mj38012's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
eternalcat's review against another edition
1.0
I actually started this book months ago but couldn't get into it. Recently I decided to power through it.
I appreciate how much effort the author put into this book but it was not my cup of tea.
I didn't not like or relate to any of the characters and did not like the way the story progressed.
I appreciate how much effort the author put into this book but it was not my cup of tea.
I didn't not like or relate to any of the characters and did not like the way the story progressed.
ermalundberg's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
Age rating: 12+
A bit too much happening. Got a little bit confusing. Chapters are pretty short. Kinda liked the grandkids, grandpa, and bear story thing. There's Russians too.
Age rating: 12+
A bit too much happening. Got a little bit confusing. Chapters are pretty short. Kinda liked the grandkids, grandpa, and bear story thing. There's Russians too.
alealsilva's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
alexperc_92's review against another edition
4.0
I received an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*
This book was quite a surpise. Not too much historical fiction and not too much of a fairy tale. Through the three novellas we see the Russian Revolution through different scopes, we learn more about true love and how, sometimes, myths and legends can also be true.
I liked the premise of the book and honestly with that cover the book should be more known. This was my first book of this writer and I am quite excited to see and read more of his writing!
This book was quite a surpise. Not too much historical fiction and not too much of a fairy tale. Through the three novellas we see the Russian Revolution through different scopes, we learn more about true love and how, sometimes, myths and legends can also be true.
I liked the premise of the book and honestly with that cover the book should be more known. This was my first book of this writer and I am quite excited to see and read more of his writing!
snarkbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
How do I describe this book? It's part fairytale and part history. The story centers around a real children's author how found himself spying for England and Russia despite just wanting to write fairytales and live with the woman he loved. I was in love with it from the moment I started it. I could almost here the man's voice in my head while I read the story and the tension kept me glued to the book the whole time.. I think everyone who enjoys WWI history or historical fiction should read this book.
emmy_widner's review against another edition
2.0
I was told this was a historical fiction story based off of the Romanov Family and Russian History. So I bought it and read it based off of that. This is not what the book is at ALL. It started off as Historical Fiction but as got deeper into the book the fantasy elements went away and I was left with 1/3 history 1/3 memoir 1/3 “Huh?”.
This book was mid. At first I thought it was really good and interesting, but as I kept reading it got more boring and confusing. It had its high interesting points but it also had many more low boring/confusing points.
Every time I looked to see how many pages I had left, I thought to myself, “What else is there to say?” But somehow there was more.
I think this book was a good test run for a new way to write a book, but it did leave me unsatisfied and not really wanting to read another book like it. I bet Sedgwick it a great author, but this book was not a highlight for him, in my opinion. But props to him for trying something new!
This book was mid. At first I thought it was really good and interesting, but as I kept reading it got more boring and confusing. It had its high interesting points but it also had many more low boring/confusing points.
Every time I looked to see how many pages I had left, I thought to myself, “What else is there to say?” But somehow there was more.
I think this book was a good test run for a new way to write a book, but it did leave me unsatisfied and not really wanting to read another book like it. I bet Sedgwick it a great author, but this book was not a highlight for him, in my opinion. But props to him for trying something new!
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
"There was never a story that was happy through and through, and this one is no different."
Arthur Ransome left his family and his home in England to travel to Russia where he found work as a journalist. His love story with Russia started the moment he set foot on its snow-covered ground and continued as he compiled his first published book--a collection of Russian fairy tales.
Over the years Russia would continue to draw Ransome back to it through the first murmurings of unrest in Tsarist Russia, into the first bloody revolution, and beyond. Reporting on the turbulent political climate for an English newspaper draws Ransome unwittingly into the middle of the conflict between White and Red Russia as he is courted to be both a spy and a double agent.
All Arthur wants is to hide away and marry the Russian woman he loves. But that proves difficult with her position as Trotsky's secretary and his own murky sympathies. With history being made and the world changing from moment to moment, Arthur will have to choose a side and make hard choices to survive in Blood Red, Snow White (2016) by Marcus Sedgwick.
Blood Red, Snow White was originally published in the UK in 2007 and made its first appearance in the US when it was reprinted in 2016. This book follows the sensational real story of novelist Arthur Ransome during his years in Russia as a suspected spy before he would write his Swallows and Amazons children adventure novels. Blood Red, Snow White was originally written shortly after Ransome's MI6 file was made public--details Sedgwick relates in an author's note which includes excerpts from those files.
This novel is broken into three parts. The beginning, written in third person, relates the beginning of Arthur's life and journey to Russia as well as the early stages of the Russian Revolution as short fairy tales. The second part of the novel, in a closer third person point of view, follows Arthur over the course of one night in Moscow as he decides if he will agree to act as a British spy. In part three Arthur narrates his story in first person as he tries to make his way back into Russian and extricate himself and Evgenia from the political machinations around them.
This fast-paced, literary novel looks at a moment in history through an unexpected lens. Readers familiar with Ransome's own books will, of course, find this novel fascinating. Although some of this novel is, necessarily, speculation it is well-researched and thorough with detailed information about Russia during Ransome's time there as well as key details of Ransome's life.
Blood Red, Snow White is an approachable and ambitious novel filled with atmospheric settings and a gripping story of love, adventure, spies, and Russia.
Possible Pairings: Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson, Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming, Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
Arthur Ransome left his family and his home in England to travel to Russia where he found work as a journalist. His love story with Russia started the moment he set foot on its snow-covered ground and continued as he compiled his first published book--a collection of Russian fairy tales.
Over the years Russia would continue to draw Ransome back to it through the first murmurings of unrest in Tsarist Russia, into the first bloody revolution, and beyond. Reporting on the turbulent political climate for an English newspaper draws Ransome unwittingly into the middle of the conflict between White and Red Russia as he is courted to be both a spy and a double agent.
All Arthur wants is to hide away and marry the Russian woman he loves. But that proves difficult with her position as Trotsky's secretary and his own murky sympathies. With history being made and the world changing from moment to moment, Arthur will have to choose a side and make hard choices to survive in Blood Red, Snow White (2016) by Marcus Sedgwick.
Blood Red, Snow White was originally published in the UK in 2007 and made its first appearance in the US when it was reprinted in 2016. This book follows the sensational real story of novelist Arthur Ransome during his years in Russia as a suspected spy before he would write his Swallows and Amazons children adventure novels. Blood Red, Snow White was originally written shortly after Ransome's MI6 file was made public--details Sedgwick relates in an author's note which includes excerpts from those files.
This novel is broken into three parts. The beginning, written in third person, relates the beginning of Arthur's life and journey to Russia as well as the early stages of the Russian Revolution as short fairy tales. The second part of the novel, in a closer third person point of view, follows Arthur over the course of one night in Moscow as he decides if he will agree to act as a British spy. In part three Arthur narrates his story in first person as he tries to make his way back into Russian and extricate himself and Evgenia from the political machinations around them.
This fast-paced, literary novel looks at a moment in history through an unexpected lens. Readers familiar with Ransome's own books will, of course, find this novel fascinating. Although some of this novel is, necessarily, speculation it is well-researched and thorough with detailed information about Russia during Ransome's time there as well as key details of Ransome's life.
Blood Red, Snow White is an approachable and ambitious novel filled with atmospheric settings and a gripping story of love, adventure, spies, and Russia.
Possible Pairings: Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson, Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming, Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
alicepages's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, I'd like to credit the sheer talent of Sedgwick in crafting a piece of historical fiction where everything mentioned can be traced to an actual person or event in Russian history. There is a powerful truth driving the novel's story, and when you register that practically everything happening is a fictionalized account of a real brutality, the whole novel becomes that much more engaging, and that much more horrifying.
I really enjoyed the three-part set up; Sedgwick manages to keep each one unique and yet connects them all together, weaving one story into a trilogy of fairytale, some traditional, and others gut-wrenching and real. During the first part, a take on the start of revolution heavily dripped in symbolism, Sedgwick establishes a cold tone which sits perfectly alongside a dark narrative. And everything about this novel is dark; the characters are gritty survivors, the places are fleeting emotional or physical battlegrounds, and the events are cruel but bathed in the reality inspiring their creation. I didn't find the final section quite as captivating as the initial two; I found the tension was lost and all Arthur seems to do is catch boats and trains from one place to another, but I was driven by my sympathies for the protagonist to discover is his ending was happy or not. Throughout, I couldn't pick a side, because strangely I wanted everyone to be a winner. They're not.
There's no humour in this tale, no spark of joviality; much like the title suggests (and I really love the title for both its structure and its fairytale connotation) theres a bleakness to the language that sustains an icy writing style. Sedgwick is stark with is content, and matter-of-fact in his written expression. Sometimes I had to put the book down for the sheer depressive force of the narrative, but underlying this coating are themes of love and friendship, and hope and sacrifice. I loved that Russia was the object of the book's passion; Sedgwick has clearly done his research, as I stated before. The Romonov's, Rasputin, Lenin and Trotsky, all feature in this work alongside many others. If nothing else, this story will teach you a little history.
This book is real in every sense of the word. Imagination and history collide to make this a gripping and human read.
I really enjoyed the three-part set up; Sedgwick manages to keep each one unique and yet connects them all together, weaving one story into a trilogy of fairytale, some traditional, and others gut-wrenching and real. During the first part, a take on the start of revolution heavily dripped in symbolism, Sedgwick establishes a cold tone which sits perfectly alongside a dark narrative. And everything about this novel is dark; the characters are gritty survivors, the places are fleeting emotional or physical battlegrounds, and the events are cruel but bathed in the reality inspiring their creation. I didn't find the final section quite as captivating as the initial two; I found the tension was lost and all Arthur seems to do is catch boats and trains from one place to another, but I was driven by my sympathies for the protagonist to discover is his ending was happy or not. Throughout, I couldn't pick a side, because strangely I wanted everyone to be a winner. They're not.
There's no humour in this tale, no spark of joviality; much like the title suggests (and I really love the title for both its structure and its fairytale connotation) theres a bleakness to the language that sustains an icy writing style. Sedgwick is stark with is content, and matter-of-fact in his written expression. Sometimes I had to put the book down for the sheer depressive force of the narrative, but underlying this coating are themes of love and friendship, and hope and sacrifice. I loved that Russia was the object of the book's passion; Sedgwick has clearly done his research, as I stated before. The Romonov's, Rasputin, Lenin and Trotsky, all feature in this work alongside many others. If nothing else, this story will teach you a little history.
This book is real in every sense of the word. Imagination and history collide to make this a gripping and human read.