Status
Available
Series
Description
Winter, 1917: In St. Petersburg snow is falling, and Russia is on the brink of revolution. Outside the Smolny Institute for Noble Young Ladies, an English governess is waiting for her young charge to be released from school. But so are the Tsar's secret police. Beautiful and headstrong, Sashenka Zeitlin is just eighteen years old. In the evenings, when her banker father is doing deals and her mother is partying with Rasputin and her dissolute friends, Sashenka becomes Comrade Snowfox and slips into the frozen night to play her part in a game of conspiracy and seduction that will usher in a brave new Communist world. Twenty years on, and Sashenka is married to a high-up apparatchik in Stalin's government. She seems to have everything--yet all around her, her friends are being arrested and people are disappearing. Then Stalin himself comes for dinner, and Sashenka falls passionately in love, thereby setting in motion a terrifying sequence of events that will result in her having to make the most agonizing choice of all: whether to sacrifice her own life or that of those she loves most dearly.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Soniamarie
This is novel about revolution, espionage, and sex. Sashenka is a very young, impressionable teenager in the beginning who gets involved in the revolution (NOT on the governments side.) Her parents are rich, spoiled people. Her mother is a drug and sex addict (Oops. We are supposed to say hyper
That changed in part two. Sassy, spunky Sashenka becomes stupid, silly Sashenka. She has a good life, good husband, good children (tho I think they needed more spankings) and she may throw it all away. On top of her ridiculous antics, her family's scandalous past may be coming back to haunt her. Because I grew to dislike Sashenka, the book lost its appeal for me and the last half was a struggle. Three stars.(
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sexual disorder now! LOL) and while her mother is attending orgies, Sashenka's father is doing the nanny. Sashenka uses her womanly wiles to lure a government offical into giving her information and he rubs cocaine on his gums every five minutes. But despite my intense dislike of theses activities, I really liked Sashenka herself and her spunk and courage. That changed in part two. Sassy, spunky Sashenka becomes stupid, silly Sashenka. She has a good life, good husband, good children (tho I think they needed more spankings) and she may throw it all away. On top of her ridiculous antics, her family's scandalous past may be coming back to haunt her. Because I grew to dislike Sashenka, the book lost its appeal for me and the last half was a struggle. Three stars.(
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LibraryThing member Clara53
I had hard time putting the book down... Notwithstanding certain stereotyping and some repetitiveness - I still liked it a lot. I wish the editing of Russian words and phrases was more thorough, but altogether - a very good historical novel. It's clear that a lot of research went into it.
LibraryThing member miki
I ordered this book really looking forward to it. After all, it had a lot going for it that promised a good read -- Russian history, a young adult diving into political conspiracy, love stories, etc. Reading the cover flap had me all excited.
Reading the actual book, though, was a let down. The
The actual plot of the book is incredibly interesting, and the historical backdrop add an excellent context -- but the execution just didn't work for me as a reader.
Reading the actual book, though, was a let down. The
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beginning of the book jumps every few pages to a different set of characters, almost all dialogue with very little description or action, not spending enough time with any of characters for me to really feel engaged. Each jump just left me feeling progressively more detached from the people and the story. Moving forward in the book, there just wasn't anything that grabbed me strongly enough to rectify this.The actual plot of the book is incredibly interesting, and the historical backdrop add an excellent context -- but the execution just didn't work for me as a reader.
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LibraryThing member suesbooks
Interesting book offering a way to learn about life in Soviet Union. Writing was quite simplistic and all surface. Dates in last third do not coinicide with believable ages of characters, but overall book kept my attention.
LibraryThing member neddludd
Focusing on one extended family, readers move from pre-Revolutionary St. Petersburg to the height of Stalinist terror in the 30s, to the present day. Each period is linked, and it is not until the archives of post-Soviet Moscow shed their secrets that readers get the complete story. Compelling,
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memorable, and crafted by a biographer of Stalin, this is a very satisfying tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member gollywollypogs
Poor little rich girl, Sashenka becomes a Bolshevik and is swept up in the revolution of 1917. As the new regime is established and the years progress, Sashenka becomes the model Soviet citizen, proud of her own and her comrades achievements, and blind to the appalling atrocities of Stalin's reign.
The true scale of the terror of Stalin's Russia becomes apparent - the slightest weakness, without political motivation, propels an entire family into a hellish new world. The intensity of the dog eats dog betrayal and counter betrayal is gripping, and the glimpses of true bravery from those who risked everything to help are inspiring. A vibrant and very affecting read.
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Indeed she herself is now enjoying the privileges which her loyalty has earned. One feels irked at Sashenka's smug acceptance of this way of life, but then - one small mistake and her world lies in ruins. The true scale of the terror of Stalin's Russia becomes apparent - the slightest weakness, without political motivation, propels an entire family into a hellish new world. The intensity of the dog eats dog betrayal and counter betrayal is gripping, and the glimpses of true bravery from those who risked everything to help are inspiring. A vibrant and very affecting read.
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LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
A renowned biographer/historian writes a fairly gripping novel. Thick with historical detail - I almost lost sight of the characters, especially in the beginning, sometimes for the background details and the scenery. He even got a hand soap reference right!
Lots of treats for the Russian history
I won't venture into the plot in too much detail. But it can be assumed that a novel which takes place in 1917 St. Petersburg, and the worst of Stalinist Russia will have more than a few unsettling elements.
Recommended.
Lots of treats for the Russian history
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buff - all the little details are there. One wonders how the average reader would be put off by them, however.I won't venture into the plot in too much detail. But it can be assumed that a novel which takes place in 1917 St. Petersburg, and the worst of Stalinist Russia will have more than a few unsettling elements.
Recommended.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Reading this book was rather like riding a bicycle with worn out gears. There were long periods when I found myself struggling to engage with the story and stumbling along with no sense of making any progress. Then there would be a sudden whirring and things would click into place for a while, and
The book opens in St Petersburg in 1916, and the plot revolves around Sashenka Zeitlin, a young woman raised in a privileged merchant’s family. Unusually for a woman in her position, her maternal uncle is a professional revolutionary, Mendel, who has inspired the young Sashenka to start reading works espousing social justice and even revolution. As a consequence of her dabblings in the remote hinterland of revolutionary thought, Sashenka finds herself being arrested as she leaves her private school, and she is locked up overnight in a squalid detention centre. The book, which is the first volume in a trilogy spanning the twentieth century and beyond, follows her further adventures.
It is certainly well written – Sebag-Montefiore’s prose is very accessible. For some reason, however, I never quite managed to come to grips with theis book, and I will not be moving on to the subsequent volumes.
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I would be utterly caught up with it, racing along perfectly happily, until I went over a pothole or hit the kerb too sharply, at which point the bike slipped out of gear again, and I found myself struggling to make headway again.The book opens in St Petersburg in 1916, and the plot revolves around Sashenka Zeitlin, a young woman raised in a privileged merchant’s family. Unusually for a woman in her position, her maternal uncle is a professional revolutionary, Mendel, who has inspired the young Sashenka to start reading works espousing social justice and even revolution. As a consequence of her dabblings in the remote hinterland of revolutionary thought, Sashenka finds herself being arrested as she leaves her private school, and she is locked up overnight in a squalid detention centre. The book, which is the first volume in a trilogy spanning the twentieth century and beyond, follows her further adventures.
It is certainly well written – Sebag-Montefiore’s prose is very accessible. For some reason, however, I never quite managed to come to grips with theis book, and I will not be moving on to the subsequent volumes.
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LibraryThing member Rdra1962
imagine being a 16 year old baroness in 1915, the Russians are at war with germany and your uncle is a
leading Bolshevik...this is the story of the Russian revolution thru her eyes. It is a story I have not read yet, and it is great historical fiction, sadly however, it is not terribly well written.
leading Bolshevik...this is the story of the Russian revolution thru her eyes. It is a story I have not read yet, and it is great historical fiction, sadly however, it is not terribly well written.
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It could have been great, instead, just good. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2010)
Bad Sex in Fiction Award (Shortlist — 2008)