Scan barcode
lindseysparks's review against another edition
1.0
All telling and no showing. This has a lot of elements I like - Russian history, multigenerational, various eras and narrators. I only got through about 100 pages before concluding that I didn't care what happened next and was too annoyed by the writing to continue.
constantreader471's review
4.0
This is a work of multi generational historical fiction. It starts in the United States during the 1930s, in the depths of Depression. Florence is a starry eyed idealist who believes that the Soviet Union is a socialist utopia, while the US is a country of decadent capitalism. She emigrates to the USSR in 1934. She is soon disappointed, but pride prevents her from going back to the US. She believes that she can make the world better by staying in the USSR.
She is forced to become an informer by the NKVD(Soviet secret police). This story moves back and forth between her son, Yulik/Julian, herself and her grandson, Lenny. The story moves between 1930s USSR and present day Russia.
Some characters who interact with them:
Henry Robbins, a US Air Force pilot in the same labor camp as Florence
Sidney, Florence's brother
Essie, a friend of Florence from the ship journey to the USSR in 1934
Timur Kachak, commander of 150 labor camps in Perm, Siberia
Some quotes:
Release of thousands of USSR political prisoners--"Entire forests of people felled, bound and piled and now cast adrift into the rising water."
Yulik, talking about his time in orphanages--"Whenever I tell anyone that I spent ages six to thirteen, inside of public orphanages, they tend to arrange their face in a reaction I call the Purple Heart Ceremony."
The process of arresting and convicting political prisoners--"The prison cells were only the first stage of an operation whose ultimate aim was the harvesting and replenishment of slave labor."
There is sadness and a measure of redemption in this book. It is quite long, but reads well, once you are about 50 pages in. I read it in seven days. I recommend it to historical fiction fans.
I give 4 out 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.
She is forced to become an informer by the NKVD(Soviet secret police). This story moves back and forth between her son, Yulik/Julian, herself and her grandson, Lenny. The story moves between 1930s USSR and present day Russia.
Some characters who interact with them:
Henry Robbins, a US Air Force pilot in the same labor camp as Florence
Sidney, Florence's brother
Essie, a friend of Florence from the ship journey to the USSR in 1934
Timur Kachak, commander of 150 labor camps in Perm, Siberia
Some quotes:
Release of thousands of USSR political prisoners--"Entire forests of people felled, bound and piled and now cast adrift into the rising water."
Yulik, talking about his time in orphanages--"Whenever I tell anyone that I spent ages six to thirteen, inside of public orphanages, they tend to arrange their face in a reaction I call the Purple Heart Ceremony."
The process of arresting and convicting political prisoners--"The prison cells were only the first stage of an operation whose ultimate aim was the harvesting and replenishment of slave labor."
There is sadness and a measure of redemption in this book. It is quite long, but reads well, once you are about 50 pages in. I read it in seven days. I recommend it to historical fiction fans.
I give 4 out 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.
readingwithmygoldens's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really glad I went back and tried this book again. Sometimes, for whatever reason, reading a book on the Kindle doesn't always work for me.
I very nearly gave this a 5 star review. There were sections that were just so brilliantly written and engaging that I couldn't put it down and I felt the absolute terror the main characters experienced as Jews during the Stalin Era. It quite honestly was some of the most chilling, edge of your seat suspense I have read in I can't even remember how long. As a student of Russian history, I learned so many things about this time period and what made it even more interesting to me was how it was told from an young, American girl who strongly believed in socialism and how the great Russian Revolution brought that social experiment to life. I truly couldn't imagine sailing across the Atlantic, en route to the Soviet Union, casting away my life during the 30s!
What didn't work for me was the current day side of the story portrayed by Florence's son and grandson. I enjoyed her son's perspective in how it related to what he remembered about growing up and his time in the orphanages due to his mother being in a Soviet Labor camp, but the present day Russia part where he was working on behalf of an oil company was kind of boring and lost on me. I think it was there to illustrate how things are "run" in Russia today, but it just wasn't as interesting.
I sincerely hope the author chooses to write another book as I will be anxiously waiting to read it!
I very nearly gave this a 5 star review. There were sections that were just so brilliantly written and engaging that I couldn't put it down and I felt the absolute terror the main characters experienced as Jews during the Stalin Era. It quite honestly was some of the most chilling, edge of your seat suspense I have read in I can't even remember how long. As a student of Russian history, I learned so many things about this time period and what made it even more interesting to me was how it was told from an young, American girl who strongly believed in socialism and how the great Russian Revolution brought that social experiment to life. I truly couldn't imagine sailing across the Atlantic, en route to the Soviet Union, casting away my life during the 30s!
What didn't work for me was the current day side of the story portrayed by Florence's son and grandson. I enjoyed her son's perspective in how it related to what he remembered about growing up and his time in the orphanages due to his mother being in a Soviet Labor camp, but the present day Russia part where he was working on behalf of an oil company was kind of boring and lost on me. I think it was there to illustrate how things are "run" in Russia today, but it just wasn't as interesting.
I sincerely hope the author chooses to write another book as I will be anxiously waiting to read it!
jim_jam's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m honestly in two minds over this book. On the one hand, the history was fascinating- much I wasn’t aware of especially with respect to Jewish people in Russia post WWII. On the other hand, I found the character of Lenny grating and his son equally unappealing. I found Florence much more likeable, if frustrating a character, and felt I understood her seemingly illogical choices much more. Without giving too much away, the growth of her son towards the end of the book made for a nice ending but you did have to suffer him for quite some while beforehand. To me, it felt like he was written as a character removed from Russia with no political understanding of what his mother lived through despite supposedly leaving much later. I guess the author was maybe trying to make a point/ express their own political views by contrasting Florence with Lenny but it didn’t work for me- I felt like I was meant to agree with Lenny and I just couldn’t (though obviously am not an apologist for Stalinist Russia- I just can’t stand Lenny’s blatant blindness to American capitalism and see American politics as anything aspirational too). Also, I found it bizarre to have a character working for an oil company without having any feelings about climate change (though that is probably accurate)! I would have liked to know more about Lenny’s relationships with presumably ex-Russian Jews living in Israel and think this part could have been explored more.
Overall, well worth reading but it is quite long and drags at points.
Overall, well worth reading but it is quite long and drags at points.
mandie486's review
I received a free ebook from netgalley.
I tried but I just couldn't get into this book. The writing itself isn't bad, it was just not as interesting as the description made it out to be. There's a lot of rambling detail and the book is much longer than I wanted it to be. I'll try to return to it at a later date.
My apologies to netgalley, the publisher and the author.
I tried but I just couldn't get into this book. The writing itself isn't bad, it was just not as interesting as the description made it out to be. There's a lot of rambling detail and the book is much longer than I wanted it to be. I'll try to return to it at a later date.
My apologies to netgalley, the publisher and the author.
teachingkids1982's review against another edition
2.0
2.5⭐️ just too long and wordy and not enough to stay engaged in...
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
5.0
An epic novel in the classic sense. This book follows a family’s story through the eyes of three generations and tells the story of what it was like to live through the early socialist ideals of the 20th century, the Purges under Stalin, Lyubanka and Siberia, the immigrant experience in America and Russia, business and crime in modern-day Russia...it’s all here. It’s over 500 pages but I couldn’t put it down. I hope this author writes more books!