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headrickjeanne's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
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
3.0
jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition
2.0
I read this as a reviewer for the Historical Novel Society. Review posted via their website at: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-imperial-wife/
APPEARED IN: HNR Issue 77 (August 2016)
Tanya Kagan is a specialist in Russian art who works for a New York auction house and is busy organizing the biggest sale of her career: the Order of Saint Catherine. Parallel to Tanya’s story is a retelling of the early life of Catherine the Great, the 18th-century woman who may have owned the priceless medallion Tanya has up for auction. It turns out Catherine faced many of the same issues Tanya wrestles with. Both are immigrants, moving away from their homelands into a foreign culture. Both are struggling with troubled marriages. Both make difficult choices that affect those they love.
The novel’s characterization is generally well done, but cultural and historical elements are lacking. While there’s a lot of dialogue, the author doesn’t answer the “why” question of a scene very well. Why do the Russian people love Catherine as a leader? Why is Empress Elizabeth’s court in a sagging wood building? I felt like a lost tourist without a map. With little knowledge of Russian history and even less of art/auction houses, I was hoping to learn something. However, there are more similes and metaphorical flowerings than historical substance. The author is not always clear with the details. Also, random Russian words, without definitions, are unclear, and there is insufficient context to understand what is being said.
The ending is somewhat absurd. There are huge consequences coming to Tanya after her decision, and I questioned what the author was trying to say.
If you like walking through playgrounds of the super wealthy or are a Russophile, you’ll probably enjoy this book. I prefer stronger heroines and historical settings.
APPEARED IN: HNR Issue 77 (August 2016)
Tanya Kagan is a specialist in Russian art who works for a New York auction house and is busy organizing the biggest sale of her career: the Order of Saint Catherine. Parallel to Tanya’s story is a retelling of the early life of Catherine the Great, the 18th-century woman who may have owned the priceless medallion Tanya has up for auction. It turns out Catherine faced many of the same issues Tanya wrestles with. Both are immigrants, moving away from their homelands into a foreign culture. Both are struggling with troubled marriages. Both make difficult choices that affect those they love.
The novel’s characterization is generally well done, but cultural and historical elements are lacking. While there’s a lot of dialogue, the author doesn’t answer the “why” question of a scene very well. Why do the Russian people love Catherine as a leader? Why is Empress Elizabeth’s court in a sagging wood building? I felt like a lost tourist without a map. With little knowledge of Russian history and even less of art/auction houses, I was hoping to learn something. However, there are more similes and metaphorical flowerings than historical substance. The author is not always clear with the details. Also, random Russian words, without definitions, are unclear, and there is insufficient context to understand what is being said.
The ending is somewhat absurd. There are huge consequences coming to Tanya after her decision, and I questioned what the author was trying to say.
If you like walking through playgrounds of the super wealthy or are a Russophile, you’ll probably enjoy this book. I prefer stronger heroines and historical settings.
aloos_blanche's review
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.25
oliviaoverthinkseverything's review against another edition
4.0
True Rating: 3.5 Stars
Classic Russian literature is one of my newfound loves, but other than the bits of Napoleonic trivia I gleaned from War and Peace and the period surrounding the Bolshevik Revolution, I know shockingly little about Russian history. I've heard of Catherine the Great, of course, but the details of her life and the reason she was considered great was an unanswered question. I was excited to pick this book, hoping it would at least temporarily sate my ever-growing curiosity about the magical mystery that is Russia.
Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying the current day story of Tanya much more than the historical aspect. Perhaps this stems from Sophie/Catherine's sections being written in third-person compared to the first-person of Tanya's story. The high-end nature of Tanya's career juxtaposed with her own humdrum living situation and the unexplained tension between her and her husband Carl provided a much more intriguing mixture of conflict than the politics of 18th-century royal matchmaking. I also appreciated the post-Soviet attitudes and ideas that inundated Tanya's story.
The writing is overall beautiful, although the frequent use of sentence fragments made the editor inside me twitch at times. Reyn is clearly a skilled writer and painted a delicate, detailed picture of both intersecting plotlines.
The reason for the 1.5 star deduction--The pacing was slow, especially in the beginning, and I did not feel connected or sympathetic to either of the main characters. I can understand why Catherine acted as she did, given her own situation and the time, but Tanya's actions revealed at the end-- rewriting her husband's entire manuscript without his permission and then presenting it to him as a present --are unthinkably selfish. It was an intriguing story, but I wished there was some positive emotional connection made with at least one of the main characters.
If you enjoy historical and women's fiction, intersecting plotlines, and Russian influences, I recommend that you pick up a copy of this book. Despite the issues I had with it, it's a beautifully written story and definitely on my list of top 10 reads of 2016.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Classic Russian literature is one of my newfound loves, but other than the bits of Napoleonic trivia I gleaned from War and Peace and the period surrounding the Bolshevik Revolution, I know shockingly little about Russian history. I've heard of Catherine the Great, of course, but the details of her life and the reason she was considered great was an unanswered question. I was excited to pick this book, hoping it would at least temporarily sate my ever-growing curiosity about the magical mystery that is Russia.
Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying the current day story of Tanya much more than the historical aspect. Perhaps this stems from Sophie/Catherine's sections being written in third-person compared to the first-person of Tanya's story. The high-end nature of Tanya's career juxtaposed with her own humdrum living situation and the unexplained tension between her and her husband Carl provided a much more intriguing mixture of conflict than the politics of 18th-century royal matchmaking. I also appreciated the post-Soviet attitudes and ideas that inundated Tanya's story.
The writing is overall beautiful, although the frequent use of sentence fragments made the editor inside me twitch at times. Reyn is clearly a skilled writer and painted a delicate, detailed picture of both intersecting plotlines.
The reason for the 1.5 star deduction--The pacing was slow, especially in the beginning, and I did not feel connected or sympathetic to either of the main characters. I can understand why Catherine acted as she did, given her own situation and the time, but Tanya's actions revealed at the end--
If you enjoy historical and women's fiction, intersecting plotlines, and Russian influences, I recommend that you pick up a copy of this book. Despite the issues I had with it, it's a beautifully written story and definitely on my list of top 10 reads of 2016.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
robinhigdon's review against another edition
4.0
If you like art and historical fiction, you will love this book. It ties in with a contemporary story and it all comes full circle with a nice, neat twist at the end. Well done!
readingqueen's review against another edition
3.0
The Imperial Wife follows the perspective of two women, a modern woman named Tanya and the Empress of Russia, famously called Catherine the Great, in their struggles with both marriage and becoming something more than an outsider in the world they inhabit. Catherine wore her Order long ago, but now it rests in Tanya’s hands to sell to the highest bidder. Tanya must make decisions for what she thinks is best for the Order and for herself.
I found The Imperial Wife to be a little underwhelming. There were certain things I found annoying, such as Carl. Actually, he was the biggest issue for me. I don't understand what Tanya saw in him or why she continued to want him to return home. He seemed like he only married her because he's a huge Russophile. His behavior was inexcusable and at a certain reveal, it's even worse. Tanya deserves a lot better. The ending is frustrating and offers her no guarantees.
Catherine's perspective was much more enjoyable, even though her outlook isn't much better than Tanya's. But I still felt like it was missing something. Her last chapter didn't really satisfy me, similarly again with Tanya.
Despite its shortcomings, it was quick and at times interesting to read.
* I have received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I found The Imperial Wife to be a little underwhelming. There were certain things I found annoying, such as Carl. Actually, he was the biggest issue for me. I don't understand what Tanya saw in him or why she continued to want him to return home. He seemed like he only married her because he's a huge Russophile. His behavior was inexcusable and at a certain reveal, it's even worse. Tanya deserves a lot better. The ending is frustrating and offers her no guarantees.
Catherine's perspective was much more enjoyable, even though her outlook isn't much better than Tanya's. But I still felt like it was missing something. Her last chapter didn't really satisfy me, similarly again with Tanya.
Despite its shortcomings, it was quick and at times interesting to read.
* I have received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
cansail's review
4.0
"For a marriage to survive, sometimes the husband has to die." It wasn't until the final twist was revealed that this tantalizing tagline seemed appropriate for both modern and historical storylines. That's part of this book's charm, because the endless parallels between Catherine the Great and present-day Tanya are left to the reader to figure out. While some of the descriptions felt a bit overdone, this is recommended for anyone who enjoys novels that mix past and present, from any period.
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