Thank you to Christina Ezrahi and netgalley for the opportunity to review this great piece of history.
I went into this with an open mind and enjoyed it throughly.
Pros:
🔸️ through investigation and knowledge
🔸️unprecedented view of Stalin lead Russia
🔸️ unprecedented view of russia "work camp"
🔸️a 'real' love story
🔸️great use of description of what was actually leading to Russian internment
🔸️amazing use of historical documents
Cons:
🔻 very fact driven, minimal story
🔻 slow read: at times read more like a high school history book than a novel
🔻I would sometimes find myself overwhelmed with dates and additional facts that would not actually pertain to the story at all.
🔻 Limited "views" everything is third person. Sometimes this would prevent me from an attachment or feeling the true impact.
The history buff in me loved it, the bibliophile not so much. Anybody with a strong interest in soviet russia during this period, a love of Anna "Nina" Anisimova, or even the history of soviet dancing.
Happy to have enjoyed this beautiful piece of history.