Sashenka - Simon Montefiore (2008)I had picked this book up in bookstores a few times in the last few months, before finally surcoming and actually ordering it from the library. It only took a week, and as in all the times when you have a lot of work to do (study), you end up with a good pile of reading material.
Luckily I had an extended long weekend away, so this book was my birthday holiday read. Sashenka is a novel written by a normally non-fiction writer with a great knowledge of Russian history. Divided into three parts, the first begins with Sashenka, a wealthy old daughter of Jewish parents. Rejecting the frivolous lifestyle of her mother and the protection of her father, she is enticed by her uncle to become involved with the communists on the eve of the revolution.
In the second part Sashenka is married to a powerful leader with two young children. Still within the inner circle of power, her life begins to unravel in ways she never expected.
Finally we reach the last part, set in the recent years. A young student is asked to travel to London to research the family history of some rich Russians, who know nothing of their past and family.
Certainly a story premise that I was drawn to, I did enjoy the story although it did drag a little in some places for me. 3/5
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