Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Counting this as 'finished' because I've read 400+ pages but I'm not going to finish. It's too long, I'm not really all that interested or invested in the characters, it's kind of meandering and I'm not sure to what end (I guess I'll never know). There's just other books I'd rather be spending my time on. Was also the second anti-communist book I read in a row. I get it, US publishing.
It pains me not to be able to give this a better rating, but alas, no. And we'll just blame me for, say, not being up to the challenge as a reader, how's that? Because I love Janet Fitch. I do. I think she is a brilliant writer. I follow her on twitter for god's sake. haha It's obvious she did her homework here and is a passionate Russophile (is that a word?) as far as the Russian history and the many iterations of St. Petersburg go... But... It's just that I'm a typical self-centered American and I only care (*this*) much about the Russian revolution and I only care the same amount about Russian literature. If both of those things are YOUR things, then, hurray! have I got a book for you.
Now, I could have blah blah blahed my way through all that "Russer stuff" only I kind of hated the main character Marina Makarova and had a hard time feeling any sympathy, empathy, *interest* in her or what would next befall the young Russian beauty. And there were a lot of things, that happened to our heroine both of her own creation and otherwise. In fact, okay, so I couldn't identify with the main character, big deal. Then give me a secondary character to root for, give me a plot line to hold on to but nope. ALL the characters were horrible in one way or another and there just weren't any redeeming qualities therein. In fact, none were fleshed out in the slightest and nobody (main character included) came alive for me. Except for maybe the side character of Arkady von Principe (not sure if that's his name, I don't have the book handy). He was flawed and horrible in the darkest, most corrupt and interesting ways but he was dealt with, in this second installment, in the briefest, most unbelievable way imaginable that one couldn't help feeling a bit cheated of his dastardliness. It was anticlimactic at best. That is probably the biggest complaint I have. For such a long book (2 whole 700+ page tomes) and all the details, details, details, it still somehow seemed superficial and never got down to the nitty and the gritty, the innermost workings of the characters' psyches. You know, the interesting stuff. How can that be? The plot was more or less the main character, in equal portions, getting her ass handed to her or just totally lucking out in unbelievable ways. You know, just happening to be at the exact right place at the exact right time for some man from her past to show up and profess his undying love and devotion to her even though he hasn't seen or communicated with her during their time apart. Even though, now, she's an old hag of 20 who hasn't had a decent meal not to mention a BATH in the last 6 months and just literally got finished with poop patrol. He just happens to be there exactly at the right moment to get her out of a jam. Convenient. Sorry, I just couldn't buy into it.
So, like I said, it's just me. I somehow failed this history lesson and examination of the Russian revolution and it's aftermath on Russian society. I hated The Brothers Karamazov (DNF) and I'm pretty sure I rated Anna Karenina 3 stars. It's me. Maybe you'll have a more enjoyable time of it. I'm sorry Janet Fitch, don't be mad. I'll still read anything you write. I just hope the next one is not about Russia.
Now, I could have blah blah blahed my way through all that "Russer stuff" only I kind of hated the main character Marina Makarova and had a hard time feeling any sympathy, empathy, *interest* in her or what would next befall the young Russian beauty. And there were a lot of things, that happened to our heroine both of her own creation and otherwise. In fact, okay, so I couldn't identify with the main character, big deal. Then give me a secondary character to root for, give me a plot line to hold on to but nope. ALL the characters were horrible in one way or another and there just weren't any redeeming qualities therein. In fact, none were fleshed out in the slightest and nobody (main character included) came alive for me. Except for maybe the side character of Arkady von Principe (not sure if that's his name, I don't have the book handy). He was flawed and horrible in the darkest, most corrupt and interesting ways but he was dealt with, in this second installment, in the briefest, most unbelievable way imaginable that one couldn't help feeling a bit cheated of his dastardliness. It was anticlimactic at best. That is probably the biggest complaint I have. For such a long book (2 whole 700+ page tomes) and all the details, details, details, it still somehow seemed superficial and never got down to the nitty and the gritty, the innermost workings of the characters' psyches. You know, the interesting stuff. How can that be? The plot was more or less the main character, in equal portions, getting her ass handed to her or just totally lucking out in unbelievable ways. You know, just happening to be at the exact right place at the exact right time for some man from her past to show up and profess his undying love and devotion to her even though he hasn't seen or communicated with her during their time apart. Even though, now, she's an old hag of 20 who hasn't had a decent meal not to mention a BATH in the last 6 months and just literally got finished with poop patrol. He just happens to be there exactly at the right moment to get her out of a jam. Convenient. Sorry, I just couldn't buy into it.
So, like I said, it's just me. I somehow failed this history lesson and examination of the Russian revolution and it's aftermath on Russian society. I hated The Brothers Karamazov (DNF) and I'm pretty sure I rated Anna Karenina 3 stars. It's me. Maybe you'll have a more enjoyable time of it. I'm sorry Janet Fitch, don't be mad. I'll still read anything you write. I just hope the next one is not about Russia.
I re-read "The Revolution of Marina M" in preparation for "Chimes of a lost Cathedral" because as I read the character descriptions I realized I had forgotten what had happened in the first book. Overall, I felt the pace of the sequel was much faster (in my humble opinion there were a few parts of book one that dragged) and the plot moved more quickly than the original. I was really annoyed with Marina and several times had to stop reading because I kept shouting "Marina, NO!". She really makes some terrible choices in this book which have tragic consequences. I cried a lot while reading the sequel and the novel does a fantastic job of painting a portrait of the gruesome atrocities of the revolution. It was hard to read at times because it was all so....human. Tragic, grotesque, cruel. Such is the fate of many. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. Due to the prologue of the first book, we knew that Marina makes it out of Russia, but I found the ending to be very abrupt! I was so dissatisfied with it that I immediately read the prologue again. It felt fitting, like it all came full circle. I really enjoyed the character development and seeing how different people dealt with the bleak realities of war and revolution. I felt satisfied with character arcs and came to love and loathe some new characters with short roles. I also enjoyed the call back to previous events and plot points in the first book. If you enjoyed book one, you'll love to see how the rest of Marina's story unfolds.
This second installment of Marina’s story has all of the gut wrenching poetic romantic tragedy you’d expect from a story set during the Russian revolution. I was always waiting for the next terrible thing to happen but somehow still really enjoyed it. More so than the first book, maybe because she was a little older and I liked her more or maybe because we were already so deep into the story I was invested from the first page.
Janet Finch has my heart, and she created a character I truly love and admire in Marina
Wonderfully written. With the two volumes, I have spent nearly 1600 pages with Marina and I did not want the story to end. Heart-breaking at times...I am not sure where her courage came from, but she is an amazing heroine. I also learned so much about early 20th century Russia.
Spectacular sequel to The Revolution of Marina M. Riveting and addictive. Like it's predecessor, a page-turning epic. A historical fiction masterpiece. Someone please turn this into a Netflix series.
It was so sad to say goodbye to Marina as this book concludes her saga. No other heroine has ever left me spinning quite like she did. I find it difficult to give people a sound byte of my overall reaction of this series. Fitch takes you on a historical rollercoaster and leaves the reader dizzy from the whirlwind that was revolutionary Russia. Wonderfully well written, demonstrably heart wrenching, a must read for 2019.
I feel like I should get college credit after reading this book. It took me so long to read it that the library assumed it was lost and charged me for replacement. The book was incredibly well written and well researched, but I’m beginning to realize that in any book written about the Russian revolution, the politics take center stage as the main character. Such a trying time in the history of the world.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes