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| Metro Publishing This film tie -in edition released in 2016 |
You can betray your country
But not your heart
Love and betrayal are the two
themes at heart of this dual time novel which is set in the turbulent years of
The Cold War during the mid-nineteen fifties, and also some forty years later in
Boston in the late-nineteen nineties.
The story focuses on the relationship between Katya and Alexander who
meet in Moscow and where despite all odds, and their different political viewpoints, they meet and fall in love. But there
are secrets and lies between them and although Katya hopes that she can start a
fresh life with Alexander, sinister forces are unleashed of which they have no
control. Forty years later, in Boston we meet up with Alexander again, now the
owner of a successful catering company but with no sign of Katya, there is an
obvious mystery to uncover.
I thought that story got off to something of a slow start and it took me a good third of the novel to really start to
gel with the characters, but once the relationship between Katya and
Alexander started to emerge, the story started to settle and became more
interesting. If I’m honest, I much preferred the Russian 1950’s era of the
story to the more contemporary American setting where the book, for me, lost
some of its appeal.
The author writes well and with confidence
and is adept at description, bringing scenes alive quite vividly, particularly the
bleakness of post-Stalinist Russia. I enjoyed getting to know the characters
and I think that the author has created a nice atmosphere between both past and present.The conclusion of the story, when it comes, is nicely done
and finishes the story appropriately.
Despite the Falling Snow has been
made into a movie starring Charles Dance as Alexander and Rebecca Ferguson as
Katya. The film was released in cinemas in the UK on the 22nd April
2016.
Best Read with ...Slices of Autumn Cake from Marian's Bakery and cups of aromatic tea...
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