Thursday, August 29, 2013

A HOUSE DIVIDED by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella

This is book two in "The Russians" series and as the back of the book says, it is "a powerful novel about love, intrigue, war and faith".  "Michael Phillips and Judith Pella have undertaken this very difficult but rewarding task of presenting a slice of Russian history through fictional characters and details with historic settings and events."  ". . . an authentic Russian novel, representing the complexities of this multi-layered society at the time of the tsars."  This story takes place from 1878-1880 and continues with the story of Prince Sergei and his family and the  much loved servant girl Anna Burenin who you will come to know and love from book one.  Prince Sergei has just fought in the Balkan war and is a little disillusioned by what he has seen.  Anna's brother, Paul, is struggling with his place in the world and finds himself joining the revolutionary group that wants to overthrow the tsar's control over the empire.  It is a difficult time in Russia and especially for a a prince who has fallen in love with a lowly peasant girl named Anna.

This is not my usual style of reading, but I must say the author does a good job of pulling you in and keeping you interested in what will happen next all the way through these stories.  I feel I am also learning about the Russian culture at this time in history.    It is a series I highly recommend you read in order because one book picks up where the previous one leaves off and the first two books flow together very well.    I think these books would make a great mini-series!  This is not a quick read, but it is well worth  the time spent reading about the people of Russia.

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