Unfinished: Tried reading and audiobook....Understand the twist, but too melodramatic and don't like the jumping back and forth in timelines. Uninspired..

The story opens in 1981 in London and, in subsequent alternating chapters, the narrator, Georgy flashes back over his life and marriage to his wife, Zoya. The other chapters are the "heart" of the novel and take place in czarist Russia, 1915-1918 as Georgy heads into service at the Winter Palace. Where the two plot lines finally meet comes the denouement; but instead of an emotionally charged "Aha!" moment, the juncture has been enervated by early and clear foreshadowings. Robbed of tension, the story becomes less interesting, a mere catalogue of scenes until the reader's early suspicions have been confirmed. Descriptions of places are painterly; of people less so, though emotional profiles are finely tuned. Pales by comparison to the author's more recent work, 'The Heart's Invisible Furies'; but if you manage your expectations, it's interesting enough in regards to a romanticized time and place. ( )

Georgy Jachmenev is a teenager living in a povery-stricken region of Russia with his parents and three sisters. He is hit by a bullet intended for the commander of the Tzar's troops as they parade through his town of Kashin in an attempt to keep his best friend from shooting. He is slightly wounded as a result, and declared a hero by the Tsar and moved to the White Palace, the home of the Romanov family. There he eventually becomes one of the retinue guarding the czar's only son, Alexi. Alexi suffers from hemophiloia and must be kept from any danger as the sole heir to the throne. George is eventually elevated to the Tsar's retinue.

Georgy's story is told from his perspective as a young man and also as an elderly man in alternating chapters. It is rich in the history of the Russian Revolution, Rasputin, Lenin and the Romanov family. It is also the story of Georgy's love as a youth for Anastasia, the youngest Romanov daughter. As an adult, he loves Zoya and their daughter, Arina. Georgy is not a likeable character - I found him to be pompous and overbearing in his later years. As a young man, his gratitude for his much-improved lifestyle soon turned to entitlement. Particularly disturbuing was how he dismissed his sister's wish to also serve at the White Palace when it was within his power to make that happen.

This is well-researched fictional history with a twist that requires a suspension of disbelief. John Boyne is a very talented writer. He brings the landscape of Russia and its people to life within the pages of this book. ( )

In 1981, narrator and protagonist Georgy Daniilovich Jachmenev, now in his eighties, sits by the hospital bed of his wife and reflects back on their eventful life. As a teen living in Kashin, Russia, he takes a bullet intended for the commander of the czar’s troops. As a result, he is invited to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to work for the Romanovs. We meet the royal family: Nicholas II, his eleven-year-old heir and hemophiliac son, Alexei, and his daughters, focusing on Maria and Anastasia. We meet the czarina, Alexandra, and learn of her trust in Father Gregory (Rasputin). It features the last years of the Romanovs, the Russian Revolution, and WWII. In addition to the historical story, we learn of Georgy’s personal life, his love for his wife, Zoya, and his daughter, Arina.

Set in Russia, and later in France and England, the story is told in non-linear segments, flashing forward and backward, to tell Georgy’s life story. It is, at its heart, a love story between the two young people at opposite ends of the class spectrum. Georgy gradually becomes captivated with the royal family and is smitten with one of the daughters. It is filled with both tragedies and triumphs. The characters are well developed, with both admirable traits, flaws, and impetuous decisions.

It is beautifully told. We can picture the striking beauty of the Russian landscape and the opulent lifestyle of the Romanovs. The Romanovs are seen through Georgy’s viewpoint. He begins to feel as if he is part of their family. When the revolution comes, he tries to save them. My only slight disappointment is a few liberties taken with the historical record. I ended up treating it as an alternative history. The storytelling is wonderfully executed, and I felt fully invested from beginning to end. ( )

Mientras acompaña a su esposa Zoya, que agoniza en un hospital de Londres, Georgi Danilovich Yáchmenev rememora la vida que han compartido durante sesenta y cinco años, una vida marcada por un gran secreto que nunca ha salido a la luz. Los recuerdos se agolpan en una sucesión de imágenes imborrables, a partir de aquel lejano día en que Georgi abandonó su mísero pueblo natal para formar parte de la guardia personal de Alexis Romanov, el único hijo varón del zar Nicolás II. Así, la fastuosa vida en el Palacio de Invierno, las intimidades de la familia imperial, los hechos que precedieron a la revolución bolchevique y, finalmente, la reclusión y posterior ejecución de los Romanov se entremezclan con el durísimo exilio en París y Londres en una hermosa historia de un amor improbable, al mismo tiempo un apasionante relato histórico y una conmovedora tragedia íntima. Con un dominio absoluto del ritmo y el suspense, John Boyne mantiene vivo el interés hasta las últimas páginas, en las que un inesperado desenlace dejará, una vez más, una profunda huella en los lectores. Tras asombrar al público y la crítica con El niño con el pijama de rayas —libro de ficción más vendido en España en 2007 y 2008— y seducir a miles de lectores con su siguiente obra, Motín en la Bounty, John Boyne vuelve a demostrar un especial don narrativo para tratar grandes acontecimientos históricos desde perspectivas desconocidas, proyectando sobre lo ya sabido una luz nueva y sorprendente.