Customer Reviews

Petersburg

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As a Russian-born immigrant to the United States from St. Petersburg, I was very delighted to read about the city that I think is one of the most beautiful in the world. When I found out that "Petersburg" was concerned with the Revolution of 1905 and the event called "Bloody Sunday", with which I am somewhat familiar, my interest piqued. After reading the book, I have to say that I was not impressed. The love story is not entirely believable or very interesting. The supporting characters are more complex but not fully developed. The historical figures, like Czar Nicholas II, are portrayed more or less acurately, although they seem like caricatures and do not fit in. My biggest problems with the book is that many details of people's lives in the early 1900's are not portrayed accurately and are hard to believe. For one, the episode with the flesh-eaters, people who eat human flesh, is arresting but highly improbable. These people ar! e so hungry that they buy human flesh and eat it. A question beckons: If they have the means to buy human flesh, why don't they buy food? Secondly, I have problems with characters' names. One of the characters' name is Anna. Her friends and family call her Annochka. Although that is a legitimate nickname, more likely she would be called Anya, because Anna is too formal. Another character's name is Irina. In the book, she is called either Irina or Irinushka. Although that is plausible, in reality, she would be called Ira or Irochka. My third complaint has to do with values of money. The episode in which Alexei, one of the main characters, offers to give a hag who is selling human flesh 50 rubles for the remains and she asks him for a 100 rubles could not have happened. 50 rubles would have been considered a fortune in 1905. It is more likely that the hag would have parted with the remains for 5 or 10 rubles. Although these might seem like minor d! etails, this book is abundant with these kinds of inconsist! encies. If Ms. Hanlon did not claim that her book was a historical novel and that "many events did occur as shown", (taken out of context from Author's Note to "Petersburg"), I would not have bothered to care about these mistakes. As long as other and future readers realize that many situations are unrealistic and that the dialogue belongs in 1985, instead of 1905, "Petersburg" can be considered an entertaining and sweeping novel.

I found this book a total thrill from start to finish and was totally gutted when it came to and end. I took myself there and lived the book, which had the most unpredictable story lines and characters you couldn't stop yourself loving or hating. I could almost feel the snow crunching beneath my feet. This novel had everything, i simply could not put it down. I can only hope and pray that one day it will make it to the big screens, it would be magnifcant.

I found Petersburg to be a real pageturner. I was completely hooked by the plot, couldn't figure out what was coming next, fell totally in love with the characters whom I found breathtakinly real! I felt as if I was really in turn of the century Russia and as an afficionado of Russian history, I was impressed with the historical accuracy of the major events. The love stories were passionate and moving and the scenes of revolution bounced off the page. If you like historical fiction, this is a real winner.

I have read this book three times, and each time find something new and wonderful in it. The complexity of the characters and the clarity of place and time make it very engrossing. The main characters remain strong as they evolve, bringing the reader along in their lives. From destitute villages to opulent palaces, Petersburg is entracing, enlightening and one of the best books I have read.

This is perhaps the best book I have ever read. It is a major accomplishment and I'm amazed that it hasn't received tons of literary awards. Hanlon's use of dialogue along with the flow and rhythm of the writing is just outstanding. Never before have I had such a clear sense of living in this historic time. Hopefully this book won't be lost in obscurity. It would make such an incredible movie.

They are a new social class in old Russia: the wealthy industrialists, who inhabit the glittering turn-of-the-century city of Petersburg. Torn between their loyalty to the Czar and their own peasant roots, they are about to ignite a revolution that will change the world forever...

At the center of the tumult is Alexei Kalinin, a self-made railroad tycoon who is fighting to overthrow the monoarchy. Alexei is in love with Anna Orlov, a gifted young pianist whose connection to Alexei will thrust her into the bloody events as they unfold. Alexei's pacifist nephew Misha escapes his abusive father only to land in the middle of the violence. And Misha's tutor, the proud and sensuous Irina Rantzau, renounces her aristocratic background to stand up for her revolutionary ideas.

Powerful passions catapult all four into a strange new world, where the sweep of history will force them to make grave choices-for their country and for themselves.

from back of book.