Flash Reviews: ‘Alix & Nicky’, ‘On the Golden Porch’, and ‘The Smell of Other People’s Houses’

Just a few collected thoughts about some of my recent reads.

Alix & Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina by Virginia Rounding **** 
Alix and Nicky remained on my TBR shelf for over two years, and after reading, I have no idea why that was. Well, perhaps the fact that my copy is rather a large hardback which was incredibly difficult to juggle whilst in bed…

I am a self-confessed Russian history nerd. I studied Russian history, from Peter the Great to the modern day, throughout my A Level History course and as part of my undergraduate degree. There’s something about it which is both mysterious and compelling. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that I picked this up when I was on a trip to Oxford.

Alix and Nicky is both rich and thorough, and I thought that the non-reliance upon a rigid chronological structure worked incredibly well. The writing is strong, the vocabulary varied, and the chapters wonderfully structured. I feel as though I learnt a lot whilst reading, which is always a bonus. Virginia Rounding is an author whom I haven’t read before, but based upon this, I have added the rest of her bibliography to my to-read list, and have a feeling that there will be some gems in store for me.

 

On the Golden Porch by Tatyana Tolstaya *****
A few words to describe this wonderful, dark short story collection; original, compelling, evocative, rich, creepy, mysterious, startling, overwhelming, claustrophobic, and important.  More Tolstaya, please.

 

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue  Hitchcock ***
Whilst this intrigued, both in terms of plot and setting, and whilst I very much enjoyed the opening chapter, this just didn’t sit right for me. I had no issues with the writing, but predictability soon seeped in, and I did not even feel as though Hitchcock had made any effort to conceal such elements.

I was more interested in the stories of Ruth and Dumpling than those of the other characters, and the male narrative voice used for Hank just didn’t feel realistic. There were also distinct similarities in the narrative voices of other characters too, which I think let the book down somewhat.

 

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