Synopses & Reviews
From the mega-bestselling author of White Oleander and Paint It Black, a sweeping historical saga of the Russian Revolution, as seen through the eyes of one young woman
St. Petersburg, New Year's Eve, 1916. Marina Makarova is a young woman of privilege who aches to break free of the constraints of her genteel life, a life about to be violently upended by the vast forces of history. Swept up on these tides, Marina will join the marches for workers' rights, fall in love with a radical young poet, and betray everything she holds dear, before being betrayed in turn.
As her country goes through almost unimaginable upheaval, Marina's own coming-of-age unfolds, marked by deep passion and devastating loss, and the private heroism of an ordinary woman living through extraordinary times. This is the epic, mesmerizing story of one indomitable woman's journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century.
Review
"There's brilliance in this book: concept, structure, style. If the horrors associated with the Russian revolution freeze your blood, remember the fire and brimstone of our own Civil War. Read this novel for the passion of the main character, a girl becoming woman and poet with ten times the vitality and intellect of Scarlett O'Hara."
Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Abundance, a Novel of Marie-Antoinette
Review
"Incandescent. Fitch has expertly drawn the world of Russia in 1916 in flurries of white, like an exquisite snow globe, and then nudged it to the edge of a precipice, until in one jarring push, it falls. It crashes and each brilliant shard lifts and swirls. Poets, artists, profiteers, soldiers, cult leaders, sadists, idealists, blood, sex, hope all piecing together in a new life, a new country. The brilliant Janet Fitch has written yet another powerful, kaleidoscopic novel."
Cynthia Bond, author of Ruby
Review
"The Revolution of Marina M. takes us deep inside the Russian Revolution and lets us witness it through a pair of remarkable eyes. Marina is a female Zhivago – a poet who uses her intelligence, her passion, and her love of language to interpret and survive the political turmoil around her. Janet Fitch is a wonderful writer and this might be her best book."
David Ebershoff, author of The Danish Girl and The 19th Wife
About the Author
Janet Fitch's first novel, White Oleander, a #1 bestseller and Oprah's Book Club selection, has been translated into 24 languages and was made into a feature film. Her most recent novel, Paint It Black, hit bestseller lists across the country and has also been made into a film. She lives in Los Angeles.
Janet Fitch on PowellsBooks.Blog
As a novelist, I’m drawn to stories concerning the impact of sudden change. Under the pressure of large upheaval, reversals of fortune, losses, and societal disruption, people reveal their true natures, perhaps hidden even from themselves. Why are some able to keep their balance, while others fall under the steamroller, or discover new strengths...
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