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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Please Make This a Best Seller, October 2, 2007
This review is from: The Russian Concubine (Mass Market Paperback)
Kate Furnivall has captured the Russian soul, the Chinese soul, the English soul and my own soul. I was torn between wanting to read it slowly so it would never end and wanting to finish it because of too much suspense. The characters are unforgettable. The history is researched and fascinating. Kate's own mother was a White Russian refugee in China so no wonder she had such an advantage in getting everything so authentic. One has to read this with reverence for the Chinese people. This is the first time I have ever really understood the motivations of the Chinese Communists.
I have never read a novel in which so much suffering could be intertwined with so much love, courage and joy. It wasn't only the suffering and joys of the main character, Lydia, but of all the characters which made it a joy to read. They were all complex characters and therefore came alive and believable at the skillful hands of this wonderful novelist.
Whether it is the opium trade or Sun Yet San or Chiang Kai Shek, Ms. Furnival gets it all just right.
Please let this be a best seller and let there be a sequel. I can't say goodbye to Chang and Lydia and Albert and the rest of them.
Here is a warning, but not a spoiler: It is full of surprises.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intereresting and compelling attempt at a complex era, January 6, 2008
This review is from: The Russian Concubine (Mass Market Paperback)
This book was -- although not perfect -- absolutely extraordinary. It was an ambitious effort to say the least: Chinese, English, and Russian history at one of the most tumultuous times in all of history all in one novel! What saves it is the relatively short time span covered.
There were times when the plot took some odd and awkward turns. Every once in a while I would find myself saying "Who is this character, where on earth did they come from, and why are they doing that??" Liev Popkov and the re-introduction of Tan-Wah are a couple of examples where the necessity of their presence to the plotline was not immediately clear. It was never very clear what Christopher Mason had over Theo Willoughby and how that translated into Opium trafficking either (surely there are other ways to save a school...), at least not until the end. The majority of the book cooked along at a good pace, and when it got a little boggy, I could generally go back and skim the last few pages and get back on track. The underlying theme of a girl growing into a woman in spite of her difficult circumstances is a universally understood one though, and artfully captured in this novel. The love story may be improbable, but it was beautiful. And who says a novel has to be completely probable?
Furnivall is a gifted writer. When she describes something that smells bad, feels good, is excruciatingly painful, or breathtakingly beautiful, you feel those things with all of your senses, to the core of your soul. I look forward to her future efforts.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but not great..., February 25, 2008
This review is from: The Russian Concubine (Mass Market Paperback)
When I first started The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall, I thought it had the potential to be a great book. By the end, I determined that it was a good book, but I don't think that Furnivall lived up to my expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspects of The Russian Concubine, but felt that the plot and character development had some weaknesses.
The Russian Concubine opens with Valentina Ivanova and her daughter, Lydia, fleeing Russia during the revolution. They end up finding a home in the Russian Quarter of Junchow, China. Junchow (a fictional Tientsin), has a large international presence due to treaties between China and England. Valentina is a classically trained pianist, but can barely make enough to support herself and her daughter. As a teenager, Lydia resorts to stealing valuables and then fencing her loot to help pay the rent and put food on the table. At least Lydia has a scholarship to attend the Willoughby Academy. Both mother and daughter believe that Lydia's education will be their ticket out of China. Lydia meets up with Chang An Lo, a 19 year old member of China's growing Communist Party (the year is 1928). They eventually fall in love. It is dangerous to be a communist, and especially, for a foreigner to be associated with one. It is also unpopular for Chinese to be associated with foreigners, who are nicknamed Foreign Devils. But Lydia and Chang seem to have a psychic relationship that is usually associated with identical twins.
This is a fascinating time in Chinese history as Chiang Kai-shek and his armies are vying for control of the country, while the communists are also fighting for their cause. Both the Chinese and the foreigners consider the other uncivilized. Furnivall has a love of China, which shines through in The Russian Concubine. And English headmaster considers his love of China and its beauty: "It had stolen his heart...the sumptuous curve of a Ming vase, the upward sweep of a calligraphy brush, the hidden meanings of a watercolor of a man fishing, a vivid sun sinking behind a raft of sampans...These things filled his senses. Sometimes he couldn't breathe, his passion for them was so strong."
Unfortunately, I thought there were too many subplots in The Russian Concubine that didn't always add to the story. Also, I never bought into the love relationship between Lydia and Chang. In fact, there weren't a whole lot of characters that I ever grew to like.
And just when I reached the end of the 517 page book, Furnivall sets the reader up for a sequel. While I'm glad that I finished The Russian Concubine, if Furnivall does come out with a sequel, I not sure I'd be interested.
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