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Search - The Russian Concubine
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The Russian Concubine Author: |
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Book Information
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Book Description:
Note: This is a special Target edition.
"A sweeping epic, this novel brings to life the war-torn China of the 1920s. On opposite sides of a political and social divide, an exiled Russian girl and a Chinese Communist boy find love; a mother must face what she would rather forget; and an idealist realizes his greatest enemies might be his own kind...
Junchow, China, 1928. Perhaps it's her red hair, or her hard life. Whatever the reason, Lydia Ivanova has a fierce spirit. Nothing can dim it, not even the foul waters of the Peiho River. Into the river's grime, bodies are tossed, those of theives and Communists alike. So every time she steals some marketplace treasure, the sixteen-year-old takes her life in her hands. Her mother, Valentina, numbered among the Russian elite until Bolsheviks rounded them up. They took her husband, but Valentina managed to buy back her child and bring her to China.
Now, though mother and daughter live in the whites-only International Settlement, no walls can keep Lydia in. She escapes to meet Chang An Lo, a handsome youth with fire in his eyes. He returns her love, but other danger threaten him. Chiang Kai-shek's troops are headed toward Junchow to kill Reds like him-- and in his possession are the priceless jewels of a dead tsarina, meant as a gift for the despot's wife. Their all-consuming love can only bring shame and peril upon the pair, from both sides. Those in power will do anything to quell it. But Lydia and Chang are powerless to end it..."
"A sweeping epic, this novel brings to life the war-torn China of the 1920s. On opposite sides of a political and social divide, an exiled Russian girl and a Chinese Communist boy find love; a mother must face what she would rather forget; and an idealist realizes his greatest enemies might be his own kind...
Junchow, China, 1928. Perhaps it's her red hair, or her hard life. Whatever the reason, Lydia Ivanova has a fierce spirit. Nothing can dim it, not even the foul waters of the Peiho River. Into the river's grime, bodies are tossed, those of theives and Communists alike. So every time she steals some marketplace treasure, the sixteen-year-old takes her life in her hands. Her mother, Valentina, numbered among the Russian elite until Bolsheviks rounded them up. They took her husband, but Valentina managed to buy back her child and bring her to China.
Now, though mother and daughter live in the whites-only International Settlement, no walls can keep Lydia in. She escapes to meet Chang An Lo, a handsome youth with fire in his eyes. He returns her love, but other danger threaten him. Chiang Kai-shek's troops are headed toward Junchow to kill Reds like him-- and in his possession are the priceless jewels of a dead tsarina, meant as a gift for the despot's wife. Their all-consuming love can only bring shame and peril upon the pair, from both sides. Those in power will do anything to quell it. But Lydia and Chang are powerless to end it..."
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Top Member Book Reviews
Colleen J. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a good read in the Gabaldon tradition; well developed characters, believeable in their settings. I especially enjoyed the unusual time period and locale that is the setting for this novel--pre-Communist revolutionary China in 1928, against the background of expat White Russians who fled from the 1917 revolution in Russia and are now in the midst of the same fever in China.
Cristy L. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
The Russian Concubine is a moving tale of a young russian girl who meets a chinese boy and falls in love despite the objections and dangers involved with their relationship. This is an amazing tale of love, loss and poverty and will tug at your heartstrings, make you cringe with disgust, and keep you engaged from cover to cover.
It's been a long time since I've found a book that I couldn't put down. This one did it for me and is now near the top of my favorites list.
Jacky K. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This story is set in the 20's when Mao and Chiang Kai-shek are battling it out for China. At first I thought it was just a book about puppy love and a willfull, spoiled girl but then it got better and better and better.
Brenda R. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I absolutely loved this book. Lydia escaped from Russia with her mother in 1928 to an international community in China. Although Lydia's mother is a beauty and an exceptional pianist as well as an alcoholic, she is an unpapered Russian which means she must servive through her own means. Lydia explores her world and become involved with a young Chinese communist once he saves her from the white slave market. Their infatuation of each other soons turns to love as they cross paths with each other as well as with some very scary characters. The characters are well developed and in the end I was left wanting to know more of their lives. I am looking forward to Furnivall's next novel.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Loved it. Takes place in 1920's the revalution of China. Love between a Russian girl and a chinese boy.
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