Reviews - The Last Russian Doll

This book is a historical fiction that is a dual timeline, 1917 and 1991. It is about a woman named Rosie who is trying to find out more about her history after her mother dies. The story has to do with a porcelain doll and it’s just really intriguing Russian history. It’s quite tragic, and has a lot to do with stories that were told to Rosie in a fairytale-like fashion, but the Russian revolution was afoot when the story goes back to the past (character is Tonya ), and then we see what’s going on in the present as Rosie tries to figure out not only her past, but where her life will go in the future.

This is a very well-told tale where the past is explored in a rather tragic fashion. For Rosie, her past was quite troubled. Things were difficult between her and her mother. After her mother’s death, she has decided to go back to her roots in Russia to learn about her own past and how Russian dolls play into that past. With regard to Tonya, the story shifts back to 1915 when everything about Tonya’s life underwent many difficulties.

What a powerful story! History has always been one of my very favorite subjects, and this book was one that gave me early insight into Russian history. I loved how the story was told, and the dual timeline fashion only made it that much more interesting. If a reader is not fond of history and how it in this case affected the lives of the principal characters, then this book might be a tough read. But for me, it hit the mark.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

writtenxreality's review against another edition

4.0

I loved seeing Russian history in mainstream literary fiction. This felt like a winding generational tale akin to the Russian classics. The bar of entry is a little high for this one if you don't know the history, but it is worth it.