The Russian Concubine
by Kate Furnivall
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kate FurnivallEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-06-27
ISBN: 042521558X
Number of pages: 517
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780425215586
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Russian Concubine
Book Review: Sweeping drama. A great debut novel.
Summary: 5 Stars
Lydia Ivanova is a bi-racial 15 year old woman struggling with poverty in the Russian quarter of Junchow in the late 1920's. When she was a young child her mother, Valentina, fled from Russia just after the fall of the Romanovs avoiding capture even though the Bolshevik soldiers took her husband, a Danish man named Jens Friis. Valentina managed to convince the soldiers to allow her entry into China with Lydia but for the last decade she has been known as a white Russian refugee and forced to live in squalor because of this. The result of her mother's status and alcoholism is that Lydia has to steal to provide while Valentina relies on the kindness of men to provide for her and her daughter. On one of her excursions Lydia meets a young Chinese man with familiar eyes who saves her from a snake with martial arts. He makes an impression on her that she carries for some time.
After some time Lydia meets the young man again. His name is Chang An Lo, and he is one of the secret communist faction that is trying to undermine Chiang Kai-shek's regime, but prominent drug cartels, criminal gangs, and Kuomintang troops are both working against him and his friends. Lydia becomes involved with him and his cause emotionally and finds herself yearning for him when he is not around, particularly when he disappears for several months. She endeavors to find him, hoping that he is still alive, because he has become so much a part of her.
This historical fiction based on Furnivall's mother's life as a white Russian refugee in China blew me away. It was such an enjoyable read I devoured more than half of it in a single sitting. Of course it largely is a romance story between Lydia and Chang An Lo, however the romance is not cheesy and largely does not come into play until later in the book. For a the whole build up to the romantic climax I was hoping it wouldn't turn pedestrian or over emphasized and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. My only gripe is that she felt like she left open the ending for a possible sequel, and I didn't feel as if the story needed furthering. I would have been much happier if she had not opened up that ending. Overall though Furnivall is definitely a great narrative voice and I will be reading her again in the future.
Summary of The Russian Concubine
A sweeping novel set in war-torn 1928 China, with a star-crossed love story at its center.In a city full of thieves and Communists, danger and death, spirited young Lydia Ivanova has lived a hard life. Always looking over her shoulder, the sixteen-year-old must steal to feed herself and her mother, Valentina, who numbered among the Russian elite until Bolsheviks murdered most of them, including her husband. As exiles, Lydia and Valentina have learned to survive in a foreign land.
Often, Lydia steals away to meet with the handsome young freedom fighter Chang An Lo. But they face danger: Chiang Kai Shek's troops are headed toward Junchow to kill Reds like Chang, who has in his possession the jewels of a tsarina, meant as a gift for the despot's wife. The young pair's all-consuming love can only bring shame and peril upon them, from both sides. Those in power will do anything to quell it. But Lydia and Chang are powerless to end it.
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