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Rutherfurd, Edward; Russka ; Informal Buddy Read Start Date 8 February 2015
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Me too. Just waiting for my copy to arrive . Thx Karen
Love your enthusiasm Karrie. Let's see after we finish this one, LOL.
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Assuming I enjoy this one as much I'm open to it :)
I'm taking the plunge again. Just got my copy from the library. I'll start so I'm a little ahead before everyone else so I can actually participate in the discussion for real this time. :)
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That will be great, Stacey. I should have my copy by Monday. I'm reading
at the moment so a double dose of Russia.
I'm going to start this just on the distant hope I can finish it before the Tower Teams Challenge ends.
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I'm still slowly making my way through this. I've just finished Peter - Page 534. Somehow I'm finding this one harder to get through, although a lot of interesting facts the characters aren't as compelling.
I finally finished it. I was a little disappointed, it was a lot more labourious than his other works to get through. I'm giving it a 3.5 star rating. Here's my review for anyone interested.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Ooh, sorry Karen. Of course other readers may feel differently. But it took me 7 weeks to get through it which is a long time for me. I had to keep coming back to it.
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Off I go. I'm happy to see a family tree at the beginning of this book which should make it easier to connect all the generations of characters in the story.
He is starting w..."
I'm a year late :o
But I'm going back through the comments to see what you thought while reading.
I was *so so* glad that there was a family tree at the start of this too. I replied on it a lot when reading Paris
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This chapter is mainly about the conquest of Russia by the descendants of Genghis Khan. I hadn't realised how far their conquests had gone.
At this point I don't think I am enjoying ..."
I found this really interesting too, I didn't know a lot of this history. I agree it is more historical facts than character development at this point
Here to chat, Karen (Waves from Lane Cove to Epping, LOL)
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hahaha
well I was in the pool, but then the baby woke up (he has a knack of doing that haha) so now back to listening to Russka
I've just bought this
. Going to slowly make my way through it.. in between my smutty romance novels..
This thread just came up and I'm happy it did as I simply love Rutherfurd's books and he's had some fabulous narrators. Unfortunately Russka is narrated by the same woman that narrates Sarum (which I haven't heard either) and her voice is great for English but not for what I would imagine a Russian accent to be, oh well I'll get over it. I look forward to listening to this sometime soon but will continue to read the comments posted here. Enjoy. Lisa, that looks like a great book also.
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I agree PRR that it can be strange having an English accent, but I think 39 hours of listening to a Russian one may get tiring.
She's not doing a bad job, but it's hard to make a call really because there is a lot of "information" in this book rather than character dialogue
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Oh, and Boris was a bastard so I'm glad to be moving forward in time ;)
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I really enjoyed the "Peter" section as St Petersburg is my favourite European city (of the ones I have visited anyway) and the history of it fascinates me.
The "Catherine" section just annoyed me a little with the Countess. What a b&^%$ to Alexander Bobrov. His wife, Tatiana was an absolute saint.
On wards now to "The Duel" ; page 618 (I'm over half way!)
Go Karen. St Petersburg is beautiful although my favourite European city of the ones I have visited is Paris. Ooh la la..There weren't a lot of likeable characters in Russka as I remember.
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For some reason this book didn't engage me as much as some of his others. I think it felt like there were just a ton of facts thrown at you almost as a list at points rather than exploring it as part of the story. I also thought that one of the more interesting periods in modern history for Russia (i.e. the last 60 years) was not explored much at all, but became just a bit of a footnote to the book which is a shame.
Still worth the read if you don't mind an epic family saga and enjoy Russian history
Well done Karen. Yes, not as good as his other books, I just didn't engage with a lot of the characters and there didn't seem to be the connectively between each generation.
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Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
The Romanovs, 1613-1918 (other topics)Paris (other topics)
Tatiana and Alexander (other topics)
What is a Buddy Read?
This is an "Informal Buddy Read"
An “Informal Buddy Read” doesn’t have a discussion leader and participants are asked to consider some generic questions when making comments about the book. An example is here.
Book synopsis
The author of the phenomenally successful Sarnum: The Novel of England now turns his remarkable talents to an even larger canvas-Russia. This panoramic novel is rich with everything that makes Russia so fascinating-it's people, politics, religion and culture-and covers 1800 years of its history.
Omnipotent tsars and mad monks, vast primeval forests and endless steppes, aristocratic grandeur and revolutionary fervor: the allure of Russia has long been felt in the Western imagination. With its unforgettable characters, narrative drive, and scrupulously accurate historical detail, Edward Rutherfurd's Russka immerses readers in a land and culture that is mysterious and complex.
Russka is the story of four families who are divided by ethnicity but united in shaping the destiny of Russia. From a single riverside village situated at one of the country's geographic crossroads, Russia's Slav peasant origins are influenced by the Greco-Iranian, Kazar Jewish, and Mongol invasions. Unified by this one place, the many cultures blend to form a rich a varied tapestry.
Rutherfurd's grand saga is as multifaceted as Russia itself: harsh yet exotic, proud yet fearful of enemies, steeped in ancient superstitions but seeking to shape the emerging world. Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great, and Lenin all play their roles in creating and destroying the land and its people. In Russka, Edward Rutherfurd transform the epic history of a great civilization into a human story of flesh and blood, boldness and action, and firmly establishes his position as today's foremost novelist of great and ancient cultures