Снегурочка на весеннем ветру

by Hiroaki Samura

1933 год. Советская Россия. Молодая пара выходит на берег Онежского озера рядом с бывшей дворянской дачей, конфискованной большевиками. Девушку в инвалидном кресле сопровождает угрюмый юноша с повязкой на глазу. Они обращаются к художнику, рисующему на берегу, и заводят непринуждённую беседу.
Пронзительных взгляд девушки и царственная стать юноши выдают в них классовых врагов новой власти. Они скрывают свои имена, и эта встреча едва ли случайна. Их влечет к себе старая дача — немой свидетель тайн Российской империи. Среди неразберихи и красного террора девушка и её молчаливый слуга должны отыскать осколки своего прошлого в затягивающихся тисках нового порядка.

Genres: Manga, Seinen, Comics, Historical Fiction, Historical, Mystery

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2014

About the author

Hiroaki Samura ( 沙村広明) is a Japanese cartoonist and illustrator. He is best known for writing and illustrating the manga Blade of the Immortal (1993-2012). Among his other manga series Die Wergelder (2011-2018) and Wave, Listen to Me!, the latter serialised since 2014.

Reviews

[Aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I despise when the rape is portrayed as torture porn and I despise when female characters are harmed to further man’s narrative, I despise gratuitous and glorified scenes of women suffering from abuse inflicted by men. I despise graphic mutilation and assault scenes for shock value and with no substance.
I despise narrative of women “warming up” to their rapists and abusers, I despise when the abusers are portrayed as “not that bad” and we get to witness “heart-warring” reunion scenes between the abuser and the survivor.

I cannot give this book anything higher than two stars because of the above mentioned issues are in an abundance here.
However, I must admit the book did capture my attention and I did end up finishing it. Despite the fact that I had dnfed the author’s other one shot manga earlier this month and despite my dislike to sympathetic portrayal of particular figures of Russian history.

Yes, this manga features Russian characters and takes place in 1930s, Soviet Russia and I think the setting is well done and researched well enough!

The plot is focused on a mystery surrounding the identity and motives of the lead characters. Add to the mix the Russian setting and the story was readable enough.

The art deserves a shining star. It’s gorgeous if only the mangaka used his talent for good, not evil...

But getting back to the things I hated, incomplete list.

For a female lead story, things happened to the heroine, while she endured. Endurance is admirable trait, but in this context it felt wrong. She just took it all and cared for her partner...

Also the man raped the woman for three years every night and he thinks he “cared for her”, that he “has the honor of a former Russian empire soldier”. Let me throw up real quick here.

The lead character is a wheelchair user and the second lead character is living with incurable illness. However it all is treated as twists & turns. I really didn’t like the tone.

If we take these characters, the setting and the mystery plot and give them to a better story-teller, it could have been such a good art...

Also there is questionable portrayal of a storyline about cis man disguising himself as a woman.

I probably could go on, but I do have Killing Eve to watch.

This book is my second library pick by the same mangaka in one book haul and I should tattoo “do not read Hiroaki Simura ever again” on my forehead.

[shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read this because Blade has a sequel (I repeat, Blade of the Immortal now has a sequel! And I’m excited). Now, the Blade sequel is not drawn or written by Samura — which is... tragic to say the least — but there is collaboration going on between Samura and the new author and artist. That being said, the art is different. So I got a little depressed and decided to read this.

I wasn’t exactly fond of the rape (which was in no means glorified as the woman above said. I agree that the reunion between her and her former rapist contained too much gratitude on her part, keep in mind that MC girl was partly saved by him. By no means does this make him raping her any less wrong, but can partly explain her thankful attitude. I also thought it was a strange scene and just a way so new characters would not have to be introduced. Furthermore, woman above me mentioned something about this being a man-driven narrative. It’s not. The whole thing is about her. Romanov — the once prince of Russia — is her servant. She was entrusted to find the egg thing, not Romanov or any other man. Her.). That said, however, I’m lame and like history. Looking up “Felix Yusupov gay” has given me new life. This man was a fucking legend.A bisexual fucking legend. As a pansexual, I love him. He’s a king. He killed Raspatutin. And denied being bisexual, but we all know he was bisexual (look at his face).

[Caterina Licata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Manga storico d'avventura ambientato nella Russia devastata dalla Rivoluzione. I protagonisti sono due ragazzi uniti da un misterioso legame e dalle origini sconosciute. Stanno cercando qualcosa e per questo non vogliono abbandonare il posto in cui vivono, quale sarà questo terribile segreto? Consiglio la lettura a chi è appassionato o conoscitore della storia Russia, soprattutto della Rivoluzione, infatti per me che non sono ferrata in materia la lettura è risultata difficile da contestualizzare. Storia e disegni molto crudi e per questo consiglio il manga ad un pubblico prettamente adulto.

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia muy interesante que nos muestra un poco cómo era la vida en Rusia justo después de la revolución que acabó con los zares. No entra en detalles, pero refleja bastante bien cómo era vivir allí en esa época. Aunque la conclusión no me ha impactado tanto como el resto del cómic, la relación que tienen los protagonistas y esas personalidades tan misteriosas es lo que hace que todo en este manga gire a su alrededor.

[Tintaglia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hiroaki Samura mantiene una matita fantastica, anche se gli anni passano e anche se si cimenta con un'ambientazione - la Russia della Rivoluzione d'Ottobre - che più lontana non si può dal Giappone semimedievale dell'Immortale. Trattiene qui le caratteristiche che più mi avevano infastidito degli ultimi volumetti, un compiacimento nella violenza e nel sesso che era quasi pornografico - e più nella violenza che in altro, per quanto fossero sempre strettamente legati; mentre nell'Immortale era tutto estremamente esplicito, qui rimane meno evidente, anche se il confronto finale tra Bielka e un altro personaggio, dopo tre anni di... convivenza, mi hanno lasciata francamente allibita.
Il tutto rimane però troppo confusionario; molto si svela e ricompone nella seconda parte, ma comprimere un periodo così complesso non è un esperimento che sia riuscito a Samura. E se già io mi sono trovata confusa, posso immaginare il lettore giapponese medio; ma può sempre godersi le meravigliose tavole e quel gusto dell'esotico che ha attratto me, invece, la prima volta verso l'autore.

[Lanie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going to be really short and sweet, because while I can not justify giving it less than four stars I am not a big fan of Romanov conspiracy theories.

In terms of art, the story line, and characters this was a wonderfully executed addition to a very long line of stories that surround the Romanovs. Unfortunately, there are so many conspiracies surrounding them that I just don't think anyone can ever truly come up with a new one, so regardless of how beautiful the art is it still felt like a story that I've read before.

That being said, if you haven't read a ton on this topic like me, than this manga is a really good starting point if only because it is a manga. The art truly is gorgeous and given the format Samura is able to build the world up surrounding this incident without going to far into the weeds. So for those two things alone I'd recommend this.

As always thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for the eArc!

[Ranne · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I really want to give credit to the artwork and the concept of the main characters — they were genuinely interesting. But honestly, I had a tough time keeping up with the storyline, so I couldn’t fully connect with it or understand its deeper message. Because of that, it didn’t leave much of an impact on me. I do think people who are more familiar with Russian history might get more out of it, though.

As for the mature scene, I just didn’t get why it was there. It honestly left me feeling frustrated, especially when the female lead ended up forgiving the man who assaulted her. What made it worse was that the male lead, who said he’d protect her, didn’t do anything during the three years she was being abused. That part really didn’t sit right with me and made the ending feel pretty disappointing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Luca Pitrolino · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

This book is boring, is hard to follow, characters doing terrible things and getting away with it, just overall bad.
I could barely finish it.

[Hibbe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seemed to me as if the story was jumping from one setting to another, especially at the beginning, that’s why it was confusing to understand. Add to that also that there is barely any character development. All that becomes clear throughout reading the story is who these characters are and what they are looking for. Yet what made me like this manga is the unique story set in the Soviet Union during the immense cold winter, and the beautiful arts.

[Chat de bibliothèque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Des dessins splendides et une fiction qui se mêle à l'Histoire. A un ou deux points dérangeants près (la façon dont se crée le lien Belka/Mikhalkov) ça reste un très bon one shot. Contente de cette découverte mise en avant pendant le mois du Japon par la mediatheque de ma ville.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall plot is one that I appreciate. This time period of Russia is one that I have always been interested in, and it delves into an infamous mystery. There is a lot of creative room for a historical fantasy set in 1930s Russia, so I applaud the setting and the story at the core.

In addition, the artwork really lends itself to convey certain genetic connections. It helps with both foreshadowing and understanding who might be related to who. This is an important fact to those who find Russian names long and complicated.

Imagine, if you will, a stereotypical fantasy book with long and unusual names. Some folks will never remember those names so they make up their own. This is an issue Russian words/names have for those from the Western Hemisphere. I'm sure folks might be wondering why I'm bringing this up, but it's supremely important to the story as there are many Russian names. Normally I'm wonderful at faking my way through a pronunciation, thus remembering their names. Unfortunately, there were too many. Too many foreign names, foreign places, foreign concepts... There wasn't enough time to digest any of them before moving on to the next place with new names of characters, and new concepts.

Soviet Russia, especially in its transitionary stage, was a confusing place. I'm sure it was confusing to the residents, so one can only imagine how confusing it is to those on the outside... years after its dissolution. I would have loved to linger in the dacha or labor camp, in particular, for longer - if for no other reason than to have more time to digest the names, acronyms or significance of the individuals involved.

I found myself grasping at straws at times trying to understand the significance of certain people being brought up. It seemed the characters had reactions before we had the information relayed to us. This resulted in a delay for me to feel the same "Aha" moment as the character. If somebody is a history buff of important/popular figures in the time of the Bolsheviks, then you might have an easier go with the pacing. I know I had an easier time once I understood who the main characters were and what they were looking for. (Because I knew what they were looking for as soon as I knew who they were.)

With that said, there were several info dumps. In some ways, the info dumps were helpful but in other ways they convoluted the story. I think certain things should have been in a glossary for reference. Many books delving in fantasy or in other cultures do provide such glossaries so that we may easily understand terms when we need to consume the information. Instead, I felt I was being purposely kept away from important information as it "wasn't the right time" to have an info dump. Really, it would have been smoother to have that glossary, and then to have certain historical figures identify themselves through action instead of random snapshot explanations. (Some historical figures are explained through action, but not enough of them.)

And then there's The Issue I have with this story. The main gal is forced to have sex with the man put in charge of the dacha. She then winds up brushing the whole incident aside and hugs the man in greeting when they eventually see each other again. While it sort of seems like she had some sort of character development around his role in their lives, none of that is really relayed to us. And honestly, I just don't get it. He didn't have to have sex with her... His hand was not forced at all. He voluntarily chose to put her in that position. That is irredeemable. In fact, there was no purpose to the violent act at all. Once her initial reaction faded, the only proof of the violence was in a scene where the blood appeared to not have washed all away. And she simply commented on the fact - nothing more. The man's wife was a decent person, so I could understand some kindness put her way; however, even she made no comment on the forced relations. She had NO COMMENT. She never brought it up. It was like the sex and the character development were in two separate rooms.

Never should this be considered erotica. There was no enjoyment from her side of things. The back of the book should NOT include the word "erotic." There was no desire felt in this book, other than that of a political nature. (Thankfully, it is not why I wanted to read it. It's a claim that I discovered after I had finished.) In fact, the only two people who I could understand having some sort of romantic connection seem to be related. So there goes that!

All in all, there was a lot of promise and a lot of missed opportunity. I feel like this should have been broken up into two parts. One that focuses on their first time in the dacha, beginning their search and dealing with the current occupants. The second part could have dealt with the labor camp and the eventual return to the dacha. It would have given more time to flesh out the character development and all of the Soviet Russian words/people. Sadly, at the end of it all, this wound up feeling rushed and confusing.

Thank you NetGalley and Kodansha for giving me a chance to read and review.

[Pip (Bookish_Pip) · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s been such a long time since I scored any manga a 1 star. If a book is bad, I usually score it a 2 and, while this book isn’t necessarily bad, there are certain things that happen that just I don’t agree with.

I find the trope of a rape victim having feelings for / affection or falling in love with their abuser to be one of the most damaging tropes in fiction and it’s not something I want to read about. The victim of this is also our female lead who is physically disabled and is dependant on her assistant to get around in her wheelchair so the attacks against her feel particularly heinous. This book is advertised as an “erotic political drama” which I entirely disagree with and, as such, will be recommending people stay away from picking this up. I understand this won an excellence award in 2014 and I have a very difficult time understanding why due to the presence of this trope.

This was a cover buy and seeing the title mentioning Snegurochka as I have a huge fascination with Russian folklore so I only have myself to blame for picking it up however, I had more faith that the mangaka for Blade of the Immortal would have created something… Good. The story setting itself is what interested me when I finally sat down to read but seemingly nothing else happened in Russia around the start of the 20th century so the mystery of who our main characters were wasn’t much of a mystery, it was more ‘who’s it gonna be’, ‘which of our main characters will have (i)that(/i)connection’ in the end.

The only piece of joy I got from reading this volume with its wafer thin characters and plot was the flashback section and ‘cover up’ reveal. (I also thought the Rasputin panel was a good jumpscare on the page turn but that’s neither here nor there.)

Overall, very disappointing and a massive let down. Please stay away from picking this up.

[Megan Snyder · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced e-copy.

This... was not for me.

While I love me a good twist on the Anastasia Romanov storyline, this was too much. Too violent. Too twisted. We follow Bielka and Schenok in 1930s Russia. This provides a very sparse background for anyone not familiar with the different political parties in Russia during this time and it can be overwhelming with the info dump at the beginning, the nuances between ideologies. Bielka is wheel-chair bound and Schenok is her assistant, helping her move through the world. They are looking for some kind of artifact that is currently in a party member's possession. Secrets about both of these characters are revealed as the story moves, but it feels very detached. I didn't care for either of the characters. They were very one-dimensional.

Now, I could have gotten behind the twisted storyline if there hadn't been two things: Bielka (a double amputee) is raped by a party member. Repeatedly. As part of a torture tactic in the house she and Schenok are staying in. And then, when they return to this house as part of there artifact-seeking mission, she opens her arms to her rapist and hugs him. This... just doesn't make sense to me. She willingly returns and greets him like a long-last friend. It made my stomach roil and I cannot condone this.

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics | Vertical Comics for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I very rarely don't know what to say and have such mixed feelings about a manga. So let's take it one at a time. Starting with the good.

The art is really really really good. I was mesmerised by it and would've read it only for the art alone. Good soup.

The story behind the story. The history. Now I have a little bit of thing for a certain Russian family and this manga reopened that obsession in me. Now this reveal comes quite late into the story and it's got me excited and all that, but this single point doesn't change the story too much, you know?

The side characters. There were some episodic characters that were amazing and I wanted to know more about them - and since the story takes inspiration from reality I actually can! Yaay for that!

That being said, the bad... The story? I felt like there was so much built-up and anticipation for pretty much nothing at all. I feel like I needed more. I wanted the story to go somewhere, you know? To mean something. Either go super bonkers and out of this world or I don't know. Just do something?

[Sara Beatriz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated and atmospheric story that captures the bleakness of 1930s Soviet life in a very convincing way. The setting feels well researched, and the sense of tension and isolation fits perfectly with the time period. The political undertones, the cold landscapes, and the quiet fear in every scene make the world feel real and heavy.

That said, it did not fully work for me. The atmosphere sometimes takes over the story, leaving the emotional connection and pacing a bit uneven. It feels more like an artistic interpretation of history than a grounded portrayal, which is interesting but not always immersive.

It is a fascinating and thoughtful read, but it did not completely draw me in. Still, the art and historical tone make it worth experiencing.

PS: The fact that the book is described on Goodreads as erotic feels misleading. It is not erotic in tone or intention, but it does contain explicit content.

[lexie · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first, I was blown away by the art and very intrigued by the historical aspect — historical fiction is a genre i love dearly. However, it quickly got too complicated and heavy without prior historical context. I believe it would’ve benefited from being longer, the stakes don’t feel very high as we’re thrown in a lot of names and political happenings without really being shown the big picture.

What bothered me the most however, is the way rape was depicted here. First, having the disabled girl being raped needs to be handled with care as we know disabled people are often targets of rape. It wasn’t, her discomfort was palpable during the first rape scenes yet she gradually grows to appreciate her rapist, never showing any sign of trauma or disgust whatsoever.

Disappointing and unenjoyable read unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend it.

[Govind · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is great, and it's a quick read, but the story has some major drawbacks. There is a totally unnecessary rape subplot, and the character is shown as apologetic to the rapist. They could have avoided that and focused on the relationship between the leads. The book would have been so much better that way. The Russian historical setting, while interesting, is confusing and half-baked. Characters are sometimes shown living longer than they did in reality, mixing fact and fiction without clarification. The presence of a character profile area that doesn’t point this out adds to the confusion. A part near the end explaining the changes made versus reality happened would have helped a lot. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend going out and buying this book, but it’s an alright to read if you are borrowing it from someone.

[treetree · Rating 3 out of 5]

画风和风格都蛮突出的，但整体感觉略微妙……明明开头十分惊艳，可是后面的走向很中二(not in a good way)很雷声大雨点小……而且大叔那条线略具冒犯性，最后“洗”得这么白真的很奇怪，另外的短评说得好虽然披了苏俄的皮但内核实在太日式了，这可能也是拿奖的其中一个原因吧……

Drawing and style of this book are outstanding, but the core is not. I love the opening, it's beautiful and intriguing. Unfortunately things start to go downhill from there, the actual story appears to be a bit pretentious compared to its potential. And the plot line with the inspector guy is pretty offensive for me as a female... I mean seriously? He turns out to be this woke and nice man even he has pretty much committed rape? If the author tried to express some kind of complex humanity, his efforts obviously failed. Despite putting on a soviet/Russian mask, the whole book is in fact very Japanese aesthetic oriented. A bit weird for me.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know like 3 historical Russians and one makes an appearance and another is talked about. I don’t believe there is much reality to this situation but this something like a “what if?” I enjoyed the relationship between squirrel and monkey- their love is something so simple and beautiful. The wheelchair that cannot move without being pushed is a great metaphor for how stuck she feels in her life, born to help the missing prince.

I’m not sure I liked this story enough to recommend it but I enjoyed the read. I love comics that are just weird- a semi historical story about a wheelchair bound daughter of rasputin helping the (believed to be dead) former prince who try to find a Fabrege egg and stay safely in a Stalin-led Russia… why the heck not!

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand this book. We’re going between two timelines approximately 10 to 12 years apart, maybe as many as 18. A child was dropped out of window years ago due to a blood test. In the modern time of the story, which is 1933 we have a girl in a wheelchair and I believe her big brother who have come to a house in Russia, with they are being kept prisoner into work. But they’re part of a Rebellion against the change of society. Maybe it’s the Russian words, maybe it’s the two timelines. I just find the story hard to keep track of. And then things that I don’t like to read about such as sexual assault whether actually taking place or only almost taking place. This is just not for me and I have DNF at 49%

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Thanks To netgalley and Kodansha comics for early copy for review*

So this has rape in it and I would not recommend to anyone that is triggered by it. I am usually not triggered, but tend to not like stories involving depending on how it is handled. I think it was handled poorly in this manga. Overall this manga is a very rough read set during the 1930s Soviet Union. It is a very bleak manga that won an award so I though I check it out. I regret that I did that. If you are interested in this horrific time period and want to see some men do heinous crimes maybe this manga is for you.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a particular interest in the October Revolution, and quite enjoy Romanov conspiracies. However, this didn’t really do it for me. Though the concept of how Alexei had been saved was interesting, I didn’t really care for Bielka as a character, and could not fathom why there needed to be a rape subplot. It genuinely added nothing to the story or characters, and Bielka’s reunion with her rapist was diminished by the fact that they completely scooch the rape under the rug. I couldn’t be touched by her forgiving him, because it just didn’t make any sense at all.

[Jeik Dion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally, I would give 5 stars to anything Samura does.
I was super captivated by the story, its characters and the setting.
But then... she jumped in his arms with love and gratitude.
I just can't understand that.
I wish it was something lost in translation... but It kinda ruined the whole story for me.
If you've read this, you know what I'm talking about.

The art and storytelling are stellar as usual.
(I bought this in Angoulême!)

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll start with the good, gorgeous art and a unique premiss. Truly this was gorgeous to read, it also has some cool history attached to it. However that leads to the bad. Perhaps because I’m not the most versed on the Soviet history this was confusing at times(although I would lie to think I’m probably more knowledgeable than the average American). Additionally, this has multiple scenes of rape and our FMC loses her virginity to said rapist then she ends up hugging and thanking him. Gross.

[Sophy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was a bit hard to get through, though I did enjoy the relationship between the two main characters and the little backstory of how they first met. However, there were parts I didn’t care for—especially the way the man took advantage of the main character, only to later start showing pity for her. The ending was surprising, yet at the same time somewhat predictable. On the positive side, the artwork did a great job of capturing the story’s dark undertones.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

За толстым слоем клюквенного сиропа скрывается не самый плохой сюжет (странность имён персонажей после первой-второй главы я перестал замечать).

Другие рецензии отмечают, что в книге много rape и поэтому она плохая. Другим рецензентам могу посоветовать мангу Bradherley's Coach того же автора. Снегурочка по сравнению с ней вполне себе inoffensive.

[୨୧Fairy୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read historical books but I decided to try something different because this was in a form of literature I like (mangas) I didn't like parts of this book , and I was confused at the story for awhile but trying something different

[Sabina Biasuzzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella storia, con quel pizzico di sesso e violenza tipici di Samura, già acclamato autore de L'immortale. Da leggere tutto d'un fiato, non si rimane delusi.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you like Anastasia? Would you like it to be darker?
This might be the manga for you then.

Content Warnings For: Rape, Torture, Chronic Illness, Child Abuse.

[fntbia · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Lenin on this one. Hiroaki's art tho? Gorgeous.