Purge - Sofi Oksanen

 This was a dark story.  It covers the experience of the women in one family in Estonia (a county I had to look up to find out where it was) throughout its troubled history of war and occupation, from about 1920's to the present.  Some chose to stay during the period; others were forced to live elsewhere and others were born during it.  Their experience and intertwined relationships are revealed as the story unfolds.  I liked how the author slowly revealed their ties.  Their stories were painful and horrific with the choices they made to survive.

Published: 2008  Read: June 2022  Genre: Fiction, Historical

Anna - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

This is the first book in a trilogy called the Kirov saga.  I've already read the author's epic series, The Morland Dynasty, that covers the history of England from the 14th century up through World War I and loved it, so I wanted to read one of her other series.

Anna is an orphaned young woman who becomes a governess for a Russian aristocrat in 1802.  The story continues through Napoleon's retreat in 1812.  The writing was lyrical, painting wonderful images of the Russian countryside and famous cities and revealing the horrors of war.

I found my old barrier of not being able to pronounce the names of the characters getting me less invested in the book.   That, and my lack of knowledge about Russian geography.  I won't be reading the rest of the series right away but I do look forward to learning more Russian history and culture.

The good news is that due to the clamoring of her readers, the author is working on another installment of the Morland Dynasty.  Now that I'll eat right up!

Published:  1990  Read: 1/2012

Half.com link to my copy