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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
When I go through a non-reading period I usually pick-up something easy to read to start me going again. This fulfills its purpose and although the story is interesting (and very modern in its topic) the psychology of the main character is not 100% understandable (especially the last fase of his life).
I can't believe I am rating this so low, and I have to say, I could not finish it, so maybe the second half is utterly spectacular, but all that I did read was so boring! Excuse my lack of eloquence here, but it was just dull. It's not that nothing happened, big events took place, but they were described in such mind-numbing detail, I found them tedious rather than dramatic or exciting.
The premise of the book sounded fascinating and right up my alley, so maybe I was particularly disappointed because of my high expectations. I also believe this book was originally written in French, so maybe some of the original magic just got lost in translation. You see, I'm trying to find excuses, I hate writing bad reviews, but I just couldn't finish it and I didn't enjoy it, sad but true.
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The premise of the book sounded fascinating and right up my alley, so maybe I was particularly disappointed because of my high expectations. I also believe this book was originally written in French, so maybe some of the original magic just got lost in translation. You see, I'm trying to find excuses, I hate writing bad reviews, but I just couldn't finish it and I didn't enjoy it, sad but true.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Made it over halfway through and just didn't like it enough to keep going.
I appreciate historical fiction but it felt like it took too long to set up the stage. I almost bailed a couple of times. It wasn't until about three quarters of the way through that it became interesting and really addressed the "Between Love and Honor."
Emotional book with complex characters. The conflicts are deep. The fact that it is a true but tragic story makes it that much more of a compelling read. It is an area and era that most of us don't study and have little familiarity with. And yet, those conflicts are somehow playing out almost 175 years later. The end is draining and wow.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
DNF - Only made it through the first 80 pages (about 15%) before throwing in the towel. I picked up this book as it is part of the Kindle Unlimited program with narration by one of my favorite narrators, Nick Podehl. It starts off as a steady stream of graphic violence and prejudices. The synopsis reports that at some point it becomes a love story, which is interesting given that the beginning is nothing but hate.
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First Sentence: As the coffin of Czar Nicholas I descends into the crypt of the Romanovs in Saint Petersburg, two groups of horsemen gather on the banks of the Mitchik River, in Chechnya.
DNF - Only made it through the first 80 pages (about 15%) before throwing in the towel. I picked up this book as it is part of the Kindle Unlimited program with narration by one of my favorite narrators, Nick Podehl. It starts off as a steady stream of graphic violence and prejudices. The synopsis reports that at some point it becomes a love story, which is interesting given that the beginning is nothing but hate.
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First Sentence: As the coffin of Czar Nicholas I descends into the crypt of the Romanovs in Saint Petersburg, two groups of horsemen gather on the banks of the Mitchik River, in Chechnya.
An incredibly well researched and interesting adventure story based on the life of Jamal Eddin, son of a famous Imam from Muslim Chechnya (1830's - 1850's). The description of the insanity of fundamentalism and hatred for the other is terrifying and even more frightening because the fanaticism still exists today. The Imam's main enemy is Czar Nicholas, also a despotic ruler, who raises the Imam's son when the boy is given to the Russians as a hostage at age 6. The boy comes to love the Czar and is raised among the royal family and all the nobility who recognize and acknowledge his honorable and distinguished character. He sounds like he was a great person who eventually had to give up all he loved and cherished to go back to his father so that hostages taken by the Imam could be released. He was 26 when he went back to his "home" but did not succeed in bringing peace to the troubled area and dies a sad and depressed young man. Great historical details about the place and time.