Former People

[BLHutch25]

I can't believe I missed Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy when it came out, but I've just finished reading it. I found it very, very interesting. Naturally, given the subject, arrests, gulags, and executions play an important role. But what struck me the most was the sheer endurance and perseverance showed by many of those detailed in the book. It is tragic, but at the same time it speaks to the human ability to fight through adversity.

While I read it, part of me wanted to reach through the pages of time and shake the people and yell "Just get out!" But if I'm honest with myself, I don't think I'd flee my own country either. Russia was their home and many made the decision to try and ride out the storm, often at the cost of their lives and certainly of their fortunes.

Hutch

[Diotima]

Yes, it's a great book but also a very depressing read. You simply know that everybody will go through horrible things at the outset of the book, and seeing it unfold is difficult. I confess that there were so many things I didn't know about the Russian Revolution - for example the wide-spread use of kidnapping and blackmailing.

The social gaps were so huge - and what a tragedy that they were not really filled, except with dead bodies.

[JamesAPrattIII]

an excellent book and its sad when you read about the fate of these people. In their shoes I would have fled the country with all the valuables I could carry.