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A review by weiwuxivns
The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Went into this thinking it’ll be more of a typical romance set in the historical background of the Russian revolution but instead was pleasantly surprised by a story of love, fairy tales, and identity.
The prose itself was so beautiful, like a flowing consciousness, it just drew me in and made me buy into the story’s whimsy and fantasy elements. The fairy tale interims alluding to ensuing parts of the plot were so good, and the fact they simultaneously serve as allegories for events and commentary about the revolutions was fantastic. As someone who has their fair share of creeps around dolls, the added subtle horror element they had in the story in addition to being motifs and a plot device made the atmosphere much more mysterious, aiding the murder mystery subplot.
I didn’t really care for Lev or the romance with him, mainly because I thought his character was underdeveloped. I felt like there wasn’t enough fleshed out about his background and he more served to be Raisa’s parallel to Tonya’s Valentin and her tie back to her Russian identity. It wasn’t enough to detract from the story mainly because they weren’t the main couple in my head.
I think the most glaring thing is themurder plot was never really resolved? We learn it was Alexey’s brother who was in love with Katya, and Zoya got caught in the crossfire, but we never learn why that is. And Raisa just accepts that, which I find a bit strange . It left a lot to be desired given Raisa’s original ambitions in going back to Russia.
Tonya and Valentin’s storyline was my favorite part of the book. The ups and downs of their lives and how they intertwined, what they represented, and how they developed, all were so insightful into different sociopolitical aspects of the revolution while remaining a tragic and beautiful love story.
The prose itself was so beautiful, like a flowing consciousness, it just drew me in and made me buy into the story’s whimsy and fantasy elements. The fairy tale interims alluding to ensuing parts of the plot were so good, and the fact they simultaneously serve as allegories for events and commentary about the revolutions was fantastic. As someone who has their fair share of creeps around dolls, the added subtle horror element they had in the story in addition to being motifs and a plot device made the atmosphere much more mysterious, aiding the murder mystery subplot.
I didn’t really care for Lev or the romance with him, mainly because I thought his character was underdeveloped. I felt like there wasn’t enough fleshed out about his background and he more served to be Raisa’s parallel to Tonya’s Valentin and her tie back to her Russian identity. It wasn’t enough to detract from the story mainly because they weren’t the main couple in my head.
I think the most glaring thing is the
Tonya and Valentin’s storyline was my favorite part of the book. The ups and downs of their lives and how they intertwined, what they represented, and how they developed, all were so insightful into different sociopolitical aspects of the revolution while remaining a tragic and beautiful love story.