Tolstoy. Dostoevsky. Pasternak. Nabokov. Whoever is familiar with Russian literature is familiar with these names and the major works that the authors wrote. However, few readers are familiar with Alexander Pushkin, a famous writer in 19th century who paved way for Russian literature to become what it has. Such is his fame that children in Russia are exposed very early to his long stories in poetry verse. Yet in America he is best described as shrouded in mystery, scandal plaguing his steps. The author, Jennifer Laam, dares to introduce the American audience to the author as well as his charming wife through her book: THE LOST SEASON OF LOVE AND SNOW.
In 1828, Natalya Goncharova, who is a passionate reader of a tale titled Evgeny Onegin (Eugene Onegin), is forced to attend her very first ball with her siblings. While there she is invited by a stranger named Tolstoy to dance (Not Leo Tolstoy,) and through him she meets a man destined to change her life: Alexander Pushkin who becomes very tongue-tied around the young woman. However, even after the introduction, their courtship and life become entangled within the mercurial Russian court, in particular to Tsar Nicholas I's favor. (Tsar Nicholas I was also great-grandfather to the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II.) To keep up with the Russian court, both Alexander and Natalya are forced to sacrifice everything, even eventually including their life together. Will Natalya Pushkina uphold the legacy of her husband, or will she let it crumple into nothing?
Very little is told and written about 19th century Russia in modern days, with most writers preferring to focus either on Russian Revolution or Russia during and a little after WW2, thus I was very excited to see a homeland that was untouched by Russian Revolution and WW2. THE LOST SEASON OF LOVE AND SNOW by Jennifer Laam is truly a charming tale of love, of the struggle between status and humanity and of how navigating life in the deceptively placid Russia of 1820s becomes a matter of life and death.
Prior to reading THE LOST SEASON OF LOVE AND SNOW by Jennifer Laam, I admit that I knew little about Pushkin's life and about his ancestry (his ancestor was from Africa and became a page in 18th century.) And as I read THE LOST SEASON OF LOVE AND SNOW by Jennifer Laam, I learned a whole lot more about his life than I bargained for. Although the tale is told from Natalya Goncharova's point of view, Alexander Pushkin was definitely not a man to be taken lightly and he had a charisma of his own.
For a reader seeking a historical fiction that takes place in Russia and that isn't about Russian Revolution or Tsar Nicholas II's family or WW2, and that gives a not well known to American audience a beautiful tale of love between Alexander Pushkin and Natalya Goncharova, give THE LOST SEASON OF LOVE AND SNOW by Jennifer Laam a try, because its one that you won't regret.
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