Here's what I've read in the past week. Vacation, even with family visiting, offers lots of wonderful time for reading!
The Family Romanov – written by
Candice Fleming
This has been a great book to read over break, with long stretches of
time to digest all the information about the tragedy of Tsar Nicholas and his
family. I use the word tragedy because in the way he was presented here by Ms.
Fleming, he seemed weak and stupid to me. I kept hoping he would literally “see
the light”, yet he clung to the advice of his beloved and trusted wife,
Alexandra. And you know how touched, then heavily influenced she was by the
“starets” (Russian work for prophet)
also known as Gregory Rasputin. If it weren’t so terrible for millions of
Russians who died of either starvation or the war, I might hold some sympathy,
but the years under the Tzarist rule as well as then Lenin and Stalin were
never kind to the ordinary citizens. The story is fascinating to read and
contemplate. Amazingly, at the end, I find that some of this story is still not
complete! You’ll need to read to
discover what is still continuing.