‘’The Tatar’’ : A dark story set in the 13th century, during the terrible Tatar invasions. ‘’The River’’ : A story of rivalry between brothers and the caress of good fortune set in the 11th century.

‘’Forest and Steppe’’ : The birth of Russia through the eyes of a young woman of mixed parentage. ‘’All nature seemed at peace in the vast Russian silence.’’ Each story-chapter is a small literary treasure, a necessary piece to the beautiful Russian tapestry he has created, but there are some that simple stand out. He touches upon religious, political and philosophical matters in a simple, clear, confident manner. His descriptions of battles, political machinations and daily life are equally exciting. He inserts historical details which provide the necessary context for the interactions and the storylines, but he doesn't give a History lecture and, the most important, he doesn’t choose sides. With the risk of sounding like an old, broken record to those who follow my reviews and have read my commentaries on Rutherfurd's books, I must say (for the millionth time) that he creates people that live right in front of our eyes. The characters are men and women that have their weaknesses and strengths, their hopes and fears, feelings that are mainly dependant on who has the absolute power over the troubled country at any given era. We follow the descendants of two families through time, starting from 180 AD all the way to the 90s, from the Roman times to the fall of the Iron Curtain. Rutherfurd uses a small community named Russka and follows his familiar and fascinating technique. And I can think of noone better to bring it to fruition than Edward Rutherfurd. All I am able to say is that bringing the course of Russia through the centuries into life is a daunting task. I won’t deal with political issues, I couldn’t care less about politics in any country and any era. A land of antitheses, a land of classical and primitive beauty, a land created by blood, tears and religion, a land where every form of Art flourished, giving birth to Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Gorgi, Nureyev, and the list is endless. Those of us who had the good fortune to visit that beautiful country will be able to understand the heart of this book even better. Russia.Few countries are able to create such vivid images once you hear their names.

Russka edward rutherfurd review