The Revolution of Marina M.
By Janet Fitch
First off, this tome is 800 pages, so get ready.
Secondly, the last four words of the book are "End of Book 1."
AACCCKCKKKKK!!
Now y'all know I love historical fiction. It has been a while since I read anything set in Russia, much less in 1916-1918 Russia. And this author has done her research. I could feel the cold, I could feel the despair and I could feel the revolutionary frustrations and energy from the Bolsheviks. And while I thought it would be a bit of a slog to get through and kind of heavy for summer, I could not put it down. I did get a little tired at the end and I was not jumping up and down to read the next book even with so many story lines unfinished. (What will become of Marina? What happened back at the summer home? Where is her one true love???) Of course there is a lot of conflict, and there are a few quite violent scenes, including a pretty graphic sexual assault (trigger alert here!). And in the last half some situations seem really really far fetched and unnecessary and just plain weird. Some of Marina's decisions don't fit with the person she is becoming, I think she gives up on Koyla too easily much to her disadvantage, and the whole scene at her old summer home with the people now living there - meh. Not sure I will dive into the second book, especially if it is this long again, but this is a good book if you are into epic novels about Russia or historical fiction. Very well written even with its plot flaws (imho).
Secondly, the last four words of the book are "End of Book 1."
AACCCKCKKKKK!!
Now y'all know I love historical fiction. It has been a while since I read anything set in Russia, much less in 1916-1918 Russia. And this author has done her research. I could feel the cold, I could feel the despair and I could feel the revolutionary frustrations and energy from the Bolsheviks. And while I thought it would be a bit of a slog to get through and kind of heavy for summer, I could not put it down. I did get a little tired at the end and I was not jumping up and down to read the next book even with so many story lines unfinished. (What will become of Marina? What happened back at the summer home? Where is her one true love???) Of course there is a lot of conflict, and there are a few quite violent scenes, including a pretty graphic sexual assault (trigger alert here!). And in the last half some situations seem really really far fetched and unnecessary and just plain weird. Some of Marina's decisions don't fit with the person she is becoming, I think she gives up on Koyla too easily much to her disadvantage, and the whole scene at her old summer home with the people now living there - meh. Not sure I will dive into the second book, especially if it is this long again, but this is a good book if you are into epic novels about Russia or historical fiction. Very well written even with its plot flaws (imho).
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