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Enchantments
by
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
From Kathryn Harrison, one of America’s most admired literary voices, comes a gorgeously written, enthralling novel set in the final days of Russia’s Romanov Empire.
St. Petersburg, 1917. After Rasputin’s body is pulled from the icy waters of the Neva River, his eighteen-year-old daughter, Masha, is sent to live at the imperial palace with Ts ...more
From Kathryn Harrison, one of America’s most admired literary voices, comes a gorgeously written, enthralling novel set in the final days of Russia’s Romanov Empire.
St. Petersburg, 1917. After Rasputin’s body is pulled from the icy waters of the Neva River, his eighteen-year-old daughter, Masha, is sent to live at the imperial palace with Ts ...more
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Hardcover, 314 pages
Published
March 6th 2012
by Random House
(first published January 1st 2012)
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Rating: 3.0/5.0
Genre: Historical Fiction + Cultural
Why did I read it?
This is part of my experiment of choosing the lowest-rated books on Goodreads that I own. So I had very low expectations from it.
What is it about?
The story is set in the last days of the Romanov Empire in Russia and follows the two Rasputinds daughters. The story is narrated from Masha’s point of view and focuses on her friendship with Alyosha.
What did I like?
- Reading about real characters in a fictional story is something I’m ...more
Genre: Historical Fiction + Cultural
Why did I read it?
This is part of my experiment of choosing the lowest-rated books on Goodreads that I own. So I had very low expectations from it.
What is it about?
The story is set in the last days of the Romanov Empire in Russia and follows the two Rasputinds daughters. The story is narrated from Masha’s point of view and focuses on her friendship with Alyosha.
What did I like?
- Reading about real characters in a fictional story is something I’m ...more
Feb 23, 2012
Misfit
marked it as did-not-finish
Lots of pretty words, not much substance.
Clearly, this book is much too literary for my tastes, and I should know by now to look for that at the top of book promo and run the other way. This "what if" book begins with the death of Rasputin, and his two daughters are taken into the royal household with the hopes that eldest daughter Masha has her father's gift of healing. Masha spends lots and lots of time with the young tsarevich, and to pass the time she tells him lots and lots of stories. Stor ...more
Clearly, this book is much too literary for my tastes, and I should know by now to look for that at the top of book promo and run the other way. This "what if" book begins with the death of Rasputin, and his two daughters are taken into the royal household with the hopes that eldest daughter Masha has her father's gift of healing. Masha spends lots and lots of time with the young tsarevich, and to pass the time she tells him lots and lots of stories. Stor ...more
Good God in heaven, my eyeballs hurt. There is a scene in which Nagorny troops off with the Tsarevich to get him deflowered by a local peasant girl. There is a scene in which the bullet-riddled bodies of the Grand Duchesses appear to Mashka (that would be Maria Rasputin to US) just to let her know that Alyosha the Sunbeam is thinking about her inside a Faberge egg in the afterlife. If that sentence made sense to you, this is the book for you. Otherwise, run like a deer. It is enough to make that
...more
I read about 60 pages of this book and then gave up. I love love love Romanov stories, but this one is terrible.
The author writes in a meandering tone and shifts the setting of what's currently going on without warning. At one point you're reading the narrator's thoughts, then she randomly goes back in time, and then we're back in the present. There are no signifiers that this is happening, and it is really wearing.
I agree with the other reviewers who said the author tries much too hard to be "l ...more
The author writes in a meandering tone and shifts the setting of what's currently going on without warning. At one point you're reading the narrator's thoughts, then she randomly goes back in time, and then we're back in the present. There are no signifiers that this is happening, and it is really wearing.
I agree with the other reviewers who said the author tries much too hard to be "l ...more
Rasputin Live!
I haven’t read Harrison in years though I enjoyed her earlier works. Reading “Enchantments” felt like a homecoming. I’m shocked to see other reviewers didn’t like it as much as I did. Harrison’s writing is top notch. There were two or three chapters I marked to go back and read again because her prose is so beautiful. As usual Harrison’s prose is highly sensual and often lush. In this book Harrison uses some well known historic facts surrounding the killing of the Romanovs as a ste ...more
I haven’t read Harrison in years though I enjoyed her earlier works. Reading “Enchantments” felt like a homecoming. I’m shocked to see other reviewers didn’t like it as much as I did. Harrison’s writing is top notch. There were two or three chapters I marked to go back and read again because her prose is so beautiful. As usual Harrison’s prose is highly sensual and often lush. In this book Harrison uses some well known historic facts surrounding the killing of the Romanovs as a ste ...more
Jan 21, 2012
Jessie (Ageless Pages Reviews)
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Jessie (Ageless Pages Reviews) by:
Audra (Unabridged Chick)
Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!
You may not know Matryona Grigorievna by her first two names, but you will recognize her last, infamous name: Rasputina. The daughter of either Russia's most famous eccentric and healer or her most prolific sham, depending on who is asked, Masha's unique and by turns sad, very strange and moving story of life after her father's abrupt (and excessively violent) murder is a sure-to-please strong-female-character-powered novel. Enchantments was exactly wha ...more
You may not know Matryona Grigorievna by her first two names, but you will recognize her last, infamous name: Rasputina. The daughter of either Russia's most famous eccentric and healer or her most prolific sham, depending on who is asked, Masha's unique and by turns sad, very strange and moving story of life after her father's abrupt (and excessively violent) murder is a sure-to-please strong-female-character-powered novel. Enchantments was exactly wha ...more
The Romanovs have their own special cottage industry in historical fiction. The romances, the revolution, the eggs, the hemophilia, the assignations, WWI, Anastasia and Rasputin have all combined to make the Romanovs the most fictionalized royals this side of the Tudors. So you have to figure that a writer must have a powerful love for those families and/or feel as though they have something new to bring to the already existing legends in order to pen another 80,000 words on them.
Is this why Ka ...more
Is this why Ka ...more
3.5 Stars. I was really looking forward to reading a novel of Rasputin's daughter, and I was even more pleased to discover that Alexei Nikolaevich, the doomed Romanov tsarevich, was such a central figure to the novel. This is a novel about the last days of the Romanovs, but in this story, the four princesses take a back seat to their younger brother. This is a book for Alexei, and I like that.
After her father is murdered, eighteen-year-old Masha Rasputin, along with her younger sister Varya, is ...more
After her father is murdered, eighteen-year-old Masha Rasputin, along with her younger sister Varya, is ...more
I desperately wanted to love this book. The cover, the Romanov's, the tragedy of Russia during this time period - it should all add up to be heart-wrenchingly beautiful.. but it was lacking a bit for me.
There's no doubt that Kathryn Harrison is a writer who commands attention - she had to have been otherwise I think I may have put the book down about halfway through. Instead, I persevered, muddling my way through fragments of stories until I reached the end. I think what it boiled down to was th ...more
There's no doubt that Kathryn Harrison is a writer who commands attention - she had to have been otherwise I think I may have put the book down about halfway through. Instead, I persevered, muddling my way through fragments of stories until I reached the end. I think what it boiled down to was th ...more
I love learning new things. Usually they come in the form of lessons:
“Slamming your hand in the oven hurts.”
“Trees don’t move, avoid running into them.”
“Leave the gun…take the canoli.”
but in that rare opportunity that I get to expand my brain under the assumption of pure entertainment I get giddy.
When I was in High School, Disney released a movie called “Anastasia.” I loved this movie (Don’t judge me!) and as a result became unabashedly obsessed with the Romanov dynasty. I watched movies about t ...more
“Slamming your hand in the oven hurts.”
“Trees don’t move, avoid running into them.”
“Leave the gun…take the canoli.”
but in that rare opportunity that I get to expand my brain under the assumption of pure entertainment I get giddy.
When I was in High School, Disney released a movie called “Anastasia.” I loved this movie (Don’t judge me!) and as a result became unabashedly obsessed with the Romanov dynasty. I watched movies about t ...more
This fictional book follows one of Rasputin’s daughters after he has been murdered. She (a teenager by this time) goes to live with the Romanovs and is there (I think) when they are taken away before they are murdered.
I can’t really tell you much more than that. I listened to the audio and it did not hold my attention at all. She seemed to be all over the place chronologically, which didn’t help. There would be something about her father, then living with the Romanovs and back and forth. Oh, an ...more
I can’t really tell you much more than that. I listened to the audio and it did not hold my attention at all. She seemed to be all over the place chronologically, which didn’t help. There would be something about her father, then living with the Romanovs and back and forth. Oh, an ...more
While I was in college, I got to see the Nicholas and Alexandra Exhibition in Wilmington, DE that included, among other things, lots of jewels, a wealth of photos, and the blood-stained and bullet-riddled wall where the royal family was executed. It was a sight I wasn't prepared for, and made for me the tragedy of the Romanovs uncomfortably real. Since then, I've been taken with fiction about that doomed family, in search of a novel that balances the silly excess of the Romanovs with a humane te
...more
The prose was nice; the setting, interesting. But there wasn't much story and there didn't seem to be much reason for the book to exist, other than the historical moment capturing the author's interest (the passages containing direct historical exposition were unevenly detailed, out-of-character for protagonist/narrator Masha). If Harrison had wanted to make a point, offer an observation about life, dig into the motivations of people in turbulent times, expose an injustice, defend an unpopular j
...more
I have a number of historical eras that I seem to be drawn to when it comes to books. Among those are books set in the medieval era, World War I and II, and books set in Russia, especially those featuring the Romanov family.
It was therefore no surprise that I was interested in this book when I first heard of it. The main character of this book is Masha Rasputina, daughter of the infamous 'Mad Monk' Grigori Rasputin, which is an interesting choice of narrator that I have only seen used one other ...more
If you are intrigued with the Romanov story, this is one more depiction of their tragic end, even adding unknown facts to their already well-documented tale. From the first page be prepared to wander amongst lengthy details, repetitious facts and varying stories that often get in the way of the real plot.
It took me six months to finish this book. I just didn't see a point and it wasn't even interesting to read.
...more
I've never read any of Harrison's books, so I am unfamiliar with her general writing style; but if this is it, I don't like it. There is one entire paragraph that is one-word sentences (I believe she was listing cities, possibly). Another was just saying the same thing over and over using different terminology in each sentence. I didn't know Rasputin had a daughter, so I was interested to read about her, but this book doesn't do her any favors. She comes across as rather robotic and unlikable. M
...more
- There were so many reasons to like this book from the start; especially someone who loves historical fiction, finds Rasputin fascinating and has empathy of the doomed Russian Imperial family, but Harrison manages to eliminate all of these positive feelings.
- I was very hopeful when first reading this book...the writing was pretty decent, the characters seems to have potential to be very interesting...but then about halfway through, once you realize these hopes are not going to pan out, but you ...more
- I was very hopeful when first reading this book...the writing was pretty decent, the characters seems to have potential to be very interesting...but then about halfway through, once you realize these hopes are not going to pan out, but you ...more
Oh how I loved this book. It was a perfect opportunity to put he stress of the last few weeks aside and to delve into great historical fiction.
Told from the perspective of Rasputin's daughter Masha, the reader learns a softer side of Rasputin. Known as the Mad Monk with a libido, a dirty peasant who helped topple the Romanov dynasty, and a starets who influenced Nicholas and Alexandra in their quest to help Alosha their hemophiliac son, Masha paints a broader picture of Rasputin.
In this novel we ...more
Told from the perspective of Rasputin's daughter Masha, the reader learns a softer side of Rasputin. Known as the Mad Monk with a libido, a dirty peasant who helped topple the Romanov dynasty, and a starets who influenced Nicholas and Alexandra in their quest to help Alosha their hemophiliac son, Masha paints a broader picture of Rasputin.
In this novel we ...more
LOVED this book!! It was easily the best historical fiction I've read all year. One of the reasons I loved this book so much was the fact that it took place in St. Petersburg and I just visited there over the summer and knew pretty much all the palaces and sites they described. It was like reliving my trip!
The story follows Rasputin's daughter, Masha, as she copes with the brutal death of her father and the overthrow of the Tsar. She and her sister are exiled along with the Tsar's family and in ...more
The story follows Rasputin's daughter, Masha, as she copes with the brutal death of her father and the overthrow of the Tsar. She and her sister are exiled along with the Tsar's family and in ...more
As another reviewer said "Lots of pretty words, little substance" and I couldn't agree more whole-heartedly. While there were some wonderfully drawn passages in this novel to set the atmosphere, it seemed the author tried TOO hard to evoke a literary style to this novel. Even in wordy literary novels, though, each word has a purpose and, in this case, the words served no purpose to move the novel forward. Instead, it became a chore to try and move through the passages and most people will find t
...more
I am right in the middle on this book. It's been a long time since I've read anything set in Russian history, so I appreciated the opportunity to revisit. Harrison's prose is quite lovely; I don't usually like such long-winded descriptors, but they're well placed in Russia/SP.
The premise is interesting--one of Rasputin's daughters living with the Romanovs after the murder of her father. The family hopes she possesses her father's healing powers, and she starts to develop a close relationship wit ...more
The premise is interesting--one of Rasputin's daughters living with the Romanovs after the murder of her father. The family hopes she possesses her father's healing powers, and she starts to develop a close relationship wit ...more
Spoiled Tsarevich
Hard timepiece spoiler for a story which everyone knows the ending. This is a sympathetic telling of the end of Russian oligarchy. It's easy to believe they were all unaware of public scorn. Yet we are given the sense that most of the common population didn't blame them for their poor living conditions, nor could they believe the demise of the Romanovs would end the tradition of monarchy & splendor in their country. Masha's role of entertaining the invalid tsarevich is a creativ ...more
Hard timepiece spoiler for a story which everyone knows the ending. This is a sympathetic telling of the end of Russian oligarchy. It's easy to believe they were all unaware of public scorn. Yet we are given the sense that most of the common population didn't blame them for their poor living conditions, nor could they believe the demise of the Romanovs would end the tradition of monarchy & splendor in their country. Masha's role of entertaining the invalid tsarevich is a creativ ...more
I'm struggling to capture in few words the allure and mystique of this novel.
Beyond the historical frame and it's gold foil, Harrison spares little by way of blood and guts descriptions and then swings to such lovely ethereal prose and profound insights, that I found myself rereading passages and although knowing the outcome, wishing that things had after all gone another way in time for her deftly imagined characters.
Highly recommended. ...more
Beyond the historical frame and it's gold foil, Harrison spares little by way of blood and guts descriptions and then swings to such lovely ethereal prose and profound insights, that I found myself rereading passages and although knowing the outcome, wishing that things had after all gone another way in time for her deftly imagined characters.
Highly recommended. ...more
I think I got this book for the Indigo Bargain table at a high discount and the plot line did interest me. What spiked my interest was that this story was fairytale mash up of history and magical realism. This was not a story of love but rather a story of the imagination of the historically famous Masha. After reading this book I found myself wanting to learn more about the famous Masha, daughter of the mad monk Rasputin.
I really tried to stick with this. I gave up and went glancing way ahead into the story to see if it changes. It doesn't.
I've watched documentaries and other shows about the final days of Russia's Romanov Empire. Everyone knows the tragic end of Anastasia and her family.
This story is just too slow. ...more
I've watched documentaries and other shows about the final days of Russia's Romanov Empire. Everyone knows the tragic end of Anastasia and her family.
This story is just too slow. ...more
Was this even a story or just an excuse to write a ton of lists?
I really expected a lot more out of this story but I was disappointed. The author just meandered and rambled. I felt like there wasn’t really any plot and I’m no closer to understanding any of the historical figures more than I was before.
I really expected a lot more out of this story but I was disappointed. The author just meandered and rambled. I felt like there wasn’t really any plot and I’m no closer to understanding any of the historical figures more than I was before.
Tales historical and beguiling
A magical flying carpet is one of many fanciful enchantments that Kathryn Harrison uses to hold dread and despair at bay in her rich, imaginative and historical account of the collapse of the Romanovs, told from the perspective of Masha, the favorite daughter of Grigory Rasputin and the Scheherazade to the doomed tsarevich Alyosha, executed along with his parents and four sisters by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918.
Alyosha (Alexei), a hemophiliac, is bedridden and i ...more
A magical flying carpet is one of many fanciful enchantments that Kathryn Harrison uses to hold dread and despair at bay in her rich, imaginative and historical account of the collapse of the Romanovs, told from the perspective of Masha, the favorite daughter of Grigory Rasputin and the Scheherazade to the doomed tsarevich Alyosha, executed along with his parents and four sisters by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918.
Alyosha (Alexei), a hemophiliac, is bedridden and i ...more
Enchantments is an imaginative and markedly different take on the story of the murder of the Mad Monk Rasputin and the downfall of the Romanov family. In Harrison's novel the reader is asked to consider how the history would have unfolded if Rasputin's daughters Masha and Varya went to live with the Romanovs as wards after the death of their eccentric father. The story unfolds through the viewpoint of the eldest daughter Masha who develops a bond with the Tsarevich (referred to as Aloysha here)
...more
This was an interesting novel, and at times, it was very compelling reading. Masha, Grigory Rasputin's older daughter, is ensconced with the Romanov family after her father's hideous death, as they are taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks. She has become acquainted with the family over the years since her father has been very close to the Tsarina and the Romanov's only son, Aloysha, who is afflicted with hemophilia.
While Harrison is a very thoughtful writer with an wonderful prose style, I really fe ...more
While Harrison is a very thoughtful writer with an wonderful prose style, I really fe ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play Book Tag: Enchantments / Kathryn Harrison. 2 stars | 1 | 5 | Aug 21, 2020 03:10PM | |
| Romanovs: New Romanov Fiction | 17 | 52 | Mar 17, 2012 05:29PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Kathryn Harrison is the author of the novels Envy, The Seal Wife, The Binding Chair, Poison, Exposure, and Thicker Than Water.
She has also written memoirs, The Kiss and The Mother Knot, a travel memoir, The Road to Santiago, a biography, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and a collection of personal essays, Seeking Rapture.
Ms. Harrison is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review; her essay ...more
She has also written memoirs, The Kiss and The Mother Knot, a travel memoir, The Road to Santiago, a biography, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and a collection of personal essays, Seeking Rapture.
Ms. Harrison is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review; her essay ...more
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“If complete enlightenment demands relinquishing the self, then complete enlightenment implies the acceptance of mortality. Not that there isn't more to being enlightened than accepting that our lives are brief and end when we did. But I do think it's a requirement.”
—
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“The eyes those silent tongues of love. —CERVANTES”
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