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jhayward's review against another edition
4.0
An exhaustive look at around 300 years of Russian cultural history. Provided some amazing narratives and stories.
dim22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
camscampbell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This is an incredible book that feels as if it were written just for me. It's one to savour and take nice and slowly so that the culture and the history have time to sink in. Or blast through it, safe in the knowledge that this is only your first time reading it—you'll read it again and again.
It starts when Peter the Great sticks his bayonet into the swamp that would become St Petersburg in 1703 and continues until 1962 when Stravinsky and Shostakovich meet for the first time.
Read this with the Internet close at hand, as it'll have you looking up art, listening to music, watching movies, reading novels and poetry, and even going into your attic to drag out old boxes of books to find your old poetry books. Okay, maybe that's just me. Where IS that book of Akhmatova poetry I bought 30 years ago? Time for a second mission into the attic I think.
Also, read the book with a box of tissues nearby. Is it spoilery to mention... yeah, maybe it is. I'll save it. Just have tissues, is all I'm saying. I'll spoiler-tag it.
Trigger warning: Suicide
Near the end of the book, Figes describes the final days of Marina Tsvetaeva and then publishes her suicide note that she left for her son. It's just heartbreaking.
I can't even begin to imagine how much research must have gone into this book. Figes writes a beautiful thank you note to his research assistants, ending it by thanking his daughters, "whose loveliness in no small part inspired it. It was written in the hope that one day they might understand their father's other love." That had me tearing up.
I'll be buying another copy of this to give to my daughter. She's a musician and is studying at Guildhall. She's played a fair bit of music from Russian composers, including my man Shostakovich. If I ever get to hear her playing the principal horn in Shostakovich 10, I'll melt into a puddle.
It starts when Peter the Great sticks his bayonet into the swamp that would become St Petersburg in 1703 and continues until 1962 when Stravinsky and Shostakovich meet for the first time.
Read this with the Internet close at hand, as it'll have you looking up art, listening to music, watching movies, reading novels and poetry, and even going into your attic to drag out old boxes of books to find your old poetry books. Okay, maybe that's just me. Where IS that book of Akhmatova poetry I bought 30 years ago? Time for a second mission into the attic I think.
Also, read the book with a box of tissues nearby. Is it spoilery to mention... yeah, maybe it is. I'll save it. Just have tissues, is all I'm saying. I'll spoiler-tag it.
Trigger warning: Suicide
I can't even begin to imagine how much research must have gone into this book. Figes writes a beautiful thank you note to his research assistants, ending it by thanking his daughters, "whose loveliness in no small part inspired it. It was written in the hope that one day they might understand their father's other love." That had me tearing up.
I'll be buying another copy of this to give to my daughter. She's a musician and is studying at Guildhall. She's played a fair bit of music from Russian composers, including my man Shostakovich. If I ever get to hear her playing the principal horn in Shostakovich 10, I'll melt into a puddle.
heidihaverkamp's review against another edition
4.0
An engaging history of modern Russia told through its history of the arts, from the founding of the "dream city" of St. Petersburg in 1703 through to the Soviet era: music, architecture, theater, painting, poetry, novels... all interlaced with political, ethnic, and economic history, even religious history, although I was disappointed how little Judaism was mentioned. Complete with maps and color plates. It meanders a bit sometimes, from artist to artist, but I liked getting a broad, cultural picture of a country I know little about, and which is becoming so very prominent again on the world stage. Although, honestly, I picked this up after watching the BBC's "War and Peace" miniseries and feeling hungry for more history, less so because of recent news stories!
bailey_bea's review against another edition
4.0
Natasha's Dance offers a fascinating insight into hundreds of years of Russian art and culture. I would have liked for the author to spend more time delving deeper into aspects of the culture and the art itself and a little less time on the lives of Russian artists, writers, and composers. While interesting, it started to feel more like a collection of small biographies than a study of culture. But it was a good read overall.
lilreaderbug's review against another edition
1.0
About halfway through i began noticing a number of factual errors, including plots of well-known literary works (Heart of Dog, War and Peace, Anna Karenina), word origins, and claiming that 14 years = a quarter century. I then looked at other GR reviews and found others noticing the same and more. It's a pity, i was pretty excited about the discussion of Russian art and music, but now I do not think I can trust the contents of this book.
Oh, and the author apparently wrote reviews on Amazon under another name trashing his competitors and praising his own works. Initially he tried to blame his wife before the evidence forced him to admit his misdeeds. I won't be reading anything else from Figes because he can't get his facts straight and he is immature and deceptive.
I'm giving this 1.5 stars. I would have done 4 stars if it were not for reasons I outlined.
Oh, and the author apparently wrote reviews on Amazon under another name trashing his competitors and praising his own works. Initially he tried to blame his wife before the evidence forced him to admit his misdeeds. I won't be reading anything else from Figes because he can't get his facts straight and he is immature and deceptive.
I'm giving this 1.5 stars. I would have done 4 stars if it were not for reasons I outlined.
shannon_jayne1's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
4.25
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it helpful as someone who is very interested in Russian culture, particularly literature. It should be noted that this book is a little dense so be warned it won’t be a quick read.