Ratings6
Average rating3.4
EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL A haunting, epic novel about betrayal, revenge, and redemption that follows three generations of Russian women, from the 1917 revolution to the last days of the Soviet Union, and the enduring love story at the center. In a faraway kingdom, in a long-ago land... ...a young girl lived happily in Moscow with her family: a sister, a father, and an eccentric mother who liked to tell fairy tales and collect porcelain dolls. One summer night, everything changed, and all that remained of that family were the girl and her mother. Now, a decade later and studying at Oxford University, Rosie has an English name, a loving fiancé, and a promising future, but all she wants is to understand—and bury—the past. After her mother dies, Rosie returns to Russia, armed with little more than her mother’s strange folklore—and a single key. What she uncovers is a devastating family history that spans the 1917 Revolution, the siege of Leningrad, Stalin’s purges, and beyond. At the heart of this saga stands a young noblewoman, Tonya, as pretty as a porcelain doll, whose actions—and love for an idealistic man—will set off a sweeping story that reverberates across the century....
Reviews with the most likes.
With some fairytales, history, dolls, and mystery, this book has a little bit of everything. Mixed together with beautiful writing, [b:The Last Russian Doll 61261034 The Last Russian Doll Kristen Loesch https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659622031l/61261034.SY75.jpg 93581745] is a lovely read.Rosie's mother dies, leaving her behind with questions she needs to answer to put her turbulent past to rest. Spanning from the 1910s-1990s, we follow the story of Tonya and her lineage as well as the connections to the dolls that ended up in Rosie's mother's possession. The several points of view threw me off at first. I would have preferred just Rosie's and Tonya's as both of their stories were incredibly intriguing. However, there was a benefit of the other perspectives as the book went on. There's a lot of action which kept the book exciting (which admittedly made it somewhat tricky to keep everything straight). I enjoyed it.
I understand the reasoning for the two different timelines in the narration, but I would have preferred a full focus on Tonya's one and more historical details.