Customer Reviews

The Midwife of St. Petersburg

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I liked this book, but it's definitely different from Chaikin's other books, in that there's not nearly as much romance or mystery in this one. That disappointed me, but I still enjoyed the book. The main thing thing that puzzled and rather frustrated me, though, was that the book didn't seem to end. I felt that there were a lot of loose ends, many situations unresolved. This book could have been way better if more of those loose ends were tied up, but then maybe there will be another book after this one? I would love to see more happen with Alex and Karena...

The story centers around Karena Peshkova. Her dream is to attend medical school. Each year she is disappointed when her acceptance doesn't come. She has to be content to work along side her mother who is also a midwife.

Then Karena and Natalia go to visit her wealthy cousin Tatiana. That is where Karena meets Colonel Aleksandr Kronstadt (Alex). They are immediately attracted to one another but can't act on those feelings as he is promised to Tatiana (it's not a love match but a political one).

After they return home Karena continues to see images of Alex, though she trys hard to push them aside.

This is the year she hopes for an opening in the school. Her brother Sergei is in love with Ivanna Lenski. Ivanna and her mother both work at the college that Karena wants to attend. In hopes of making contact with Ivanna she goes with her brother to a Bolshevik meeting. It gets out of hand and a Russian offical is killed. While fleeing the meeting so as not to be caught she is picked up by Dr. Kinnovy. He gives her an alibi. She feels she can trust him but she wonders why he would help her. (you find out later in the story).

They investigate her brother who is very vocal against his countries ways. They blame Sergei and Ivanna's brother for the Russians death. To avoid Sergei going to prison, Sergei's father confesses to be the Bolshevik leader.

From that point on much trouble comes to the Peshkova family. All the while from afar Alex is looking out for them especially Karena. Many family secrets arise and danger is knocking on the door. Will Alex and Karena ever get to declare their feelings for one another?

This book was rich in historical content as well as rich in characters. You fall in love with Karena's spirit and determination and loyality. You fall in love with Alex who is a wonderful hero. You feel as if you are part of the family as you're drawn into the story and go through each trial with them.

I loved the story and had a hard time putting it down. It keeps you involved the who way through.

Great job Linda!

In my opinion, Linda Chaikin writes for 2 genres. One is the fast-paced world of intrigue with highly woven plots and characters (The Buccaneers, Silk House, Heart of India). The other is slightly more relaxed with deep detail and characters who think before they act (Lions of the Desert, East of the Sun). This book falls into the realm of the second, and is a highly entertaining and evocative read.

In respect to the other reviews listed here, yes there are some moments where the text repeats, but possibly this is a help to the reader who cruises through a book, rather than a speed-freak like myself who can't wait to get to the end and find out what happened and blazes through it in under 24hrs. Every author has his or her own foibles, no matter who they are. It's worth 'forgiving' this for the sake of what's going on. Keep in mind also that Aussies don't think like Americans, Americans don't think like Russians, and Russians don't think like Jews. There are valid reasons behind the behaviour of the characters here. To me the style of the book made perfect sense and the pace was beautiful. Too quick, and you fail to 'feel'. A good book is about more than a fleeting mental pleasure.

If you want a quickie romance with passionate love affairs and unrealistic time spans, go and get a novella. The Midwife of St Petersberg is a story with integrity and passion for the long haul, and the characters are treading carefully. Some men and women (Micheal W Smith's biography) share a glance and 'know'they have found their Mr or Mrs Right. Other people can take ten times longer. Still others rush into flings and get themselves in a whole lot of trouble...

Beside the point. I found the story clipped, and see that Chaikin is toning back her long descriptives in favour of urging the story along at a pace with realism that is highly plausible. This book is about more than romance. It's about relationship, deception, truth and what we all want to fight for when government does its people wrong. Karena's own spiritual journey develops in this book, and I am quite certain we shall see one if not two more installments here, hence, what some readers refer to as 'unanswered questions' and loose ends.

At the risk off too much dialogue about author technique, the story goes as follows: Karena is the daughter of a Russian Wheat farmer and has a brother and a sister and numerous cousins. She ventures to cousin Tatiana's house first where she meets Aleksander, or Alex. Their attraction is instant though they talk themselves out of it due to circumstance. Karena's brother ends up in a whole lot of trouble with the law as a Bolshevik, and later she is caught up in his web, ending with dire circumstances when their father, Josef, all but sacrifices himself so that Sergei can have a life. Alex's part to play is as Colonel, for the time being, and his step-mother helps him out with 'spy matters', since she also is a spy and is one of the few he can confide in. The situation for Karena changes numerous times in the space of hours, and her life is thrown into a spin. What would you do if everything you loved was suddenly ripped away?

Karena has several encounters with Alex, as well as the 'troublemakers' of the story. The character details do help define the people and certainly shows who they are and what they are not. Some of it is rather blunt, and shows just how stupid people can be, even when the truth is right before their eyes.

I hesitate to say too much and reveal all the secrets, or else, if you read the reviews here you might be disappointed with knowing everything! :) Suffice it to say, there is a kind of "Book #1" ending about it. It is a semi-cliff hanger not devoid of hope or promise. Karena's own mother is probably holding the biggest bomb of all to drop, at this stage.

Yes, it is a good read. A great read. It does deserve the time of day, but I also suggest you keep in mind not only what kind of things you love, but also to try something a little different. This is meant to be more than your average fiction romance. I considered it very smooth, and I can't wait for the next one!
Way to go LLC! :)

Good book. Keeps you interested. Opens up all kinds of cans of worms...but then nothing is ever resolved. Maybe there is supposed to be a sequel? Wouldn't recomend reading until next book is available...Wish it would have said book 1. Makes no sense :(

Against my better judgment, I picked this book up in the library, mistakenly beliving it was a complete Novel. I say against my better judgment because I wasted my time on Chaikin's House of Silk "trilogy," only to discover at the end of book 3 1) that book 3 did not wrap up anything, but ended with a "will they live, or die" unfinished story, 2) that Chaiken had intended to write a book 4 to finish up the "trilogy," and 3) that no book 4 will be forthcoming because the publisher had no interest in it.

Having read earlier complete Chaikin books/series that I thoroughly enjoyed, I took a chance on this book because it was described as "a novel" on the front cover. As I neared the end of the book, I learned that Chaikin had done it to me again: Yep, the story does not have an ending. Chaikin wrote the book hoping that the publisher would turn it into a series, and then concluded book 1 leaving all these loose threads hanging. What kind of authors do that to their readers and keeps their careers? I'm tired of reading half-complete stories by Chaikin, which is a shame because she does come up with excellent overarching storylines.

Another real weakness with her novels is that she does not seem to have a good editor. There are many obvious typos. Indeed, in the library copy that I was reading, the person who read the novel before me had taken to correcting those typos in the text with a pencil. Second, the paragraph and sentence structure are sometimes hard to follow. She will use a pronoun and you'll wonder exactly who "She" is referring to. Finally, Chaikin's character development and storyline progression techniques are sometimes disjointed. For example, I was 2/3 through the novel before I discovered by reading a casual statement that Sergi was Karena's half brother(a fairly important point of the book). These are all problems that a good editor should have caught. Alas, Chaikin's last few books demonstrate that she is not getting good editorial input. It almost seems like these Christian publishing companies are publishing the first draft of anything she submits to them.

That said, if she would actually finish her novels, I would be willing to overlook the editorial and grammatical mistake. Chaikin's base stories are actually very good. (Hence the two stars). Unfortunately, she has sacrified her professional integrity by writing and/or allowing the publishers to put out unfinished books in the "hopes" that the publisher will pay her to turn an unfinished product into a series. I'm tired of paying to read uncomplete manuscripts and stories.

Accordingly, this will be my last Chaikin book.

Karena Peshkov dreams of going to medical school, but the Imperial College of Medicine ignores her annual application. By 1914, Karena has accepted that she will never be trained as a doctor so she makes the best of helping her Jewish mother, the village midwife. She accepts an invitation to spend some time with her cousin Tatiana Roskov, daughter of an influential Czarist general. At the affluent estate she meets Colonel Alexsandr Kronstadt. They are attracted to one another but he is intended for Tatiana.

Trying to provide medical assistance to the neglected impoverished peasants becomes nearly impossible as Karena and her injured mother are forced to flee to St. Petersburg. The Bolsheviks accuse the two female Peshkovs of royal connections while the Czarist secret police believes she is a Bolshevik assassin. Neither side cares one iota about the truth as power is all that matters. Unable to remain neutral anymore as he fell in love with Karena at the Roskov estate, Alex risks his military career to insure she is safe though he does not dare go anywhere near her.

This is a deep look at Russia during the turbulent end of the Tsarist reign and subsequent competition to replace the monarchy. The story line is mostly seen through the discerning eyes of Karena, but to a degree the audience also obtains the insights of Alex. Romance fans will hope they will find a way to be together during the torrential chaotic era while historical readers will thoroughly enjoy Linda Lee Chaikin's deep look at revolution in WWW I era Russia.

Harriet Klausner

Midwife of St. Petersburg is not one of Ms. Chaikin's better books. In fact, I found it to be pretty annoying. The overall writing style seems sloppy- random events become major focal points and random people appear to have significance. There seems to be bouts of extraneous tangents on certain people and subject matters (Rasputin, Florence Nightingale, etc.) There are multiple instances where a certain fact or event is repeated, first stated by one character then the next chapter another character makes the exact same remark. At least three times, there is the same comment made about Florence Nightingale and her sanitizing/hand-washing practices. Almost as if someone wasn't paying attention when editing or it is assumed that the readers need these redundancies...???? It was extremely annoying to read a story that already didn't have much of a plot and would expound boring historical information, leave a lot of loose ends unresolved AND yet would repeat whole sections that weren't that exciting or relevant the first time.

I personally didn't like the protagonist of Karena either. She seemed like she would be a sweet, caring girl but she was portrayed as stupid and careless. She would knowlingly endanger herself and then 'acted' surprised at the outcome! The little romance that there is in the story, between Karena and Alex, is just barely beginning and yet they claim to have already fallen head over heels for each other. In that sense, even the romance doesn't seem realistic. There is too much time devoted to explaining certain historical facts (the character of Rasputin, religious persecution, Bolshevik revolutions) at great lengths that is too much for a work of fiction. And even those facts are repeated over and over again. As if we're too stupid to have noticed them the first time they were mentioned.

There are also some very hokey lines that make "serious" parts almost laughable. Karena "dream[ed] of the day when she would see him again (...)the day the rosebud would open into a full, red rose." "The times are against us." Those lines could be sweet and poetic but the way they're used it seems more melodramatic.

Overall, a disappointment. This story isn't on the same level as Ms. Chaikin's other novels. It was an interesting story idea but it isn't written well. If is was better edited and the plot more concentrated, it would have made a strong, stand alone book. But instead there is a poorly structured plot with a lot of loose ends and redundancies.

For some better historical romances set in Russia, I recommend reading the Heirs of Anton series by Susan May Warren and Susan Downs.

In early-20th-century Czarist Russia, Karena Peshkev dreams of escaping her family's country estate to attend medical school. But she continues to be waitlisted because her mother, the village's midwife, is Jewish. On a visit to her wealthy cousin Tatiana's St. Petersburg mansion, Karen meets Colonel Alexsandr Kronstadt, a member of the Okhrana, or secret police. While their attraction is immediate, Alex is meant for Tatiana, the general's daughter --- a superior match politically and socially.

But when the accusations of Bolshevik conspiracy tear her family apart, Karena and her mother flee to St. Petersburg. The Okhrana believes that Karena is a Bolshevik traitor, in league with the rebel party's leader. Will Karena and her family survive? Will she and Alex ever be able to have a relationship?

This historical tale of a Christian-Jewish family's involvement in the Revolution is different and intriguing. Joseph Peshkov is a Christian, and his wife Yeva is a convert -- but she and her relatives (including scholar Uncle Matvey Menkin, who believes that Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah) remain under close scrutiny by the Okhrana. Complicating matters is the fact that Karena's brother Sergei is deeply entrenched in Bolshevik activities. When Colonel Aleksandr Kronstadt is sent to investigate suspicious doings where the family lives, near Kiev, his infatuation with Karena leads him to help her and her family out of numerous scrapes.

Grandmother Jilinsky's dreadful memories of pogroms in her native Poland, Madame Yeva's hinky ownership of a stunning jewel and the fact that all available able-bodied men are either being conscripted into the military or sent to labor camps mean that a happy ending for Karena and her ailing mother will be hard to come by.

There were some elements in this book that I greatly enjoyed, not the least of which were a number of the characters. Uncle Matvey, with his gouty foot and book-crowded study, is a marvelous creation, a sort of antiqued "Jews for Jesus" proselytizer. Kronstadt's stepmother Olga evokes all of the splendor and much of the guilt of the White Russian aristocracy. I'm not sure why author Linda Lee Chaikin always refers to the diamonds worn by the shallow aristocratic women as "South African diamonds," unless she has some political bone to sharpen. That's fine, but given the lack of similar digs at worldly things in the book, the shtick seems out of place.

I also liked the homework Chaikin has done on early 20th-century medical and hygienic practices; Madame Yeva believes as firmly in sickroom cleanliness as her idol Florence Nightingale did. I would love to see a book about Karena and her mother running a clinic for St. Petersburg's ladies of the evening (as Karena does a bit of towards the end of the novel).

--- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick

One of the best books ever written by Linda Chaikin! Russia 1914, a time of unrest among the common people forgotten by the czar and the elite. Karena Peshkova seeks to gain admittance to the prestigious Medical school in St.Petersburg in order to become a doctor but her dream for three years in a row have been dashed. She must content herself to work alongside her monther on her family's country estate as a midwife. But on a visit to her wealthy cousin's home in Kazan, Karena meets the dashing officer Alex Kronstadt who is promised in a political marriage to her cousin, Tatiana. The attraction between them is immediate but they both knew they could never act upon it. As the story prgresses, Karena finds herself a target for the Russian Imperial Secret Police as in league with the rebel leader of the Bolshevik. Certain that she is guilty of murder and conspiracy against the Czar, they are determined to hunt her down. Alex intervenes from afar, saving her life, while knowing that his action could jeopardize his career in the Russian military. Would he be able to get through and declare his love for Karena?

For now this is a standalone novel but I have been told that Linda's readers should write to the publisher of this book for a sequel. The ending was left open for more to the story. I would love for this story to continue!

Chaikin's novel is set in 1914 Czarist Russia, a dangerous place that is bristling with the Bolshevik uprising.

The Roskovs are relatives of the Peshkovas and feuds abound when Tatiana Roskov finds that her Colonel Aleksander Knonstadt, who she is tethered to through an arranged marriage, is attracted to her peasant cousin Karena Peshkova. The backdrop of the Revolution, Rasputan and the Czar, shows Russia as a divided country, by the laws against Jews, and peasants against the aristocracy.

Col. Knonstadt falls for Peshkova, but to enhance his military career he needs to marry into the Roskov family. Historical liberties are taken in this book and some are inaccurate, but the storyline is all consuming and interesting. The aristocrats spend a great deal of time at balls and dinners, while all Karena Peshkova wants is to be admitted to the Midwifery school in St. Petersburg, where her mother attendedl. However, being part Jewish in Czarist Russia means that there is only a two percent allotment for Jews to attend Medical School. Year after year Peshkova is denied admission.

She takes her lumps and realizes she may end up being the wife of a peasant, who works on the Peshkova farm, given to her father by the prior Czar for his participation during the last war. Ilya wouldn't make a bad husband but Peshkova can't seem to get the Colonel out of her mind. A twist at the ending will surprise you and makes the book a very enjoyable read. Pershkova, though a Jew, was raised in the Russian Orthodox Church, and she comes to the conclusion that Jesus is her savior.

Historical, dynamic and interesting, this tale is a fictionalized version of what went on in Russia before the deaths of the Czar and his family.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a must read for anyone who likes historical fiction with a Christian bent.