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trin's review against another edition
2.0
Faux. A case where I believe the author meant well, and wanted to highlight forgotten women's stories, but this novel felt inauthentic to me from beginning to end. And not just inauthentic: weirdly cold and unemotional. Among the stories Prescott tries to tell is a forbidden lesbian romance between two spies--and I appreciate the attempt!--but it's utterly passionless on the page. Same with the romance between Boris Pasternak and his mistress Olga. Characters keep saying that what's made Doctor Zhivago a lasting work is the love story at its core, the depth of feeling between Yuri and Lara--but where is that here?
Here, there is simply a lot of flat, often-interchangeable first person narration--as well as a flattening of what I feel would have been the real issues of the time. I love the idea of the members of the CIA typing pool all looking out for each other, for example, but Prescott just drops in the fact that one typist is black--yet never alludes to the racial prejudice she must have faced, or the likelihood of her being welcomed easily into a gang of white women--shopping and dining with them, going out--in 1950s Washington, D.C. I visited a friend down there recently and there were still people flying confederate flags just over the border in Virginia.
Even outside the realm of politics and intersectionality: early on in the book, Olga, who's been taken to the gulag, writes a letter to the interrogator who landed her there, and it's so obviously and ridiculously something that no real person would ever compose (even if it's clear she never sends it) that I had to put the book down for a while, I was rolling my eyes so hard. I just didn't believe it. And I never could: believe in, or lose myself in, or feel anything for the characters and scenarios described in this book.
Worst of all, Prescott never manages to convey why the novel at the core of this story, the one she's lauding, was so important. What was it about Doctor Zhivago that so frightened the Soviet state? Why was it effective as a weapon? Why was it worth all this--because none of the previous are explained, seemingly silly--spycraft? This book will not tell you.
It may, however, succeed in making you wish you had just read Pasternak instead. I know I do.
Here, there is simply a lot of flat, often-interchangeable first person narration--as well as a flattening of what I feel would have been the real issues of the time. I love the idea of the members of the CIA typing pool all looking out for each other, for example, but Prescott just drops in the fact that one typist is black--yet never alludes to the racial prejudice she must have faced, or the likelihood of her being welcomed easily into a gang of white women--shopping and dining with them, going out--in 1950s Washington, D.C. I visited a friend down there recently and there were still people flying confederate flags just over the border in Virginia.
Even outside the realm of politics and intersectionality: early on in the book, Olga, who's been taken to the gulag, writes a letter to the interrogator who landed her there, and it's so obviously and ridiculously something that no real person would ever compose (even if it's clear she never sends it) that I had to put the book down for a while, I was rolling my eyes so hard. I just didn't believe it. And I never could: believe in, or lose myself in, or feel anything for the characters and scenarios described in this book.
Worst of all, Prescott never manages to convey why the novel at the core of this story, the one she's lauding, was so important. What was it about Doctor Zhivago that so frightened the Soviet state? Why was it effective as a weapon? Why was it worth all this--because none of the previous are explained, seemingly silly--spycraft? This book will not tell you.
It may, however, succeed in making you wish you had just read Pasternak instead. I know I do.
rduncan's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
shelbymarie516's review against another edition
4.0
Was expecting a historical fiction on book smuggling during the Cold War. Got that and a romance.
bibliocinephile's review against another edition
3.0
so the prose of this book was truly unique. it felt dense yet was a quick read, and striking that balance was really well done. however, in the middle, the plot became somewhat muddied by this desire to make some sort of esoteric prose of inner conflict. after that, the ending seemed a bit rushed for the build up of the story. the ending was the perfect amount of satisfying with a bit of a cliffhanger, and i mean hello it's gay
taylor_doose's review against another edition
This was so boring, absolutely nothing to keep me interested in it. Characters, places etc all flat.
etakloknok's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
katyinscrubs's review against another edition
I really liked it for a while, but when the book switched narrators, I lost interest. It had potential, but I couldn’t convince myself to pick it up again after it got boring.
catbrigand's review against another edition
2.0
I reserve single stars for books that inspire an actual burning hatred. This book made me feel nothing, which might be worse.
First, let me talk about what did work: the strike-through chapter headings to track progression and evolution of characters, and the Greek chorus of typists.
What didn’t work: a lot of the rest. The chorus was, at times, too revealing. Tipping readers off to major plot points before they happen is kind of lazy, makes for a poor mystery, and makes it seem like the author doesn’t trust the readers to figure it out. The story is presented as East meets West, but honestly, the entire East portion could have been cut out—it didn’t add a whole lot. I appreciate that this is a love letter to Doctor Zhivago, but I’m just not sure there was really enough there.
First, let me talk about what did work: the strike-through chapter headings to track progression and evolution of characters, and the Greek chorus of typists.
What didn’t work: a lot of the rest. The chorus was, at times, too revealing. Tipping readers off to major plot points before they happen is kind of lazy, makes for a poor mystery, and makes it seem like the author doesn’t trust the readers to figure it out. The story is presented as East meets West, but honestly, the entire East portion could have been cut out—it didn’t add a whole lot. I appreciate that this is a love letter to Doctor Zhivago, but I’m just not sure there was really enough there.