Sashenka
Winter, 1916 In St Petersburg, Russia 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 sixteen As her mother parties with Rasputin and her dissolute friends, Sashenka slips into the frozen night to play her part in a dangerous game of conspiracy and seduction Twenty years on, Sashenka has a powerful husband with whom she has two children Around her people are disappearing, but her own family is safe But she s about to embark on a forbidden love affair which will have devastating consequences Sashenka s story lies hidden for half a century, until a young historian goes deep into Stalin s private archives and uncovers a heart breaking tale of passion and betrayal, savage cruelty and unexpected heroism and one woman forced to make an unbearable choice. Free Read [ Sashenka ] By [ Simon Sebag Montefiore ] – kino-fada.fr This is an outstanding work from a serious scholar of Russian history I ll be interested to try one of his nonfiction books The author s knowledge of period details, mindsets, and customs really makes this novel stand out There are so many fascinating little extras.My summaries of the sections are deliberately vague, as I think it s essential to be in the dark about where the story is going for best enjoyment All three of the parts are very nicely tied in with each other by the end of the This is an outstanding work from a serious scholar of Russian history I ll be interested to try one of his nonfiction books The author s knowledge of period details, mindsets, and customs really makes this novel stand out There are so many fascinating little extras.My summaries of the sections are deliberately vague, as I think it s essential to be in the dark about where the story is going for best ...The background research is impressive but to me Sashenka herself feels like a man s creation of a woman not totally convincing.I ve always been obsessed with Russian history, in particular the events leading to the 1917 revolution that murdered the Tsar, his family, as well as countless others, setting the stage for Stalin and decades of untold horrors, which remained shrouded in secrecy and encoded dossiers until the collapse of the USSR In Simon Montefiore s sweeping novel, SASHENKA, we get an all encompassing view of these pivotal, blood soaked events through the eyes of the titular character a wealthy Jewish girl I ve always been obsessed with Russian history, in particular the events leading to the 1917 revolution that murdered the Tsar, his family, as well as countless others, setting the stage for Stalin and decades of untold horrors, which remained shrouded in secrecy and encoded dossiers until the collapse of the USSR In Simon Montefiore s sweeping novel, SASHENKA, we get an all encompassing view of these pivotal, blood soaked events through the eyes of the titular character a wealthy Jewish girl who forsakes her well heeled, unraveling family to join the...After Doctor Zhivago, this is the second novel I ve read about 20th century Russia It is an entertaining and gripping story with many dramatic twists in the plot some leaning on overdramatic The novel has all the trimmings of a satisfactory historical novel like rich descriptions of Russian cities and countryside, settings and characters, blending fictional with real.The plot line follows the life of a fictional female protagonist named Sashenka, from around the time of the 1917 Russian After Doctor Zhivago, this is the second novel I ve read about 20th century Russia It is an entertaining and gripping story with many dramatic twists in the plot some leaning on overdramatic The novel has all the trimmings of a satisfactory historical novel like rich descriptions of Russian cities and countryside, settings and characters, blending fictional with real.The plot line follows the life of a fictional female protagonist named Sashenka, from around the time of the 1917 Russian Revolution which marked the end of Tsarist rule, through the Stalinist era, with the plot setting extending right up to the 1990s Part One descri...I am setting this one aside 30 odd pages in for two main reasons 1 Pacing within scenes seems off and characters not quite believable.2 Holy male gaze, Batman Literally the first thing we learn about the 16 year old protagonist is her breast size They are, in case you wanted to know I didn t , the fullest breasts in her class As we are told from her own POV Meanwhile her governess is off ogling the headmistress, or so I presume by the fact that when the author writes from said I am setting this one aside 30 odd pages in for two main reasons ...If not for part three of this novel, this would have been a 1.5 star read I don t want to give too much away even using spoilers Part three involves a young girl named Katinka who is hired by a woman to track down her biological parents who gave up their children in the days before Russia would officially enter into WWII This plot would have been enough for an entire novel by itself However, before the reader can get to the good stuff, they have to en...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 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 I ordered this book really looking forward to it After all, it had a lot...I loved this book Only recently have I become interested in modern history, andspecifically the Russian Revolution, and this book definitely helped to deepen my interest Sashenka is very well researched, and is the author s first novel as Montefiore normally writes historical books This was a GREAT debut The latter part of the book, though not AS enjoyable as the first two p...I browsed several times this book since I read the author s two well received books on Stalin but until an online review captured my attention I did not think that I would read it since this is a book that combines superb characters, writing and period detail with some truly cheesy writing and passages that drone on, so a quick browse and even the short online excerpts available do not do it justice After finishing it I have to say that I truly did not expect to enjoy it and be moved by it I browsed several times this book since I read the author s two well received books on Stalin but until an online review captured my attention I did not think that I would read it since this is a book that combines superb characters, writing and period detail with some truly cheesy writing and passages that drone on, so a quick browse and even the short online excerpts available do not do it justice After finishing it I have to say that I truly did not expect to enjoy it and be moved by it as much as I was Spl...Stopped reading after less than hundred pages, I just have a lot of it going on right now and this book really demands attention and time I guess I m gonna finish it next year.update I finished it this year woop woop This book gave me serious nightmares because I connected with Saschenka in part 2 and her suffering But that doesn t change the fact that I had difficulties with part 1 and 3, I had to skim throug...
- English
- 05 September 2018 Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Hardcover
- 522 pages
- 1416595546
- Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Sashenka