Janet
6th March 2007, 18:54
House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore (http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Orphans-Helen-Dunmore/dp/0141015020/ref=pd_ka_1/202-2992764-5030225?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173207191&sr=8-1)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/Bagpuss/Bagpuss_Books%202007/006-2007-05-March-HouseofOrphans.jpg
The ‘Blurb’
Finland, 1902, and the Russian Empire enforces a brutal policy to destroy Finland’s freedom and force its people into submission.
Eeva, orphaned daughter of a failed revolutionary, also battles to find her independence and identity. Destitute when her father dies, she is sent away to a country orphanage, and then employed as servant to a widowed doctor, Thomas Eklund. Slowly, Thomas falls in love with Eeva ... but she has committed herself long ago to a boy from her childhood, Lauri, who is now caught up in Helsinki’s turmoil of resistance to Russian rule.
Set in dangerous, unfamiliar times which strangely echo our own, the story reveals how terrorism lies hidden within ordinary life, as rulers struggle to hold on to power. House of Orphans is a rich, brilliant story of love, history and change.
This was my real-life Bookworm’s group’s March read. We got signed copies, read them and then last night we went and saw the author, Helen Dunmore, speaking about the book at the Bath Literary Festival (http://www.bathlitfest.org.uk/). Afterwards, we went out for a meal to discuss the book.
The talk by Ms Dunmore was interesting, and the meal afterwards was great! Rachel bought her five week old baby, Libby, along. Bless her - she fed all through the talk and then slept all through the meal!
I digress! The book tells the story of Eeva (pronounced Ava) an orphan, who leaves the orphanage to go to work for the local doctor, Thomas. Thomas falls in love with Eeva, but she is in love with her childhood sweetheart Lauri. She leaves to go to Helsinki to be with Lauri and make a life for herself there, but when Lauri is arrested by the Okhrana, the Tsarist secret police, and questioned about being a spy, Eeva has to call for the doctor to come to their aid.
The book started off really well. The first chapters about the Orphans and about the doctor were interesting and really drew me in, and the premise was great. However the book changed when Eeva went to Helsinki, and became very political and rather dull. It went on for too long. Towards the end, Eeva sends for Thomas, and he declares his love for her, but she rejects him and he returns to his village - this bit of the book felt very rushed.
The ending was poor. The author recaps what has happened to the male characters, but we are left guessing whether Eeva and Lauri find happiness. It was almost as though she ran out of steam!
It was beautifully written in places, but it just didn’t engage me. It took me several weeks to read it, because it was a chore rather than a pleasure and if it wasn’t for it being a Bookworms book, I doubt I’d have finished it!
The paperback is 328 pages long and is published by Penguin. The ISBN number is 978--0-141-01502-6.
4/10
(Bookworms Score 5.4/10
(Read March 2007)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y65/Bagpuss/Bagpuss_Books%202007/006-2007-05-March-HouseofOrphans.jpg
The ‘Blurb’
Finland, 1902, and the Russian Empire enforces a brutal policy to destroy Finland’s freedom and force its people into submission.
Eeva, orphaned daughter of a failed revolutionary, also battles to find her independence and identity. Destitute when her father dies, she is sent away to a country orphanage, and then employed as servant to a widowed doctor, Thomas Eklund. Slowly, Thomas falls in love with Eeva ... but she has committed herself long ago to a boy from her childhood, Lauri, who is now caught up in Helsinki’s turmoil of resistance to Russian rule.
Set in dangerous, unfamiliar times which strangely echo our own, the story reveals how terrorism lies hidden within ordinary life, as rulers struggle to hold on to power. House of Orphans is a rich, brilliant story of love, history and change.
This was my real-life Bookworm’s group’s March read. We got signed copies, read them and then last night we went and saw the author, Helen Dunmore, speaking about the book at the Bath Literary Festival (http://www.bathlitfest.org.uk/). Afterwards, we went out for a meal to discuss the book.
The talk by Ms Dunmore was interesting, and the meal afterwards was great! Rachel bought her five week old baby, Libby, along. Bless her - she fed all through the talk and then slept all through the meal!
I digress! The book tells the story of Eeva (pronounced Ava) an orphan, who leaves the orphanage to go to work for the local doctor, Thomas. Thomas falls in love with Eeva, but she is in love with her childhood sweetheart Lauri. She leaves to go to Helsinki to be with Lauri and make a life for herself there, but when Lauri is arrested by the Okhrana, the Tsarist secret police, and questioned about being a spy, Eeva has to call for the doctor to come to their aid.
The book started off really well. The first chapters about the Orphans and about the doctor were interesting and really drew me in, and the premise was great. However the book changed when Eeva went to Helsinki, and became very political and rather dull. It went on for too long. Towards the end, Eeva sends for Thomas, and he declares his love for her, but she rejects him and he returns to his village - this bit of the book felt very rushed.
The ending was poor. The author recaps what has happened to the male characters, but we are left guessing whether Eeva and Lauri find happiness. It was almost as though she ran out of steam!
It was beautifully written in places, but it just didn’t engage me. It took me several weeks to read it, because it was a chore rather than a pleasure and if it wasn’t for it being a Bookworms book, I doubt I’d have finished it!
The paperback is 328 pages long and is published by Penguin. The ISBN number is 978--0-141-01502-6.
4/10
(Bookworms Score 5.4/10
(Read March 2007)