the_lirazel reviewed The Ice Swan by J'nell Ciesielski
Review of 'The Ice Swan' on 'Goodreads'
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
DNF @ 30%
I am clearly not the audience for this book, because I just could not get past how fully it's immersed in a "the Russian revolution was a terrible evil and all the Russian aristocracy undeservedly suffered!" perspective. Obviously the Russian revolution was a mess, the Bolsheviks morphed into something they should never have been, and Russian aristocrats did suffer in ways I do have compassion for. But there's not even the slightest hint in this book that...the tsar was terrible, the social hierarchy was terrible, and something had to give. There's not even a passing acknowledgment that the Russian people had legitimate grievances about the social structure they were trapped in.
It's one thing for me to read a book set centuries ago that more or less accepts a monarchy/feudalism/whatever. It's another thing to read a …
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
DNF @ 30%
I am clearly not the audience for this book, because I just could not get past how fully it's immersed in a "the Russian revolution was a terrible evil and all the Russian aristocracy undeservedly suffered!" perspective. Obviously the Russian revolution was a mess, the Bolsheviks morphed into something they should never have been, and Russian aristocrats did suffer in ways I do have compassion for. But there's not even the slightest hint in this book that...the tsar was terrible, the social hierarchy was terrible, and something had to give. There's not even a passing acknowledgment that the Russian people had legitimate grievances about the social structure they were trapped in.
It's one thing for me to read a book set centuries ago that more or less accepts a monarchy/feudalism/whatever. It's another thing to read a book set in the 20th century that can't even wave to the idea that maybe one family and a tiny minority of super rich people shouldn't live in luxury at the expense of millions of peasants.
This book is from the pov of two titled people. That's fine. I don't even have a problem with keeping the focus on Svetlana's particular struggles--if only someone somewhere at any point would recognize how terrible pre-Revolutionary Russia actually was.
OTOH, my mom really liked it and I am going to pass it on to others who I know will enjoy it, and it's clearly found a very enthusiastic audience.