The Russian Concubine dazzled readers. Now, its gifted author delivers another sweeping historical novel.
Davinsky Labor Camp... read full description
Davinsky Labor Camp... read full description
reviews
Jan 29, 2012
Blair
rated it: 
I have nursed a slight obsession with Russia for years, so I was naturally intrigued by this, despite my concern that it might turn out to be a syrupy romance. I needn't have worried - it's a fantastically enjoyable, fast-paced adventure packed with unexpected twists and complex characters. And although this is primarily a novel about love and friendship, the attention to historical detail is extraordinary, making the book's depiction of life in Stalin's Russia incredibly vivid and believable. T
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Jun 17, 2011
Helen
rated it: 
Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book – which is not something that happens to me very often. I hadn't heard of Under a Blood Red Sky until I saw it in the library and I thought I'd give it a try as I love historical fiction set in Russia.
However, right from the beginning of the book I felt we were being asked to accept things that weren't plausible. The whole plot was just too far-fetched for me. The other (bigger) problem I had with this book was that I couldn't conne More...
However, right from the beginning of the book I felt we were being asked to accept things that weren't plausible. The whole plot was just too far-fetched for me. The other (bigger) problem I had with this book was that I couldn't conne More...
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Mar 05, 2009
Chris
rated it: 
Awesome! Absolutely loved this in depth story about a split Russia in 1933 under Stalin's reign. In a Siberian women's labor camp we get to know two women, Sofia and Anna. Anna came from a well-to-do family and tells Sofia stories of Vasily, a family friend and revolutionary who she has been in love with since childhood. Sofia escapes the labor camp to find Vasily, their only hope in saving a dying Anna. Sofia finds the village where Vasily is now living under a different name. These are d
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Feb 24, 2009
Jayci
rated it:
Imprisoned in a Russian labor camp during the 30's, Sofia is subjected to physical abuse and near starvation--finding comfort only in her friendship with Anna. Anna was once a privledged daughter of a doctor shares stories of parties, warm foods, and lavish clothing, and the love she has for a revolutionary named Vasily. As Anna succumbs to the sickness that the brutal winters bring, Sofia knows she must escape the camp to save her friend. Finding herself in a small village, Sofia tries to in
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Feb 15, 2009
Toni
rated it:
Whoa. Great book. I actually described the plot to my family at dinner yesterday and my husband sarcastically said, "It sounds really boring." My six-year-old son replied,"No it sound really exciting!"
I didn't know much about Russia in the 1930s or even anything about the Russian Revolution except for what happened to the Tsar's family. This book has given me a picture of what it might have been like to live in Russia in that time period. Sofia escapes from More...
I didn't know much about Russia in the 1930s or even anything about the Russian Revolution except for what happened to the Tsar's family. This book has given me a picture of what it might have been like to live in Russia in that time period. Sofia escapes from More...
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Apr 11, 2011
Scarlett.speaks
rated it:
Kate Furnival wrote The Russian Concubine, a book that I reviewed a while back that I really loved. So when I saw The Red Scarf on the bookshelf of course I snapped it up. It's the story of Anna, a girl who's been in a Russian forced labor camp for some time and is sick. Anna's best friend Sophia knows Anna's about to die so she escapes the camp (it wasn't completely easy) and goes in search of Anna's lost love, Vasily.
Here it becomes Sophia's story. She manages to track Vasily down an More...
Here it becomes Sophia's story. She manages to track Vasily down an More...
Apr 06, 2011
Emma
rated it: 
I started reading this book and was hooked. The storyline, involving a young woman trying to escape (and rescue her friend from) a labor camp in Siberia, was immediately appealing. Well-developed characters, fast-moving plot, detailed historical setting, skillful interweaving of past and present, it had it all.
Unfortunately, the book only went downhill from there.
At face value, it looks good, and The Red Scarf has a lot of potential--so much that I was sorry to see how More...
Unfortunately, the book only went downhill from there.
At face value, it looks good, and The Red Scarf has a lot of potential--so much that I was sorry to see how More...
Nov 22, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
I'm glad I read this book, why I don't know. I had a VERY Russian uncle so I got to giggle through out this story as things reminded me of him & how he talked & how absurd it sounded. Not much to say except I felt the hard times of Sofia & Anna a little on the light side for me. I read things were difficult & sad off the pages but never really felt it. I don't know if that even makes sense. I'm usually not too surpised by twists in stories, but I'll admitt I had "Whoa, what the?!" mome
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Oct 01, 2008
Linda
rated it:
I just rated THE MAMMY a five star novel, and this novel is written so much better. However, it's like comparing apples and oranges. THE RED SCARF is a wonderfully rich look at the Russian Revolution. The characters are layered, colorful, and believable. Although the author occasionally falters with a few "lucky incidents" along the way, I found this novel a culturally enriching experience.
(THE MAMMY was culturally enriching as well...but on a much lighter note.)
(THE MAMMY was culturally enriching as well...but on a much lighter note.)
Jul 27, 2011
As I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think how amazing, yet, depressing, it was. Furnivall wrote an amazing historical fiction on a part of history I knew nothing about. I had to do research just to understand what was going on.
All the characters in this book were internally conflicted, which is really good for me because I'll be using this book for my english ISU with the theme of internal conflict.
There was such a crazy twist at the end, I'm still trying to get over it. One thing I More...
All the characters in this book were internally conflicted, which is really good for me because I'll be using this book for my english ISU with the theme of internal conflict.
There was such a crazy twist at the end, I'm still trying to get over it. One thing I More...
Nov 26, 2009
Kara
rated it:
I found this book to be the best I read all Summer. I boughtthe book in an airport bookstore while I was away for a work conference. I began reading it on my plane ride home and found that I could not resist finishing it. I love historical fiction and have been interested in the Russian gulag camps since I read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" in the tenth grade. Like Solzhenitsyn's piece, Furnivall created a detailed setting that allowed the reader to understand the brutal w
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Nov 04, 2010
Jessica
rated it: 
This book was off to a slow start for me, but once it picked up speed; we were off and running.
This is a story about the friendship between two women who meet in a Labor Camp in Soviet Russia in 1929. Through thick and thin, and everything this camp and life tries to throw at them they remain true to each other. Sofia and Anna are inseperable, but when Anna falls ill Sofia knows she won't last another winter in the camp. Together the come up with a plan...Sofia will escape, find help More...
This is a story about the friendship between two women who meet in a Labor Camp in Soviet Russia in 1929. Through thick and thin, and everything this camp and life tries to throw at them they remain true to each other. Sofia and Anna are inseperable, but when Anna falls ill Sofia knows she won't last another winter in the camp. Together the come up with a plan...Sofia will escape, find help More...
Feb 26, 2010
Shell
rated it:
Okay, I confess, I picked up this book, and devoured it because of its obvious semblance to 'The Bronze Horseman' by Paullina Simons..
Yes it's backround is set in Russia, during Stalin's reign. Yes, there is relentless suffering, starvation, and those whom grasp onto almost anything, in an attempt of survival during a horrific time. Yes, It is a love story... But that is where the similarities end.
Sofia and Anna, are best friends, torn from their families, and all they' More...
Yes it's backround is set in Russia, during Stalin's reign. Yes, there is relentless suffering, starvation, and those whom grasp onto almost anything, in an attempt of survival during a horrific time. Yes, It is a love story... But that is where the similarities end.
Sofia and Anna, are best friends, torn from their families, and all they' More...
Mar 10, 2011
Toni
rated it:
I don't want to insult any creative writers that may read this, but I have to say this book reminded me a lot of fan fiction. The characters were so completely blank that it seemed impossible that the writer gave birth to them. This book just didn't come alive for me. I hope you all know I'm not a book snob. I really do like reading everything (including fan fiction), and I am terrible with grammar. Yet, even I noticed some mistakes with editing. There is something seriously wrong with a book wh
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Oct 26, 2010
Anita
rated it:
When thinking about trying to summarize The Red Scarf for a review, I found it very difficult. Kate Furnivall has written such a completely intertwined story that pretty much every moment from beginning to end is significant. As I write reviews, in most cases I like to be sensitive and not give away pertinent information to anyone who may be reading the review. I might give away names of characters or a side plot or something, but not something that will ruin the entire book for the reader.
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Apr 12, 2010
Shannon
rated it:
I love good historical fiction, so this book fits the bill. It is the story of two women, Anna & Sofia, who meet in a Stalin-era Siberian work camp. Both women have been sentenced to the work camp because their fathers were declared enemies of the state -- one was a prosperous doctor; the other, a minister. The camp is brutal and the guards harsh and degrading. When it becomes obvious that Anna will not live through another harsh Siberian winter, Sofia, at great peril to herself - escapes th
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Dec 11, 2011
Mallory
rated it:
Sofia Morozova’s determination to save her friend and fellow prisoner Anna is what drives her to escape from the Soviet labor camp where she is held and trek through the wilds of Siberia. She promises Anna that she will return for her. Sofia eventually makes it to the village of Tivil, where she is looked upon with suspicion, but slowly is accepted among the people. She begins to fall in love with a man who has a direct link to Anna’s past, testing Sofia’s commitment to her friend. Furnivall giv
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Nov 05, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
I picked this up at the library along with The Jewel of St. Petersburg, not realizing they had anything to do with each other. I read Jewel first and thought it was good, although initially hard to get into. The Red Scarf, however, had me hooked from the beginning.
You don't have to read Jewel to read this book--the main characters are completely different--however, I was delighted to find that two minor characters from Jewel, one of whom is only mentioned in passing as opposed to " More...
You don't have to read Jewel to read this book--the main characters are completely different--however, I was delighted to find that two minor characters from Jewel, one of whom is only mentioned in passing as opposed to " More...
Jul 06, 2009
Julie H.
rated it:
OMG I finally finished this book. I feel as though I escaped a gulag and walked all across Siberia. Twice.
Seriously though, this story is epic in scope and spans the fall of tsarist Russia to the Bolsheviks and then the rise of the Communist state. First and foremost it is the tale of the friendship of Sofia and Anna who are interned at the Davinsky Labor Camp in Siberia. The two women cobble together a friendship against the backdrop of inhumane conditions, ill-health, crushing More...
Seriously though, this story is epic in scope and spans the fall of tsarist Russia to the Bolsheviks and then the rise of the Communist state. First and foremost it is the tale of the friendship of Sofia and Anna who are interned at the Davinsky Labor Camp in Siberia. The two women cobble together a friendship against the backdrop of inhumane conditions, ill-health, crushing More...
Aug 05, 2011
Anna
rated it:
Yowza. And she does it again. LOVED it. The story is set in 1930s Russia, and is divided between Anna in the Davinsky Labour Camp, and Sofia, her friend who escapes and then tries to find help, in order to free Anna. The author paints a starkly realistic and vivid portrait of life in Soviet Russia; it's at times brutal, harsh, and yet also possessing moments of beauty. There is suspense, romance, magic, pain, and suffering, and redemption. The characters were well-drawn and I truly felt for the
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Nov 22, 2010
Sharon
rated it:
Russian history is not for the faint of heart. After reading this novel you want to kiss Canadian soil. We meet Sofia and Anna who are imprisoned at the Davinsky Labor Camp in Siberia, 1933. Russia was then a place of ridiculous wealth and desperate poverty. When the poor people rose up and revolted, Stalin's violent Communist rule led to millions of the intellectual elite being killed and the families taken to forced labor camps. Anna has told Sofia about her childhood in Petrograd and abou
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Jul 28, 2010
Pbwritr
rated it:
Fantastic book--set mostly in 1933 in Siberian Russia in a labor camp and in a small village hundreds of miles away, as well as flashbacks to 1917. Anna and Sophia become friends in the camp; Anna is very ill; Sophia escapes. She finds Tivol, the village where Vasily, Anna's childhood friend, has supposedly move to under a new name. Sophia and Mikhail fall in love, with Sophia guilty about betraying her friend. Then she learns that Mikhail is who killed Anna's father and Vasily's mother,but regr
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Feb 11, 2010
Toni
rated it:
This is an epic that expertly creates the atmosphere of the time and place, an admirable work of historical fiction that vividly transports the reader to a Siberian labour camp during the 1930’s. The novel portrays the hardships endured by the detainees while dramatizing the convictions that motivated the Soviet leaders and the resistance.
The story is the ultimate will to survive of Sofia and her friend Anna while incarcerated in a desolate work camp in the frozen Russian taiga. Thei More...
The story is the ultimate will to survive of Sofia and her friend Anna while incarcerated in a desolate work camp in the frozen Russian taiga. Thei More...
Jan 03, 2012
Kirstin
rated it:
Communist Russia was not a happy place to live for the majority of its population and this novel really illustrates what some of the pressures and struggles those people faced. This story is focused on the love between two girls who met in a labor camp in Siberia. They were both political prisoners which were all too common during this time period. They found a bond which helped them survive 4 years in this labor camp. This novel begins after their first 4 years of an 8 year term.
Sofia More...
Sofia More...
Nov 23, 2008
Jen
rated it:
The book started out really good... I thought I was really going to love it.
The setting is a Russian labor camp in 1933; thousands of women have been forced into labor camps b/c they have not conformed to communist beliefs. The 2 main characters sofia & anna are struggling to survive. Anna is horribly sick and will not make it much longer. Sofia risks her life and escapes and promises to come back for anna.
HOwever, the book then revolves around Sofia's life in a town w More...
The setting is a Russian labor camp in 1933; thousands of women have been forced into labor camps b/c they have not conformed to communist beliefs. The 2 main characters sofia & anna are struggling to survive. Anna is horribly sick and will not make it much longer. Sofia risks her life and escapes and promises to come back for anna.
HOwever, the book then revolves around Sofia's life in a town w More...
Jul 13, 2008
Fran
rated it:
This is a historical novel about communist Russia in the 1930's and the relationship between two women who meet in a death labor camp. The story takes many twists and turns as Sophia escapes to help her friend Anna who is sick. A great read.
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Jul 28, 2011
Mirah
rated it:
I thought this novel started slowly and really didn't pick up speed until the final third of the story. The concept is good...women meeting in a labor camp and one escaping in an effort to find help to help her friend escape. However, there are parts that are just strange and meandering. Rafik and his daughter in Tivil and their 'powers'...the whole part about Sofia being 'connected' to them was so far-fetched and I think it really detracted from the story. Spoiler: I felt so let down by th
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Aug 13, 2009
Becky
rated it:
Russian labor camp during the 1930's....heartbreaking to say the least. What these women went through is actually beyond anything I could imagine.
The two main characters, Sofia & Anna. What an inspiration for the meaning of loyalty, friendship & promises.
To try & understand what life was under Stalin's rule is difficult. Our lives & country are so far removed from what happened in that country. It should make a person look at the world & realize that you can't force More...
The two main characters, Sofia & Anna. What an inspiration for the meaning of loyalty, friendship & promises.
To try & understand what life was under Stalin's rule is difficult. Our lives & country are so far removed from what happened in that country. It should make a person look at the world & realize that you can't force More...
Jul 18, 2008
Rosanne
rated it:
A mystical, magical book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Powerfully written and a pleasure to read, it made me feel like I was there. This book I highly recommend.
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Nov 20, 2009
Wendy
rated it:
Set in Communist Russia between the two World Wars, this book follows the journey of Sofia, an escapee from a work camp, as she desperately looks for someone to save her friend Anna from certain death at the camp.
Anna is dying in the work camp and Sofia, her good friend, escapes to find the one person she thinks cares enough about Anna to save her from the work camp, Vasily, Anna's childhood love. SHe travels to the village of Tivil and meets Mikhail Pashin their, who she believes is Vasil More...
Anna is dying in the work camp and Sofia, her good friend, escapes to find the one person she thinks cares enough about Anna to save her from the work camp, Vasily, Anna's childhood love. SHe travels to the village of Tivil and meets Mikhail Pashin their, who she believes is Vasil More...
