November Book Club

For our November meeting we were asked to read books with a Russian theme. This led to a variety of books covering a number of genres. Following are comments from those who attended.

Sheila: "Great Catherine" by Carolly Erickson
This a biography of a remarkable lady - reasonably light reading but well worth it.
She was a bright, precocious child, (probably had ADHD) and was not loved by her mother.
At 15 years old she was taken to Russia as a prospective wife for the Tsarina's nephew Peter.
She was smart enough to be politically correct and survive in the Royal Household.

Jo: "Rasputin's Daughter" by Robert Alexander
Set during WW1 and the Russian Revolution - very bleak background. Most people were very poor and few lived a life of luxury.
It's the story of how her father got so much power and became a despot.

Anne: "Tatiana's Table, Tatianas & Alexander's Food & Love" by Paullina Simons
All recipes with no pictures!

Julia: "Catherine the Great"
Modern history is not my go - ruthless woman, ambitious and vane even though pictures show her to be very large!
          "Russian Winter" by Daphne Kalotay
Fantastic novel. Set post WW2 and revolves around a necklace that was looted after the war. The jewel held the key to a life changing secret.

Anne B: The House of Dvina
The story of a Russian childhood from pre Revolution, 1905 up until WW1. The young girl has a Russian father and Scottish mother. It was intriguing to learn about living in that time, such a rich culture. I couldn't put it down. There is not much detail on the politics of the time.

Kris: Nicholas and Alexander" by Robert Massey
The story of Czar Nicholas and his family.  You know the ending but it is still terribly sad.
It explores the effect of hemophilia in their downfall. They didn't understand the changes happening in their country and were very influenced by Rasputin. If he hadn't been in their lives, things may have been different.

Virginia (Ginny): "50 Russian Winters: an American Woman's Life in the Soviet Union" by Margaret Wetterlin
Story of a woman who married a Russian and had to move around Russia by train, escaping from the German invasion. Bleak, heavy going and quite depressing!

Kathy: "Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah
A Russian woman is married with 2 children. There was no love showed by the mother, but told them fairy tales at night. On their father's deathbed he makes the grown daughter listen to the mother's story of her early life and how it related to the fairytale.

Connie: "Dr Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak
Pure fiction but includes lots of his own philosophy that don't have anything to do with the story. It was published in 1950s and loses lots in translation.
The description of scenery is excellent, but the conversation is stilted and not real.
The story shows the horror and bleakness of the times. The Revolution is in the background, the peasants take over but are unable to rule.

Wendy: "The Romanov Autumn the last century of  Imperial Russia" by Charlotte Zeepvat
The peasants destroyed the aristocracy and couldn't run the country themselves.
There was massive wealth and a sense of duty working towards  more egalitarian times, and good intentions. Fascinating to read about their lives eg health wise, many died from TB.
Very readable and well written. It's the most readable history book I've read!

Pamela: "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
Published in USA in the 1950's, and it's not an easy read.
 But its not pornography. It's funny, a satirical look at social conventions in USA as well as being tragic, and a love story. It's hard to categorize. There is a farcical, horrible, funny murder in it. There are literary jokes and French and Latin quotes.

Judy: "The Amber Room" by Steve Berry
A novel is based around the mystery of the disappearance of the Amber Room at the end of WW2. It is a work of fiction based on some facts. The Amber Room was constructed between 1701 and 1709 containing 55 sq meters and 6 tonnes of amber and looted by Nazi Germany during WW2.
The story revolves around several parties looking for the room for different reasons. It reads like a Dan Brown novel, fast paced, a few killings, a little sex, great descriptions and all neatly wrapped up at the end.