Customer Reviews

Russka: The Novel of Russia

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Briefly, Russka is a novel that follows two families through the rich and dramatic history of one of the most powerful countries in the world today. I am currently on a Russian literature binge and bought this book to read after finishing War and Peace. Expecting a bland modern twist on War and Peace, I was delighted to find that this book explores not only the lives and emotions of the characters, but also the anthropological aspects of its history, including genetic characteristics, social class structure, and linguistics. (As a scholar of anthropology and archaeology I found this fascinating.) I suppose my one complaint would be that because this novel spans about one thousand years it makes it more difficult to follow the character lineage. (Although I do understand the author's intent.) I found myself referring to the family tree at the beginning of the book quite a bit. The trials and tribulations of the families in the novel are believable and interesting, and like War and Peace I found the characters realistic, yet I found the most rewarding aspect of the novel the fact that I have a new and better understanding of the Russian people. The origin of the features, the personality, the passion, the strength that are distinctly Russian has been revealed to me. Am I now closer to understanding Russia's strange, twisted social and political past and its wonderful people? Perhaps I am, but like all good books Russka left me with the hunger to learn more.

Rutherford's novels always take me to the time and place of each event. He vividly describes the landscape and the people in a way that most ordianry historians fail to do. Russka, by far, is the best I have read.

I first picked up this book at the library when I was doing research on russian history. After looking at the number of pages, I quickly put it down. It was only after I finished my project that I decided that I would buy the book because I found russian history so fascinating. I was not dissapointed. Mr. Rutherfurd goes into such detail that you grow to love the characters, you grow to understand russian culture so much more. So many people are still clinging to the steriotypes of Communist Russia: if they could read this book, I am sure that they would understand our friends in the east. What I enjoyed the most about the book was the fact that it was also educational. I even learned things that I did not discover in my studies. But that doesn't mean that if you know nothing about Russia that you won't understand the book, far from that. Rutherfurd takes the time to explain what is happening, so the reader is never lost. I'd recommend this book to anyone. If a 17 year old can read it and enjoy it, anyone can.

I'm a history buff but not very familiar with Russian history. I found this a very engrossing book, much in the style of Michener's books. I was fascinated with the early portions of the book, beginning with the predecessors of the Golden Horde, continuing on through the era of Peter the Great. It shows the cruelty & magnificence of Mother Russia in her glory, touching on the plight of the serfs & the magnificence of the ruling class. It really piqued my interest in reading further on those eras in Russian history. My only criticism is that the book bogs down a bit as it reaches the late 1700s. The families become less interesting, & even their "contact" with Catherine the Great isn't particularly interesting. It gets confusing with the introduction of Marxists during the 1800s, although it probably reflects the confusion felt by those actually living through that period of time. There is virtually nothing about Communism after the fall of Nicholas, although most of us are familiar with the realities of that period. It would also make for a good sequel--following the families through that era (& WWII)!

But, it's a great read overall. I highly recommend it. And as I said, it made me a Russian history buff.

As an Anglophile, I fell in love with Rutherfurd's 3 novels of England. I really wasn't sure about reading Russka, but I took a small risk based on the other books. Again, Rutherfurd engages the reader and holds one's attention for nearly 1000 pages. In the process, one is educated about a mysterious and complex land and its people. The only thing I want is more Rutherfurd!

I have traveled to Russia five times in the past five years and have often marveled at their way of thinking. Russka does a wonderful (and delightful) job of exposing the roots of Russian Thought. Orthodoxy, the autocratic rule of the Tsars (and future leaders) and Russian Nationalistic Pride provide the three pronged stool Russian Thinking rests upon. Read this book to see these three legs masterfully crafted and united. It will open up to you the vast riches and complexities of mystrious Russia. Russka takes us past the Cold War stereo types and evening news sound bites to the heart of Russia, the struggles of her people and her political turmoil that seems unending. Russka is Russia with a human face. It is well worth the time invested in reading it.

This excellent work employs the same formula as in Rutherfurd's first book, Sarum: The Novel of England, which, as I have said in my review of that excellent work, is one of my all time favorites.

I should say that I didn't enjoy 'Russka' quite as much as I did 'Sarum'. Indeed, I actually put it down at one point and didn't attempt to re-read it for a year or so. On my second attempt, I did finish it and, on the whole, I enjoyed it very much. The disparity in my enjoyment between this book and 'Sarum' is really just a reflection of my historical interests rather than the quality of the research or writing so I am still happy to give the book five stars. I may not read it again (and then again I may), but I heartily recommend the book as an informative and enjoyable read.

Like his English history novels Sarum and London, Rutherfurd puts people into history in a way that leaves you feeling as though you've lived in their time and place. These are real characters you care about and whose cultural roots and outlook you feel you understand, and that is the best beginning to education in history. Russka is only slightly diminished by a bit much overt quizzing amongst the novel's characters to explain the history. Overall I really liked how well history and storyline are woven together. Educational, engaging and, at times, riveting. Rutherfurd knows how to tell a good tale.

Reading Rutherfurd brings instantly one other author to mind, the late James Michener. Like Michener (most of his books, at least), Rutherfurd chooses one specific place (London, for example) and, through a series of characters inhabiting that place, he tells the story of a nation, or of a city. In this case, the "place" is the biggest country in the world: Russia, and her neighbours.

Like "Sarum", which tells the hisstory of England, "Russka" is the hisstory of Russia told from the point of view of three families, each occupying a different position in russian society. From the II century, through the tsarist empire and finally the October Revolution, Rutherfurd, in more than 900 pages, was able to provide his readers with the right blend between a well-created fiction with the most important parts of russian history. And yet, I thought this book was shorter than it could be.

Rutherfurd's style sometimes leave the reader tired. Some of his sentences are a little too prosaic for the kind of fiction he's intended to write. He abuses the right to use the word "For" (as in "For Nicolai was the greatest poet in Ukraine") to begin a phrase. One other problem I found was concerning the division of the book. The part I expected the most was the Revolution. I was satisfied when I read it. It's well written, interesting and holds the attention of the reader. In fact, the Revolution is the climax of russian history (at least in my opinion, I'm not russian and I really don't know that much about russian history), and the author does a good job in building the tension and creating a very "russian" atmosphere in the previous chapters before the revolution. But the problem is that, after 1917, the book ends. Nothing about the second World War, nothing about Breschnev, the Perestroika and the fall of the Berlin wall. So, I was left with the sense that there was somethig missing. Rutherfurd could have written at least 300 more pages and I wouldn't think this would a book too big, given its subject.

But I think that I was rewarded after closing the final page on "Russka". I wanted a book of fiction that would show me the history of Russia. Rutherfurd's research and his choice of characters, although conservative, were very good. "Russka" is entertaining and gripping, and I was hooked all through its 900 pages.

Grade 8.3/10

This novel is, of course, a historical novel about Russia. The author seems to be most interested in the period before 1800 or so. After he reaches 1800 the books drags a bit. The author thinks the Russian Revolution of 1917 was a bad thing and that it harmed the people of Russia. I have no reason to quarrel with him.

The author does a good job of keeping the story centered around the four or so families whose descendants make up the key characters. He does an excellent job of explaining the economic problems, particularly those associated with agriculture, that have plagued Russia for all of its history.

Anyone who reads this book should be impressed with the enormous amount of research that went into it. I learned a great deal about Russia before 1800. For the period after 1800, there is little here that a well-educated person would not already know.