A beautifully written story of two women who couldn't be more different from one another and who each impacts the other in meaningful ways. One, a scientist, the other a member of a deeply religious sect who had left civilization behind...that is until the scientist and her pilot show up. We see how the minerals research which will encourage mining ventures begins to mimic the progress the country is exploiting and its devastating impacts on the earth and the people who live there.

THE LOST BELIEVERS is not going to appeal to every reader. However, I found it to be quite elegant and enjoyable. There is a certain narrative distance which gives the novel an almost formal or old-fashioned feeling. For this reason, it takes time to get to know the characters. Ultimately both storylines are interesting and the pace does pick up slightly in the second half.

This novel was a very interesting read, highlighting the relationship between humans and nature, and the importance of preservation.
There were a few small things that I would question. One has to try very hard to find any Russians named Hugo or Snow Crane. There were no underground bard clubs where anyone from the street could simply walk in for a cup of coffee. But these were only small details noticeable only to someone with a Russian background.

3.5 stars, rounding up for the lovely writing and descriptions of the taiga.

This is a slow, narrative driven book without a ton of plot. The main issue is how Galina, a Soviet geologist, will reconcile her friendship and career with Agafia, a woman who lives in a remote homestead in Siberia where Galina has been sent to survey for a new mine. Her partner and pilot, Snow Crane (I never understood why we never got his name), also comes to know Agafia and her family, as they spend two summers in Siberia, returning to Moscow for the winter. Agafia and her family are "Old Believers," pre-schism Eastern Orthodox Christians, who fled for Siberia during the religious persecution of Stalin's reign. Agafia has never met anyone outside her immediate family. This whole story eventually creates a tension between progress and conservation, Western vs Soviet values, religion vs atheism, and every other possible tension you can imagine between these two groups, who nonetheless come to care for each other very much.

I enjoyed this book, and while there were lines where the author felt she needed to tell in addition to show, the prose was mostly lovely and very evocative of the landscape. I learned more about industrialization during the Soviet era, and with today's headlines, it's useful history to know.

I echo another reviewer about a tired trope used on a female character, because it was so obvious while I was reading and I'm certain I actually rolled my eyes. It didn't add anything, though I guess it created a reason for the dramatic final chapter to occur.

Overall, an enjoyable, slow-paced look at Soviet life in Siberia.

I was very excited to receive an ARC of <i>Lost Believers</i> because it explores a unique aspect of Russian culture that isn't really discussed much in the West: Old Believers. There's a lot to like about the book--the descriptions of life in the taiga are beautiful and although the book's pacing is pretty slow, that didn't really bother me because the descriptions were really lovely.

However, what I am exhausted by and what brings my rating of the book down so far is <spoiler> the book's reliance on the tired trope of a woman being sexually assaulted and getting pregnant from the attack. Look, this plot point has been done hundreds of times in books, television shows, and movies. If you cannot think of a better way of creating conflict for your characters, you're just not a very original writer. There are other ways to traumatize your character without relying on something that has been overdone to the point of exhaustion. Once that event occurs, the plot really does seem to jump shark for the character, and her choices become wildly illogical with no resolution. It makes for an all-around dissatisfying read for a book that starts out with a lot of potential. </spoiler>

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

4.5/5. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It’s very character-driven (but still well paced), and takes you deep into the perspectives of the two main characters, as well as some of the supporting cast. Both Julia and Agafia were sympathetic, well-developed and experienced a lot of character growth. My favorite part is Agafia’s imaginary friend! Such a whimsical addition to an otherwise serious story. Without spoiling the ending, I liked that the book mostly let the reader come to their own conclusions (not preachy) and allowed for multiple perspectives on the central conflict. I also learned a lot. The language and writing were beautiful. I will definitely be recommending this book once it debuts. Thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC!

I struggled to connect with the characters of this book from the beginning and the third person perspective contributed. The text read dense which also gave many of the otherwise likable characters a flat read. That being said, this book felt more “alive” and enjoyable during the second half when there was more interaction between characters and the world built. The subject of this book is what drew me to it, and from that standpoint the author did justice to themes of this book.

I am generally hesitant to read slow-paced character studies without much plot, but the description of Lost Believers drew me in. I'm so glad I took the chance!

This book is a rich and immersive ode to the harsh-yet-beautiful Siberian taiga. To the mountains that are ancient, steadfast, and oblivious to the human dramas that unfold on their crust, to the hopes and struggles of the tiny people who revere them; yet that very earth is, at the same time, utterly vulnerable to the advances of human industry.

There are a few POVs but the two most central characters are Agafia and Galina - each embodying different worlds within the same Soviet-era Russia. Agafia came from a lineage of Old Believers who rejected the church reforms of Peter the "Great" and secluded themselves in exile in Siberia to protect the old customs, beliefs, and ways of worship. Agafia was born in the taiga and knows nothing of the outside world. She has never even met someone she wasn't related to. That changes when Galina, a geologist scouting iron deposits in the mountains, and her partner who comes to be known as Snow Crane come across her tiny homestead. Bit-by-bit over the coming years, Agafia's world expands in ways that would seem utterly mundane to Galina and the crew, but shake the foundation of everything Agafia knows.

First and foremost: the prose! The descriptions of the mountains, the taiga, the woods - nature was painted as beautiful to the point of near-divinity. Agafia grew up deeply religious, and yet in her mountain homestead she had never stepped foot inside a church. For her, the trees and mountains stretching towards the heavens were her literal place of worship. But for the other "worldly" characters too, nature spoke to something deep inside them in a way that healed old woulds and restored them. Even the scenes that took place in cityscapes and industrial factories had the same immersive quality to their descriptions, which juxtaposed human "progress" against the purity of the taiga.

While the taiga brought these characters together, we got to see how unique each of the paths they took to get there was. Galina came to love the mountains through her love of geology, which she found despite - and also because of - her father's political influence; Snow Crane came to geology from his love of the mountains, embracing the exile that had been imposed upon him. The earth, too, is a character in this story - ancient, immovable, and unchanging as humans scurry across its surface, and yet at the same time so vulnerable to becoming a casualty of human advancement.

For readers who enjoy plot-driven books with faster pacing, this has the potential to feel slow and meandering. I do generally fall into this category of reader. However, the uniqueness of the Siberian setting and of Agafia's perspective did hook me. I will admit though that the scenes with Galina and Snow Crane wintering in Moscow did bog me down a bit, and I found myself getting antsy for them to get back to Siberia.

For readers who love a slow character study with rich and immersive "vibes" this is definitely one to pick up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC to read and review.

Mixed feelings about this book because I found both storylines fascinating and was really intrigued when all the characters met in the page.

The stories about the Lost Believers lives in contrast to Galina’s adventure in love and nature was a great exploration into questions such as - how do our cultural beliefs impact the way we see the world and what happens when the world moves on without you.

All of that being said, I found the writing very slow and the narration to be too distant for me to connect with the characters. A lot of the story is narrated by the two main characters and several significant events happen off the page.

The writing was very descriptive and did not balance that with enough dialogue for me.

If a very distant 3rd person POV doesn’t bother you and the plot sounds interesting, you should check this book out!

ARC provided via NetGalley