In this robust historical set during the Romanov twilight, Alexander (The Kitchen Boy ) chronicles the careers of two emblematic individuals-the real-life Grand Duchess Elisavyeta ("Ella"), sister of Alexandra, the last tsarina, and the fictional Pavel, a young revolutionary. The author's extensive knowledge of Russia allows him to invigorate the narrative with telling details that bring the aristocrat Ella, who eventually became an Orthodox saint, convincingly to life.
In this robust historical set during the Romanov twilight, Alexander (The Kitchen Boy) chronicles the careers of two emblematic individuals—the real-life Grand Duchess Elisavyeta (Ella), sister of Alexandra, the last tsarina, and the fictional Pavel, a young revolutionary. The author's extensive knowledge of Russia allows him to invigorate the narrative with telling details that bring the aristocrat Ella, who eventually became an Orthodox saint, convincingly to life. His depictions of workers' miseries, from the breadlines to sausage made from cat, are especially strong.
Focusing on the deep distress of man who has just lost the love of his life, this is a heart-rending tale. With a flashback he remembers everything from the first meeting to the farewell. The reader flows with the narrative. Engrossing!
The Civil War: A Narrative is a powerfully dramatic, highly literate three-volume account of the war that preserved the unity of the United States of America. It took Shelby Foote over 16 years and 2,800 pages to complete his masterpiece. The Civil War: A Narrative is a very long journey, but one also very well worth taking.
No writer has rendered our boundariless, post-colonial world more acutely or prophetically than V. S. Naipaul, or given its upheavals such a hauntingly human face. A perfect case in point is this riveting novel, a masterful and stylishly rendered narrative of emigration, dislocation, and dread, accompanied by four supporting narratives.
