It took awhile to write a review mainly because there is a depth to this book that is difficult to put into words.

The setting is during the reign of King Frederik IV of Denmak and the Russian Tsar Peter Alexeyevich (Alexander/Peter The "Great").

Sorien Bentsdatter is ugly, no doubt about it. Her body is that of a misshapen dwarf with limbs that are twisted, small and barely functional.

Sorien is quite a character, and her story is the glue that holds the book together. The book starts with humor as King Frederik decided to make Sorine pop out of a large cake during a welcoming ceremony for the Tsar. Smushed inside with no way to perform the task of jumping, a ladder is built. Stubbornly, the personality of Sorine is shown as she decides to stick her head out of the cake.

While all around her life is not her own, she does find ways to angrily try to have some control of her life. Given to the Tsar, she travels to Russia to the frozen country of inordinately heavy consumption of vodka, as well as harsh customs and brash manners.

Immediately, she is given a Russian name. And, thus, even her name is not hers to keep. And still, while all around is out of control, she refuses to be quiet and polite. Along the way, she finds interesting people for company. And, they too are drawn with lush and lavish description.

The writing is superb, the reader obtains a wonderful picture of both countries and their leaders. As we travel with Sorie we laugh, and cry. Sadly, some of those she meets betray her. When she ends in a tormented place of the Tsar's curiosity Cabinet, we find Sorine at her lowest when she is poked and prodded by a scientist and put on display in a dirty, circus-like environment.

This is a lush tale, rich in description with a very strong character development. While there were instances that made me want to put the book aside, still I came back to the story and Sorine.

Recommended. Four Stars. ( )

Sorine Bentsdatter is a Danish dwarf in the court of King Frederik IV. When the king is visited by Russia's tsar Peter Alexeyevich (Peter the Great), Sorine is pleased to be given to the tsar as a gift for his "collection".

But Sorine is a difficult character. She does not like dwarves. Sorine does not even consider dwarves to be human. Her self-loathing manifests itself in a caustic, sarcastic wit and a lack of fear from either physical danger or simply speaking her mind, which she does proudly with no self-editing. She is a character who believes when things are going well they will only get worse, and she makes it so. And when things are going badly she is relieved and contented. Even with all of this, she has an overwhelming affection for Peter Alexeyevich, whom she rarely sees. Much like a child for a neglectful parent.

Peter H. Fogtdal's, The Tsar's Dwarf was originally written and published in Danish and has now been translated into English by Tiina Nunnally. Although Mr. Fogtdal has written a dozen novels, this is the first of his books to be translated into English.

While, overall, an enjoyable tale, the reader is often taken out of the story when Sorine "speaks" of scenes happening out of her presence and refers to her "Dwarf vision". This had the unfortunate effect of taking a story that the reader could believe as a slice of life and making it a fantasy. Also, at times, there are words or turns of phrase ("...I can play you like a violin.") that cause pause as being too modern. Whether this is due to the novelist or the translator is not known. Although I found it a bit distracting I can't pretend to know better than Mr. Fogtdal and Ms. Nunnally as to whether or not these are accurate to the time period.

In the end, through The Tsar's Dwarf, Peter H. Fogtdal takes us on a rather incredible journey of a unique character's life beginning just before Sorine Bentsdatter's life with King Frederik IV, through her time with Peter Alexeyevich, where she not only spent time as one of his favorite dwarves, but was also kept in a cloister due to her lack of belief in God and some possible need for exorcism, and then on to a time spent in the tsar's Curiosity Cabinet to be studied by a scientist while on display to "The Good Folk". But her destiny doesn't end there... ( )

I'll be honest -- the first 100 pages of this book were a slow read for me, and I felt more irritation than empathy for the main character. If I had just checked this book out from the library, it probably would have gone back unfinished.

Once I got past that point, though, the book started to pull me in. You begin to see a deeper level of Sørine, and you also see her become more open to changes in perspective. Rather than just hearing about all the parts of life that she hates, and about all the people who piss her off, you start to see glimpses of what truly matters to her. Over the book, Sørine goes from the slums in Denmark, performs at the king's palace, is given as a gift to the dwarf-collecting Russian tsar, is sent to a sadistic convent, is used as a museum exhibit, and stows away as a Polish nanny. Throughout, there's a lot of focus on Sørine's ever-changing internal dialogue about religion, and also about the parallel changes in how she sees being a dwarf -- is she human? Is she in the same "class" as the other dwarfs? The descriptions throughout were wonderful as well: enough so that I could truly see the book in my mind, but not so much that it kept me from seeing the story in my own way.

This is definitely literary fiction with a dark side -- so readers who feel put off by intense scenes of violence and sex probably aren't going to enjoy The Tsar's Dwarf.

Oh, and one note about the physical book itself. It is absolutely gorgeously made -- not only a great cover, but high quality materials and thoughtfully designed in a way that just feels great in your hands. I read this book over the course of a week's bus rides to and from work, and every day people would comment on it. ( )

This is a peculiar book. It has some parts that are amusing and some that are stomach-turning. It's the story of Soerin (Surinka), a dwarf in 18th century Denmark. After being taken to work for the king, she is given to the Russan Tsar, who collects dwarves and other persons with physical deformities to use as entertainment. Her life in Russia is filled with violence, vulgarity and idiocy. I found it obnoxious and morbid in many cases. I did end up with a slightly good feeling for the book, but not enough to recommend it. ( )

Sorine Bentsdatter had the misfortune to be born in 1684, in Europe, as a dwarf. (Dwarf was one of the better words she was called in Denmark, where she was viewed as the work of the Devil.)

We find her at the beginning of the story in a ghetto: poor, louse ridden, and full of hate. And why shouldn't she be. She is ugly and reviled, handed around like doll, and offered no dignity. Soon however, she comes to the attention of King of Denmark, and Sorine finds herself drawn into his court. But her life isn't better. Instead she is beaten and made to perform ridiculous stunts, until, on a whim she is given to the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great, as a present. (At that time kings collected dwarves and curiosities like one might collect stamps, or beanie babies.)

This book began as a history of Peter Alexeyevich, but soon evolved into this masterful historical fiction. It is brilliantly written, although with a translation it is hard to know who to give credit to.

The era is vividly portrayed with all its grubbiness and vulgar earthiness. The streets and gutters and the banquet halls provide the backdrop for this character driven story -- and nearly all of the characters are tragic.

There is a philosophical bent to this book. You can expect all of the serious aspects of life to be addressed: faith, the meaning of life, the nature of power, death.... But principally the focus is on Power and all of it's manifestations. Sorine who is so small and fragile has less power than a child, and so is the perfect foil for such a study. ( )