bub_9's review
4.0
I found this less delightful than Innocence and The Blue Flower, with the romance maybe a little under-characterized and the children less amusing. But it's astonishingly idiomatic a portrait of its historical setting, Moscow (as always, with Fitzgerald). Also, the ENDING! (please read to understand)
*sorry this is short - Fitzgerald's novels have much of the same strengths and weaknesses (mostly strengths) so :3
*sorry this is short - Fitzgerald's novels have much of the same strengths and weaknesses (mostly strengths) so :3
samjonester's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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? No
3.5
cmetcalfe's review against another edition
2.0
Found this book pretty boring. Was expecting to enjoy because it’s set in early 20th century Russia. Plot was very thin - there did seem to be some dramatic plot turns but I hardly understood they’d occurred. Felt nothing for the characters/felt like I hardly knew them. The author clearly had good knowledge of the era but sometimes this came across as a bit forced - putting references in for the sake of it. Also felt old-fashioned. I thought the ending was badly written. What was the point of the book?
andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
Set in 1913 we find Frank Reid, an English man whose family have built up a printing business in Moscow. One day he returns home to find his wife having run away with his 3 children to return to England but within hours the children return back without their mother.
What follows is a curious story about their life of a period of weeks in which both the changing season also presages tumultuous changes that are developing in the country.
This is a gentle tale which also includes humour and wonderful character studies. The prose is also vivid with descriptions of landscape which evoke the beauty of a mysterious country.
A brilliant storyteller.
What follows is a curious story about their life of a period of weeks in which both the changing season also presages tumultuous changes that are developing in the country.
This is a gentle tale which also includes humour and wonderful character studies. The prose is also vivid with descriptions of landscape which evoke the beauty of a mysterious country.
A brilliant storyteller.
desirosie's review against another edition
2.0
This book was fine - nothing spectacular, nothing wrong with it either. It was just a story.
beahoffman_'s review against another edition
5.0
I loved this so much and I can't quite figure out why. I've been searching for answers on the internet (of all places). All I can say is that something here felt very true, and genuine, and kind, and humorous (but in a care-ful way). I'll have to come back later, read it again, maybe I'll figure it out. I see from other reviewers that Fitzgerald is notoriously elusive-- that that is a part of the allure of her work. I get that. I feel that. But why EXACTLY this has become a new favorite (and I can't quite articulate why) has left me reeling. Whatever it is, well done.
kweekwegg's review against another edition
4.0
P. Fitzgerald is becoming one of my favorite novelists. Her books feel as if they could have been a thousand pages, but that she chose her words carefully enough to pare them down to short novels. And I don't think I've ever encountered such clever, subtle humor. You could read this entire book without even knowing there were any jokes, if you aren't paying close enough attention.
grubstlodger's review against another edition
4.0
Recently, I went to the Russian Revolution exhibition at the British Library. One of the most interesting parts was how the Russian state tried to lurch into the twentieth century but was held back by it’s size and lack of will. This novel is set in Moscow as that old order is about to be violently wrenched apart and is about an expat English family which is (officially) torn in two.
Nellie, who we meet in flashback as an intelligent and sharp woman, leaves Moscow with the children but ships them back to Moscow before going back to England alone. Her husband, a small printshop owner and respected member of Moscow’s business community, wonders why she left but seems fatalistically resigned to it. He hires a quiet, self contained woman to look after the children and tries to keep his life going - even if that means coping with gun-toting students, drunk bear cubs and visits from the Okhrana.
Like the other Fitzgerald books I have read, this is more a question of characters, mood and place then story - but we do actually get answers in this book. We find out why Nellie left, we find out why the Russian empire wants to kick him out. As such, it’s one of her more complete narratives.
It is also a wonderful evocation of Russia from a privileged position at an interesting time. I love Uncle Charlie, in his gauche home-counties-ness and how he loved Russia for it’s servants and opulence. I liked the children, following Fitzgerald’s run of sharp, world-weary kids. Again, a very enjoyable work.
eilidh_hunter77's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75