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I wanted to like this book so bad. Disappointing.
A lush story set against a backdrop filled with all the mystique & romance that is Russia. Enjoyed it!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As this is really the first true novel I've read this year + the last non-star wars book I'm going to be reading for a while, I think I owe it to myself to give a real review:
Personally, I like the style of prose well enough, but in places it's a little overwritten and pretentious in a way that's a little clunky, like the author isn't 100% convinced of her own metaphors. Raisa/Rosie doesn't come across fully thought-out, and instead is an attempt at a flawed audience proxy character. The thrust of why Raisa returns to Russia in, uh, literally 1991 and is the original driving mystery of the book is both a) confused (this is probably on purpose, to be tied into the confused story of her mother and grandmother's past + to demonstrate her mother's confused memories, but not necessarily successful since I'm confused, and b) not resolved at all. That's a choice, I guess, but to reveal it so blase at 60% and then just move on. Raisa really is the only MC who doesn't feel like a person, literally not a single other character feels as flat as her.
Ultimately and in a genuinely rewarding way, it's a love story between Tonya and Valentin that takes place over the entire course of the soviet union, and it's both pro-democracy + hopeful and it also loves Russia and was literally published in the year 2023. I only skimmed the author's note and I know that Loesch must have felt compelled to give a little more context than she might have otherwise (say, had this same book been published at the beginning of 2021), but there is an optimism in this book that I think is vital and also does give this book vitality.
Personally, I like the style of prose well enough, but in places it's a little overwritten and pretentious in a way that's a little clunky, like the author isn't 100% convinced of her own metaphors. Raisa/Rosie doesn't come across fully thought-out, and instead is an attempt at a flawed audience proxy character. The thrust of why Raisa returns to Russia in, uh, literally 1991 and is the original driving mystery of the book is both a) confused (this is probably on purpose, to be tied into the confused story of her mother and grandmother's past + to demonstrate her mother's confused memories, but not necessarily successful since I'm confused, and b) not resolved at all. That's a choice, I guess, but to reveal it so blase at 60% and then just move on. Raisa really is the only MC who doesn't feel like a person, literally not a single other character feels as flat as her.
Ultimately and in a genuinely rewarding way, it's a love story between Tonya and Valentin that takes place over the entire course of the soviet union, and it's both pro-democracy + hopeful and it also loves Russia and was literally published in the year 2023. I only skimmed the author's note and I know that Loesch must have felt compelled to give a little more context than she might have otherwise (say, had this same book been published at the beginning of 2021), but there is an optimism in this book that I think is vital and also does give this book vitality.
This was a page turner for me- and I loved it up until the end. Some reviewers have commented on the lack of detail around the history of the Russian revolution, Stalinist era, etc…. But how can one novel capture all of that, really? So I think the author did a good job weaving in the historical period with her fictional story.
My gripe is with the fact that the whole plot with Raisa/Rosie and her quest, the whole reason she even went to Russia, to find out who killed her dad and sister and why…. WE NEVER GET AN ANSWER. Not even a clue. Unless I missed a clue in which case, it was not well placed. Furthermore, the reveal of who Alexey was, was a letdown. i had to go back into the earlier chapters and remind myself who this person was. It was a weird choice.
My gripe is with the fact that the whole plot with Raisa/Rosie and her quest, the whole reason she even went to Russia, to find out who killed her dad and sister and why…. WE NEVER GET AN ANSWER. Not even a clue. Unless I missed a clue in which case, it was not well placed. Furthermore, the reveal of who Alexey was, was a letdown. i had to go back into the earlier chapters and remind myself who this person was. It was a weird choice.
BOTM March 2023. I really enjoyed this book. The author chose such wildly imaginative words to depict what was going on in this novel; and was obviously well researched.
3.5 stars but rounded up. For me, this story had a slow start and it was hard for me to get into it. But then around the halfway mark I really got invested and couldn't put it down. This book jumps between 2 different timelines with 3 primary POV characters. I was mostly interested in Rosie and Antonine's stories, though I suppose Valentin's POV was necessary as well. In my opinion the romance aspect of it was the primary focus of the story, but the political goings-on in Russia and the Soviet Union in the early and late 20th century was the secondary focus. This story showed what it was probably like for a lot of people in those locations in Russia during those tumultuous times. It made me realize just how many times Russia has changed governments in the last 100 or so years and how the people of Russia were affected under each regime.
I thought the interweaving fairy tails throughout the story was a clever way to connect everything, though the porcelain doll plot line didn't quite hit the mark for me. It was interesting in the beginning but when you figure out the truth behind them, it didn't quite fit in the story for me. There were also quite a few questions that were never resolved that was a bit frustrating to me. Additionally, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing. It wasn't terrible, but there was something about it that I didn't quite love. Overall though, I still enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would!
I thought the interweaving fairy tails throughout the story was a clever way to connect everything, though the porcelain doll plot line didn't quite hit the mark for me. It was interesting in the beginning but when you figure out the truth behind them, it didn't quite fit in the story for me. There were also quite a few questions that were never resolved that was a bit frustrating to me. Additionally, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing. It wasn't terrible, but there was something about it that I didn't quite love. Overall though, I still enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would!
This was really disjointed and I don’t think I really understand the interplay between the characters. I enjoyed reading about Russia over the years and may try to find more stories set in that time period, but not by this author.
The last third was very compelling and made me want to sit and finish it up. The way the story was structured made it an interesting read but also added some confusion. I still don’t know if I like the way the numerous characters all worked together. I would have liked to learn more about the historic events that the characters lived through. I’ll likely be exploring Russian history a bit more.