Radiant as the Stars by Elaine Elinson follows young Ukrainian Jewish woman, Anna, just arrived back in her home country after living in America for a few years. It's 1911, and rumblings of what will become the Russian Revolution are spreading across the country. Elinson's debut novel opens with Anna on the train to her… Continue reading Review: Radiant as the Stars by Elaine Elinson
Weina Dai Randel's The Master Jeweler opens in 1925 when 15-year-old budding artist and Harbin local Anyu discovers an exquisitely made Faberge egg in the snow (which turns out to be The Winter Egg.) She soon after meets its owner, Russian master jeweler Isaac Mandelburg, who has been tasked with protecting the egg in the… Continue reading Review: The Master Jeweler by Weina Dai Randel
Lost Souls of Leningrad by Suzanne Parry follows professional violinist Sofya ("Sofi") and her teenaged granddaughter Yelena ("Lena") as they navigate the events leading up to, during, and after the brutal and infamous 1941 Siege of Leningrad . Having rekindled her old love with Admiral Vasili, Sofi gains valuable insider information that war is coming.… Continue reading Review: Lost Souls of Leningrad by Suzanne Parry
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore is the sequel to The Siege and follows the lives of Anna, Andrei, and Kolya in 1952 Leningrad. While the traumas of the Leningrad siege still live within each of them, they have carved out normalcy in their lives years after the war. Andrei is a successful doctor, Anna is… Continue reading Review: The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
The Secrets We Kept is a book about one of my favorite books: Doctor Zhivago. In 2002, I discovered Docotor Zhivago through the 2002 mini series with Keira Knightley. I fell in love with the story and then read the book, and I instantly became obsessed. Doctor Zhivago was a huge creative and literary influence… Continue reading Review: The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
The Witches of St. Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones tells the true story of Princesses Militza and Stana of Montenegro and their marriages into the Russian Imperial Family at the turn of the century. Coming from a small, "backwater" country, the sisters are immediately shunned by the Russian nobility in St. Petersburg. They call them "Goat… Continue reading Review: The Witches of St. Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones
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