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A review by savage_book_review
Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
In the time I've been reviewing my reads and keeping a WTR list, it's become increasingly clear that I'm a cyclical reader. I read one book on a subject or theme, and add another load on the same subject to my WTR list. Get to those books, start reading, add a few more. So right now we're back in my Russian history phase and so my next few library books are all based on the lives of Tsar Nicholas II and the end of the Romanov dynasty.
This particular book is a concise approach to the last fourteen days or so of the Romanov family, while imprisoned in the 'House of Special Purpose'. Day by day, it counts you down to their brutal end, while also taking the time to explore each of the characters in detail and providing wider context of the events going on in Ekaterinburg and Russia more widely, as well as the UK and USA. Everything is linked back to the central premise, which makes this a very well controlled, tight narrative.
The author explains that she has been able to draw on sources that are not widely available, including Russian sources that are centralised around Ekaterinburg and that are almost contemporaneous with the events. This means it feels like you are getting a fresh perspective on events, and a balance between Western perspectives and that of the Bolsheviks who saw this family as the cause of many of the country's problems. I found the information she included about just how botched the plan for the burial was especially interesting - I feel like I knew this was the case, but to read in detail how badly planned it was doesn't feel like something I've read before.
While there are some fairly standard inclusions in terms of descriptions and perceptions, the author does do a good job at limiting these to a 'necessary' level. Yes, the Tsaritsa is perhaps a bit of a hypochondriac, but the descriptions of her weaknesses are couched in predominantly practical terms, actually painting a picture of her being ill in bed rather than just listing her ever growing hoard of symptoms. This makes her feel more 'real' off the page than a lot of other books I've read. Another example is the family's piety - there is a description of their last sermon with a priest (taken from the words of the priest himself as I understand it), which is incredibly moving and a beautiful illustration of the strength they found in their faith.
However, I will admit that, as short as this book is, I did find myself zoning out when the 'action' switched to Lenin, the Boleshevik attempts to keep control of Russia and their differing thoughts on what to do with the ex-Tsar. Don't get me wrong, I find that era of Russian history fascinating too, but I didn't get the same depth of interest from the writer when reading these sections - the book seemed to go from quite moving a quite moving narrative to fairly a fairly dry history tome. Clearly there is only so much that can be said about the Romanov imprisonment, given that access was incredibly restricted and all of the prisoners bar one ended up in the cellar on that fateful night, and so I totally get that some wider context needs to be included or it would be an incredibly sparse book! But I wonder if these parts could have been a little more focused.
Another interesting read about this tragic family.
This particular book is a concise approach to the last fourteen days or so of the Romanov family, while imprisoned in the 'House of Special Purpose'. Day by day, it counts you down to their brutal end, while also taking the time to explore each of the characters in detail and providing wider context of the events going on in Ekaterinburg and Russia more widely, as well as the UK and USA. Everything is linked back to the central premise, which makes this a very well controlled, tight narrative.
The author explains that she has been able to draw on sources that are not widely available, including Russian sources that are centralised around Ekaterinburg and that are almost contemporaneous with the events. This means it feels like you are getting a fresh perspective on events, and a balance between Western perspectives and that of the Bolsheviks who saw this family as the cause of many of the country's problems. I found the information she included about just how botched the plan for the burial was especially interesting - I feel like I knew this was the case, but to read in detail how badly planned it was doesn't feel like something I've read before.
While there are some fairly standard inclusions in terms of descriptions and perceptions, the author does do a good job at limiting these to a 'necessary' level. Yes, the Tsaritsa is perhaps a bit of a hypochondriac, but the descriptions of her weaknesses are couched in predominantly practical terms, actually painting a picture of her being ill in bed rather than just listing her ever growing hoard of symptoms. This makes her feel more 'real' off the page than a lot of other books I've read. Another example is the family's piety - there is a description of their last sermon with a priest (taken from the words of the priest himself as I understand it), which is incredibly moving and a beautiful illustration of the strength they found in their faith.
However, I will admit that, as short as this book is, I did find myself zoning out when the 'action' switched to Lenin, the Boleshevik attempts to keep control of Russia and their differing thoughts on what to do with the ex-Tsar. Don't get me wrong, I find that era of Russian history fascinating too, but I didn't get the same depth of interest from the writer when reading these sections - the book seemed to go from quite moving a quite moving narrative to fairly a fairly dry history tome. Clearly there is only so much that can be said about the Romanov imprisonment, given that access was incredibly restricted and all of the prisoners bar one ended up in the cellar on that fateful night, and so I totally get that some wider context needs to be included or it would be an incredibly sparse book! But I wonder if these parts could have been a little more focused.
Another interesting read about this tragic family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism
Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, and Pregnancy