Sashenka

Reviews / Votes

Gripping from start to finish. The perfect mixture of sweeping history and page-turning storytelling Intensely moving, with an unforgettable climax that will touch the hardest heart Furiously readable - it's hard to put Sashenka down. The glory and tragedy of her story remains long after the last page is turned Intricate, fast moving... by the time I put the book down, long after midnight, I was in tears * THE TIMES * If you're fascinated by twentieth-century Russian history, you'll be intrigued by the tale of Sashenka, a loyal Communist wife married to a powerful party member, whose life starts to unravel when she embarks upon an affair...The author is a noted historian, and this novel is full of fascinating, meticulously researched detail about Russian life. * Daisy Buchanan * To write a good historical novel you have to recreate that world, both physically and intellectually - and there must be a sense that history is driving the plot forwards. Montefiore succeeds on all counts... The real achievement of this novel is that it describes the profound levels of self-deception required if you wanted to stay alive and be a loyal communist in Stalin's Russia * EVENING STANDARD * A dramatic, gripping tale of a passionate, beautiful woman living in pre-revolutionary Russia, and subsequently in Stalin's Soviet hell. Her story, set against richly textured backgrounds - some lavish, some grim - make this novel extraordinarily difficult to put down In Sashenka, Simon Montefiore proves himself a true storyteller. The world of the Russian Revolution and of Stalin's Terror comes vividly to life in this deeply intimate novel, full of Russian atmosphere and color. I felt as if I'd lived through an epic movie An absolutely rollicking tale which also manages to convey an authentic period atmosphere. Very colourful, very evocative, very readable, and very very real Agile plotting, vivid characterisation and the exuberant spectacle of a well-informed author enjoying a flourish of serious frivolity - convoluted plot twists, astonishing coincidences, tear-jerking family separations and all - combine to make Sashenka an addictive page-turner with an elegant, steely edge of verisimilitude * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *