Hello there, my bookworms. Happy (almost) Friday. I don’t know about you, but I anxiously await another well-deserved weekend. It has been a hell of a week and my brain needs a break. Ideally, I need a vacation for at least a week or two, but unfortunately there’s things to do and attend to so it doesn’t fit into the schedule right now. Maybe one of these days.
It’s been a bit since I’ve brought you guys a book review so I figured before a mini-reprieve approaches, I’d stop in and leave a little blurb for you. I don’t think any reader minds heading into a few days off with a book recommendation, right?
I’m ashamed to say that even though I started up my own book club back in May of 2018, I’ve only since reviewed one of the books on our ever-expanding list properly. Tonight, that changes and I’m digging into the vault to talk about our June Selection – let’s talk about I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon.
Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.
Russia, July 17, 1918 Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.
Germany, February 17, 1920 A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal in Berlin. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless, horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name: Anna Anderson.
As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened.
About a year ago when I first saw this book on the shelves of my local B&N, I was intrigued. The story of the Romanov family and the mystery and possibility of one lone survivor just had this insane appeal that sucked me right in from the get go. I knew I’d not only leave the store with that book in my hands, but that I would want to pick this story for book club and discuss it with other people.
Have you heard, there’s a rumor in St. Petersburg?
Although the animated version of Anastasia was a bit after my childhood, I remember watching it countless times with my younger sister and being so amazed by this crazy plot that turned out to be a tall-tale version of a significant historical event.
I delved right into this story as soon as June 2018 hit and I found myself trying to dissect the story right from page one. I needed to know about the mystery woman found in Berlin and what she had to say. As much as I wanted to figure this out so easily, I wouldn’t let it happen. Even as soon as I got her name, Anna Anderson, I refused to let myself even use Google to dig and see just how fictitious these events were.
I adored the back-and-forth of Anastasia’s past and Anna’s present. On almost all counts, it seems their stories fit just perfectly to provide answers to all the lingering questions. The more this book unfolded, the more I had to approach with caution. I didn’t want Anna to disappoint me if she wasn’t the real, long-lost princess, and I didn’t want to read more about the Romanovs just knowing what their fates would be and hoping that my reading of their story would change the outcome.
Parts of this story were slow-moving. There’s a decent bit of analytical conversation and moving pieces that go through some mundane activities of the, “who, what, where, when, and why” in order to resolve all the open-ends, but overall, it’s an intriguing tale that left me wanting more.
Once I closed this book, I scoured the internet for more on the Romanov family and their downfall as well as the infamous Anna Anderson (spoiler* who was real!) and it all just left me feeling astounded. Fact, fiction and history all collided to bring about a wonderfully tragic story that I spent the month of June savoring.
If you haven’t checked out this book yet and you’re a fan of historical fiction, mystery, or history in general, I suggest you give it a go!
Happy reading!
