SueK Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Continuing with my theme on Russian post revolution lit (sorry:smile2:), I found this an interesting read. I picked it up in Asda and thought I certainly had my money's worth. It's by Kate Furnivall and is loosely based on her grandmother's life (although the book is a work of fiction). She was a Russian woman called Valentina who married into minor nobility and played piano for the Tsar on occasions. After the Revolution her husband was taken away presumed dead and Valentina and her daughter had to make their way to the International Settlement in Junchow Province in China and live as best they could - or starve. The story then takes us through the early days of the Kuomintang and Communist uprisings with a love story threading it's plot through the book. I found this well written and it taught me a lot about that era - which was fascinating. Recommended reading. Love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 I've just finished a second book by Kate Furnivall and I must say this book was more enjoyable than the Russian Concubine. The title is "Under a Blood Red Sky". It is not a sequel to Russian Concubine - that will be published shortly. This is set against the very stark background of the early Stalin Years - I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but Kate Furnival certainly knows her history (she has Russian ancestry) and she has woven a very good love story around this background. It is a time of immense paranoia when even children can condemn parents for anti-soviet thinking and become Enemies of the People, the book has you looking over your shoulder all the time for the Soviet Machine to come crushing you into oblivion. The book has left me with lots of questions around this era; for instance, did Lenin foresee that his idealogies for a utopian communist state would become the corrupt festering crushing power that the despot Stalin made it. To have lived through those times makes me forever thankful for the freedom we have had in the west. I strongly recommend this book, to give an insight into the plight of the people at the time and to read a good novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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