had marital problems was because Tatiana wanted to continue working as a nurse. It was ridiculous.
- Physical abuse. ...he hits her multiple times.
- Emotional abuse. This one was most prevalent in the beginning. Alexander was an asshole, and though that partly has to be forgiven because he was recovering from torture and hell, it was still terrible and he treated Tatiana like shit.
- Cheating.
-
All in all, if you liked [b:The Bronze Horseman|83144|The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327921996s/83144.jpg|12615171], which would be the only reason you'd read this book at all, don't read [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474]. I wish I never had. In fact, I'm just going to pretend that this book never happened and I'd advise you to do the same. Don't let this book ruin Alexander and Tatiana for you.
Trigger Warnings for [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474]: rape, death, violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, cheating
Seriously, I wouldn't recommend reading [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474]. I just want to be clear: I've never been the type of person that talks shit on books. I'm a firm believer that all books deserve a chance and I've never in the hundreds of reviews I've posted on this website said that people shouldn't read a book just because I didn't like it.
But god... this book. I loved [b:The Bronze Horseman|83144|The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327921996s/83144.jpg|12615171] so much. I knew it was somewhat problematic and ridiculously overdramatic, but I still sincerely loved it. I loved strong but naïve Tatiana, and caring but overly protective Alexander. [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474] ruined the image I had of them. Alexander was never perfect; he was a little borderline obsessive, protective, and bossy - but it was the siege of Leningrad, for fucks sake. For all his downfalls, he was never physically or emotionally abusive in [b:The Bronze Horseman|83144|The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327921996s/83144.jpg|12615171]. But he was in [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474].
The shit I couldn't stand, in list format:
(fyi: I tagged the details as spoilers, but if you're on the app they may not be hidden)
- The biggest one: spousal rape.
Spoiler
I'm referring to the scene the morning after Tatiana and Alexander had a fight about the Bachelor party. After their fight, Tatiana leaves and says she's going to the Bachelorette party. She comes back the night morning and tells him she actually spent the night at the hospital (because she actually gives a fuck about their relationship). She tells Alexander she doesn't want him to touch her, he does. And then he has sex with her, even though she's obviously unwilling.- Alexander's gross, misogynistic hatred of Tatiana having a job. Seriously, the only reason they had marital problems was because Tatiana wanted to continue working as a nurse. It was ridiculous.
- Physical abuse.
Spoiler
For this one I'm most specifically talking about the instance where Tatiana and Alexander are fighting about him cheating on her. She wants to leave him, and- Emotional abuse. This one was most prevalent in the beginning. Alexander was an asshole, and though that partly has to be forgiven because he was recovering from torture and hell, it was still terrible and he treated Tatiana like shit.
- Cheating.
Spoiler
This and the rape is what really fucking got to me. I don't care that there wasn't penetration, Alexander fucking cheated on Tatiana and was absolute scum. And his excuse? He was upset because Tatiana's job meant she didn't spend Friday nights in his bed. Boo fucking hoo.-
Spoiler
The shit with Anthony and Vikki!!! WHY. It was so gross and dumb and why????All in all, if you liked [b:The Bronze Horseman|83144|The Bronze Horseman (The Bronze Horseman, #1)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327921996s/83144.jpg|12615171], which would be the only reason you'd read this book at all, don't read [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474]. I wish I never had. In fact, I'm just going to pretend that this book never happened and I'd advise you to do the same. Don't let this book ruin Alexander and Tatiana for you.
Trigger Warnings for [b:The Summer Garden|608216|The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)|Paullina Simons|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411993309s/608216.jpg|2098474]: rape, death, violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, cheating
The third and last book of the epic Russian trilogy, immensely powerful and moving. It’s difficult to review this as a stand-alone, because I will need to compare it to The Bronze Horseman and Tatiana and Alexander. The first book was extremely detailed, spanning across the beginning of WWII Russia, and mostly revolved around love, heartbreak, starvation, and death. The second dealt with separation, immigration, and the brutality of war. This final one focused on the marriage, spanning across several decades. Tatiana and Alexander grow quickly in this last book – the First Page atmosphere vastly different from the Last Page.
I enjoyed the trilogy as a whole, but this book alone was not as enjoyable as the first and second. The writing was great, the plot complex and detailed, and Simons excellently drew upon many issues that could/would arise in any marriage. However, one trait that I did not like with Tatiana and Alexander is their passive aggressive arguments. It was reasonable in The Bronze Horseman because they were so young, and most young lovers refuse to get right to the point of an argument so quickly. But in this final book, when their lives span several decades, the did not seem to grow out of it. As someone who likes to get right to the root of an argument, a “just say it!” attitude, I found this a bit frustrating. Beyond this nit-picking detail, The Summer Garden was a good ending to the trilogy.
I enjoyed the trilogy as a whole, but this book alone was not as enjoyable as the first and second. The writing was great, the plot complex and detailed, and Simons excellently drew upon many issues that could/would arise in any marriage. However, one trait that I did not like with Tatiana and Alexander is their passive aggressive arguments. It was reasonable in The Bronze Horseman because they were so young, and most young lovers refuse to get right to the point of an argument so quickly. But in this final book, when their lives span several decades, the did not seem to grow out of it. As someone who likes to get right to the root of an argument, a “just say it!” attitude, I found this a bit frustrating. Beyond this nit-picking detail, The Summer Garden was a good ending to the trilogy.