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The Summer Of The Barshinskeys
Although the story of the Barshinskeys, which became our story, too, stretched over many summers and winters, that golden time of 1902 was when our strange, involved relationship began, when our youthful longing for the exotic, for the fulfillment of dreams not even dreamed, took a solid and restless hold upon us." So recounts Sophie Wolloughby as she remembers that magical English summer afternoon in the season of King Edward VII's coronation and at the end of the Boer War; that dreamlike lull in time when the hedgerows were smothered in elderflowers and the meadow air was sweet with haymaking. With her brother, Edwin, her sister, Lillian, Sophie listened to the seductive strains of the wild Russian violin tune Mr. Barshinskey played and watched spellbound as the ragtag Barshinskey family-Ivan, sullen and dirty; Mrs. Barshinskey, pale and withdrawn; and Galina, sensual, wanton, beautiful-made their way across Tyler's meadow and into the Willoughby's world. The delighted Willoughby children could not know that this day and the Barshinskeys' arrival would change their lives forever-much as a breathless Europe could not anticipate that in a few short years, winds of revolution and war would whip across continents, sweeping away the old familiar way of life. It is at this enchanted moment that The Summer of the Barshinskeys begins. A beautifully told, compelling story that moves from the small village of Kent to teeming London, from war-torn and revolution rocked Moscow to St. Petersburg, this is the unforgettable saga of two families whose destinies are fated to entwine in endless combinations.
496 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1984
4 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Diane Pearson
38 books28 followersDiane Margaret Pearson was born on 5 November 1931 in Croyden, London, England, daughter of Miriam Harriet Youde and William Holker. During her childhood, she often visited her grandparents in a village on the Surrey/Kent borders. She attended Secondary School in Croyden. She became in 1975, the second wife of the Irish actor Richard Leech (McClelland).
At 16, Diane started her career in publishing with Jonathan Cape Ltd, and she has been Senior Editor for Transworld Publishers for more than 35 years. In 1994 she won the British Book Award for Editor of the Year. As Diane Pearson she has published six historical romance novels and several short stories. She also was the President of the Romantic Novelists' Association from 1986 to 2011, when she retired. A widow since 2004, she lived in her native London until her death on 5 August 2017.
At 16, Diane started her career in publishing with Jonathan Cape Ltd, and she has been Senior Editor for Transworld Publishers for more than 35 years. In 1994 she won the British Book Award for Editor of the Year. As Diane Pearson she has published six historical romance novels and several short stories. She also was the President of the Romantic Novelists' Association from 1986 to 2011, when she retired. A widow since 2004, she lived in her native London until her death on 5 August 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 4, 2011
1902 was the summer when the Barshinskey family came to their small English village and forever changed the Willoughbys. The Willoughbys might be servants, but they are at the top of their social class and the Barshinskeys are at the very lowest rung, little better than tinkers with the children filthy and barefoot.
Mr. Barshinkey is Russian, and while a crude, coarse man with a fondness for drink, he has a way about him that charms - and the Willoughbys are no exception (well, maybe Mrs. Willoughby is immune). The Barshinskey family is scattered by death and violence, and two of the children stay behind and in touch with the Willoughbys and they begin their adult lives as tensions in Europe are ready to explode into war.
Edwin Willoughby has a new life and good job in London, until he catches sight of Galina, the oldest Barshinskey daughter, and it's not long before she seduces him into her world of theatre and rich lovers. Galina is a master of yanking Edwin's chain (well, I could use a coarser word, but you know what I mean), and he follows her and her wealthy lover to Petersburg and things go from bad to worse and he's soon trapped in a world gone mad and not just himself in need of saving.
"He didn't answer. He felt sick and ashamed. Men were dying all over the world, fighting for their countries, and he was wasting his life trying to save this selfish, thoughtless, totally useless piece of humanity."
Personally, I'd have dumped the witch and high tailed it out of there, butlust love conquers all, eh? While some of the plot description might make it sound like this is an action-packed type of novel, it is anything but. The bulk of the story takes place in the countryside, and involves those of the lower classes. No Lords and Ladies to be found here, so if that's your cuppa tea this book probably won't suit. That said, the writing is excellent and I especially liked Sophie's voice in the first third - you really do feel like you are seeing the world from her eleven year old POV and not an adult writer forcing it on you. The latter part of the book is written in third person and you'll get not only Edwin's story in Russia, but that of the younger Barshinkey daughter as she joins the Quaker relief effort in Russia and hopes of finding Edwin and bringing him home. A good solid read for me, and one I'd recommend for those interested in the period and historical events.
Mr. Barshinkey is Russian, and while a crude, coarse man with a fondness for drink, he has a way about him that charms - and the Willoughbys are no exception (well, maybe Mrs. Willoughby is immune). The Barshinskey family is scattered by death and violence, and two of the children stay behind and in touch with the Willoughbys and they begin their adult lives as tensions in Europe are ready to explode into war.
Edwin Willoughby has a new life and good job in London, until he catches sight of Galina, the oldest Barshinskey daughter, and it's not long before she seduces him into her world of theatre and rich lovers. Galina is a master of yanking Edwin's chain (well, I could use a coarser word, but you know what I mean), and he follows her and her wealthy lover to Petersburg and things go from bad to worse and he's soon trapped in a world gone mad and not just himself in need of saving.
"He didn't answer. He felt sick and ashamed. Men were dying all over the world, fighting for their countries, and he was wasting his life trying to save this selfish, thoughtless, totally useless piece of humanity."
Personally, I'd have dumped the witch and high tailed it out of there, but
November 13, 2014
How I do love thee..let me count the ways..
I love epics and I think you can safely call this one. It's not 900 pages, only 431 in fact (though I would gladly have read another 400) but its epic in time and space. It covers about 20 years and the lives of two complete families: the Willoughby's and the Barshinskey's (an urchin family who moved into the run down cottage next door to the Willoughby's). From that summer on, both family's lives would be wrapped up together for better or worse.
The first half covers their childhood and I savored every page of this. It was funny, it was sad, it was touching. Oh. I just loved it! One memorable scene was the first day of school for Daisy Barshinskey. Sophie picks her up so they can walk together and Daisy comes out of the cottage wearing a "pinafore" that her mother had put together the night before. It was made from her father's old striped shirt and had buttons down the front and a rounded hem.The arms made two ties around the back. Sophie burns with embarrassment for her neighbor, knowing what torment Daisy will receive at the hands of the students.
Daisy (the urchin) tells Sophie that striped pinafores are all the rage where she came from, "look at the special buttons...no one wants plain white pinafores anymore" but before they arrive at the schoolhouse, Sophie has managed to convince Daisy to stuff BOTH their pinafores into the hedge (and she takes her own shoes off to match Daisy) and they arrive at school together. Two urchins instead of one.
I loved seeing their early life because it helped explain how each one turned out as adults. Sometimes the characters made outrageous choices and they really disappointed me. My heart ached for some and burned in fury at others. But it made them real. And thats what separates a good story from a great one.
The story takes place in both England and Russia and covers the Russian Revolution as well as WW1. Time, place and circumstances work to change the characters lives irrevocably.
The storyline reminded me of my much loved Tolstoy's Anna Karenina,War and Peace and Robert Tyler Stevens.
ps) almost took off half a star cos I really wanted to see more of Ivan and he wasn't a central character. But it is what it is and its still a great read.
CONTENT:
SEX: Fade to black (rape is an issue more than once)
VIOLENCE: Some wartime violence, domestic abuse
PROFANITY: Fairly mild
PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: None
MY RATING: PG-13
I love epics and I think you can safely call this one. It's not 900 pages, only 431 in fact (though I would gladly have read another 400) but its epic in time and space. It covers about 20 years and the lives of two complete families: the Willoughby's and the Barshinskey's (an urchin family who moved into the run down cottage next door to the Willoughby's). From that summer on, both family's lives would be wrapped up together for better or worse.
The first half covers their childhood and I savored every page of this. It was funny, it was sad, it was touching. Oh. I just loved it! One memorable scene was the first day of school for Daisy Barshinskey. Sophie picks her up so they can walk together and Daisy comes out of the cottage wearing a "pinafore" that her mother had put together the night before. It was made from her father's old striped shirt and had buttons down the front and a rounded hem.The arms made two ties around the back. Sophie burns with embarrassment for her neighbor, knowing what torment Daisy will receive at the hands of the students.
Daisy (the urchin) tells Sophie that striped pinafores are all the rage where she came from, "look at the special buttons...no one wants plain white pinafores anymore" but before they arrive at the schoolhouse, Sophie has managed to convince Daisy to stuff BOTH their pinafores into the hedge (and she takes her own shoes off to match Daisy) and they arrive at school together. Two urchins instead of one.
I loved seeing their early life because it helped explain how each one turned out as adults. Sometimes the characters made outrageous choices and they really disappointed me. My heart ached for some and burned in fury at others. But it made them real. And thats what separates a good story from a great one.
The story takes place in both England and Russia and covers the Russian Revolution as well as WW1. Time, place and circumstances work to change the characters lives irrevocably.
The storyline reminded me of my much loved Tolstoy's Anna Karenina,War and Peace and Robert Tyler Stevens.
ps) almost took off half a star cos I really wanted to see more of Ivan and he wasn't a central character. But it is what it is and its still a great read.
CONTENT:
SEX: Fade to black (rape is an issue more than once)
VIOLENCE: Some wartime violence, domestic abuse
PROFANITY: Fairly mild
PARANORMAL ELEMENTS: None
MY RATING: PG-13
March 27, 2015
*happy sigh*
This book was so good. There is a magical quality about the first half, it's shrouded in a haze of summer and childlike simplicity.
The Willowby's and Barshinskey's lives mingled ever since that perfect summer of 1904, and what people were like when they were little, it what they were like when they become big. Each family has three children, and both families find something fascinating in the other.
We have the adventurous Sophie Willowby and the quiet home-body Daisy May Barshinskey who ever since the first night they met have been friends through thick and thin. And they stay that way, even when they don't understand each other.
Galina Barshinskey was from beginning to end an undisciplined child, likable in moments and horrible in most others. Instead of likable I shout really say I felt sorry for her, because she didn't realize what she was doing, at least she didn't see what was wrong with it. She acted partly from selfishness and partly from fear of living like her family had.
Edwin Willowby had me gripping my seat, terrified that he'd go and do something stupid. I don't know if I like him or not, he's someone I just don't get. Weak, that's what he was.
One thing I've just got to say, and I'll echo Sophie, "My God, Lillian, sometimes I hate you, really hate you!" I actually disliked Lillian far more than that vixen Galina. Lillian was a foolishly proud, stuck up brat who didn't really care about or love anyone, all she cared about was "What would everyone SAY?!" The woman didn't care about how anyone felt, it was all her. She was so self righteous that she made me wish I could just give her one, well timed smack on the head. It's a shame Ivan didn't do it for me, I'd have cheered him on.
Which reminds me, I really liked Ivan I wish we could have seen more of him. I think he was often blinded by a dream, a dream that had a tidy, sweet smelling house with a princess there to look after him. In fact, his dream was the life he never had but got to see the Willowby's living. Somehow, I don't think he'd have been happy with that life, though. Ivan Barshinskey was irresistible, he was a stubborn imp as a child and all grown up he wasn't much different, except that a war and a hard childhood messed him up a bit.
PG-13 Several rapes, not graphic, a murder and mild swearing, anywhere from Ds, Hs and Bs. One character is a whore and we see quite a bit of her.
This book was so good. There is a magical quality about the first half, it's shrouded in a haze of summer and childlike simplicity.
The Willowby's and Barshinskey's lives mingled ever since that perfect summer of 1904, and what people were like when they were little, it what they were like when they become big. Each family has three children, and both families find something fascinating in the other.
We have the adventurous Sophie Willowby and the quiet home-body Daisy May Barshinskey who ever since the first night they met have been friends through thick and thin. And they stay that way, even when they don't understand each other.
Galina Barshinskey was from beginning to end an undisciplined child, likable in moments and horrible in most others. Instead of likable I shout really say I felt sorry for her, because she didn't realize what she was doing, at least she didn't see what was wrong with it. She acted partly from selfishness and partly from fear of living like her family had.
Edwin Willowby had me gripping my seat, terrified that he'd go and do something stupid. I don't know if I like him or not, he's someone I just don't get. Weak, that's what he was.
One thing I've just got to say, and I'll echo Sophie, "My God, Lillian, sometimes I hate you, really hate you!" I actually disliked Lillian far more than that vixen Galina. Lillian was a foolishly proud, stuck up brat who didn't really care about or love anyone, all she cared about was "What would everyone SAY?!" The woman didn't care about how anyone felt, it was all her. She was so self righteous that she made me wish I could just give her one, well timed smack on the head. It's a shame Ivan didn't do it for me, I'd have cheered him on.
Which reminds me, I really liked Ivan I wish we could have seen more of him. I think he was often blinded by a dream, a dream that had a tidy, sweet smelling house with a princess there to look after him. In fact, his dream was the life he never had but got to see the Willowby's living. Somehow, I don't think he'd have been happy with that life, though. Ivan Barshinskey was irresistible, he was a stubborn imp as a child and all grown up he wasn't much different, except that a war and a hard childhood messed him up a bit.
PG-13 Several rapes, not graphic, a murder and mild swearing, anywhere from Ds, Hs and Bs. One character is a whore and we see quite a bit of her.
February 6, 2016
Best things : child pov, coming of age, interactions between two very different families. Love that the children's lives of the two families become intertwined and evolve in such touching ways. The first part is very colorful and delightful but the story soon becomes somewhat tragic. The WWI portion in Russia is gripping. This is top historical fiction with dynamic character development and lots of heartfelt human interaction. I need more just like this. Some of the best books I have read follow a child into adulthood. Such stories are so rich with perspective. Minor squabbles - The middle portion was a bit slow for me and I was troubled by the way some of the men treated their women. I expect it for the time period but it still unnerved me perhaps because of the womens' acceptance of it. I would be specific but it would be a spoiler. I will gladly read anything by this author.
April 11, 2012
Just arrived from France through BM.
This book tells the story of the Willoughby family and how their children's life was totally changed after the arrival of the Barshinskey's in their life's.
The first part of the book has a reading speed is very slow giving a false impression as far as the rest of the book. As this part details the lives of the children of both families, it's important to understand the rest of the plot.
Already during the account of the life of the main characters during adulthood, the reading speed is totally different from the previous part, and it's hard to put it down.
This book tells the story of the Willoughby family and how their children's life was totally changed after the arrival of the Barshinskey's in their life's.
The first part of the book has a reading speed is very slow giving a false impression as far as the rest of the book. As this part details the lives of the children of both families, it's important to understand the rest of the plot.
Already during the account of the life of the main characters during adulthood, the reading speed is totally different from the previous part, and it's hard to put it down.
December 17, 2016
This is an epic length read. The first half, or nearly so, all occurs in the summer of 1902 in Kent countryside town. On the day when Mr. Barshinskey and his family arrive to live in the abandoned cottage next door to the Wiloughbys, we meet nearly all the characters. Contrast, conflict and interchange between the two families cores the book. Each has 3 children. Each has 2 female and 1 male offspring. There is where the exactness ends. Peers in age, but not in any faction of temperament or economic condition.
No more of plot or outcomes, more of themes. It's long with the second half of the book occurring mainly within the Russia of 12 to 14 years after the first summer of Mr. Barshinskey coming to be the new cowman. And it is focused almost entirely on the children from that first summer and not the adult parents from that 1902 bright idyll.
My most enjoyed feature was the relationship between Sophie and Daisy Mae. How that progressed and defined itself. Not just from the early days, but the entire time. Until the very last page. The love interests and the moral strictures of appearance, clothing, manners that defined their "class" for both families- that interested me much less than the relationship between the two girls. This was really 2 whole books, and that's why the Sophie chapters had to be added at the end, IMHO. There certainly was continuity and connection, but both books of 200 plus pages each here, they hold entirely different focus, style of writing, mood. All three. So for me the first was almost a 5 star and the last was much closer to a 3. Edwin's actions and reactions, plus the path taken for the choices given- a lot of that Russian leaving course from Petrograd did not make sense to me. Logically. Not for Galena or for Edwin. I doubt immensely that she would have chosen the route out she did, not even by last default. She had been too street smart not to have used another way, ill or not.
But what was absolutely 5 star was the skill of Diane Pearson in 1000 facets of underpinning feelings and reactions describing the experience of being the recipient of charity. Both initially and also over great spans of time. Actually from both ends of CHARITY and in both Part I and Part II we find this "beholden" quotient in the fore. From the self-righteous warm self-congratulationing perks of the giver to his/her own self-importance, all the way to the self-defining (belittled and feeling inferior and in debt) results for the core emotion of the receiver. It was supreme. Superb. Best I ever read for this aspect. How Ivan responded to that in his own self-definition. How Daisy Mae did. How Mrs. Barshinskey did. How Edwin did in the posh super clubs with Galena's rich benefactor. What that charity process enabled in Lillian's and Mrs. Willoughby's ideas about their own roles and "place" in societal hierarchy and personal worth, doubly so.
The men in this book, even Mr. Barshinskey himself, IMHO, were never revealed to the full extent as the women were. Not even Edwin. And certainly not Mr. Willoughby or Ivan.
If you love tons of flowery or rancid detail- both ends of beauty/ugly. Can appreciate the petty as well as the exuberant. Do not mind loads of redundancy in order to capture every minutia of nuance or ambiance, then you will like this read. Real people do emerge. I thought the Quaker group gone to Russia for the refugees during that 1914-17,was captured to the supreme. The length, and the attraction of such depth by Sophie for Mr. Barshinskey because he was such an emotional font compared to her stringent and remote family? That lost an entire star for me. I find children are quite aware and quite quickly respond to anyone who holds a revolving mood or capacity for violence. Even down to slaps. So at 6 or at 11 or at 14? Despite the pet names and the attention? Doubt if Sophie could have overlooked as much as this author assured that she did in order to trust for the "fun" times.
Good book, and I'll read her other- but not for some time. It would be best in a much less busy and much smaller TBR pile summer slot. It's a 600 pager, the next one. Pearson might have been better to make these series or trilogy fare? Now, perhaps not then when they were published.
Lastly, many readers, especially women, are interested in the "downstairs" aspect of stories in these eras for the "BIG" houses in England. Downton, Upstair/Downstairs- that kind of thing. This relationship for their work and measure for those times working for the Fawlett's in this book! They were as real as real gets for the endless hours of repetitive servitude, over the passing of years. How Daisy Mae was treated and her wage. How Sophie progressed and why- and what her wage and job became for her abilities. Much closer to service and servant class reality, IMHO, than the ones of tv series and drama fame.
No more of plot or outcomes, more of themes. It's long with the second half of the book occurring mainly within the Russia of 12 to 14 years after the first summer of Mr. Barshinskey coming to be the new cowman. And it is focused almost entirely on the children from that first summer and not the adult parents from that 1902 bright idyll.
My most enjoyed feature was the relationship between Sophie and Daisy Mae. How that progressed and defined itself. Not just from the early days, but the entire time. Until the very last page. The love interests and the moral strictures of appearance, clothing, manners that defined their "class" for both families- that interested me much less than the relationship between the two girls. This was really 2 whole books, and that's why the Sophie chapters had to be added at the end, IMHO. There certainly was continuity and connection, but both books of 200 plus pages each here, they hold entirely different focus, style of writing, mood. All three. So for me the first was almost a 5 star and the last was much closer to a 3. Edwin's actions and reactions, plus the path taken for the choices given- a lot of that Russian leaving course from Petrograd did not make sense to me. Logically. Not for Galena or for Edwin. I doubt immensely that she would have chosen the route out she did, not even by last default. She had been too street smart not to have used another way, ill or not.
But what was absolutely 5 star was the skill of Diane Pearson in 1000 facets of underpinning feelings and reactions describing the experience of being the recipient of charity. Both initially and also over great spans of time. Actually from both ends of CHARITY and in both Part I and Part II we find this "beholden" quotient in the fore. From the self-righteous warm self-congratulationing perks of the giver to his/her own self-importance, all the way to the self-defining (belittled and feeling inferior and in debt) results for the core emotion of the receiver. It was supreme. Superb. Best I ever read for this aspect. How Ivan responded to that in his own self-definition. How Daisy Mae did. How Mrs. Barshinskey did. How Edwin did in the posh super clubs with Galena's rich benefactor. What that charity process enabled in Lillian's and Mrs. Willoughby's ideas about their own roles and "place" in societal hierarchy and personal worth, doubly so.
The men in this book, even Mr. Barshinskey himself, IMHO, were never revealed to the full extent as the women were. Not even Edwin. And certainly not Mr. Willoughby or Ivan.
If you love tons of flowery or rancid detail- both ends of beauty/ugly. Can appreciate the petty as well as the exuberant. Do not mind loads of redundancy in order to capture every minutia of nuance or ambiance, then you will like this read. Real people do emerge. I thought the Quaker group gone to Russia for the refugees during that 1914-17,was captured to the supreme. The length, and the attraction of such depth by Sophie for Mr. Barshinskey because he was such an emotional font compared to her stringent and remote family? That lost an entire star for me. I find children are quite aware and quite quickly respond to anyone who holds a revolving mood or capacity for violence. Even down to slaps. So at 6 or at 11 or at 14? Despite the pet names and the attention? Doubt if Sophie could have overlooked as much as this author assured that she did in order to trust for the "fun" times.
Good book, and I'll read her other- but not for some time. It would be best in a much less busy and much smaller TBR pile summer slot. It's a 600 pager, the next one. Pearson might have been better to make these series or trilogy fare? Now, perhaps not then when they were published.
Lastly, many readers, especially women, are interested in the "downstairs" aspect of stories in these eras for the "BIG" houses in England. Downton, Upstair/Downstairs- that kind of thing. This relationship for their work and measure for those times working for the Fawlett's in this book! They were as real as real gets for the endless hours of repetitive servitude, over the passing of years. How Daisy Mae was treated and her wage. How Sophie progressed and why- and what her wage and job became for her abilities. Much closer to service and servant class reality, IMHO, than the ones of tv series and drama fame.
October 16, 2014
A book I was given nearly 20 years ago, it's moved house and husband with me, and eventually i got around to it. I enjoyed it. it reminded me of the old saga stories i used to read when I wss 15, trying to be older... Or something. Still... It was an enjoyable way to pass the time, and glad I got around to it eventually.
December 2, 2010
One of my favorite books. One of those that you remember forever. I am going to read it again!
October 10, 2010
Moving story about a Russian family in 1900 England and their struggles.
Read
February 11, 2011I. Love. This. Book.
January 15, 2018
When the Barshinkeys, a Russian emigrant family, moves into the small English village where Sophie Willoughby lives, life begins to change for her family.
“I still do not really understand what drew the Barshinskeys to us and even stranger, what drew us to the Barshinskeys. They were little better than tinkers, we were ‘peasant gentry.” They were poor, dirty, but free; we were well fed, comfortable but confined tightly within our barriers of respectability. Sometimes I think our fascination for one another began because of that particular summer – I look back and remember everything bathed in a golden haze, and it is not just the magic memory of childhood that makes it so. I have spoken to old men and women about that summer of 1902, and it was a good summer, a strange one, when wild geese flew across the skies every evening, when there were bumper cops of wild strawberries...”
The story takes us through Sophie Willoughby's growing up years but changes perspective with the characters of Edwin, her brother, and Daisy May, the more stable member of the Barshinskey family. As war begins and then the Russian revolution, the changing fortunes of each family member comes into play and the author does a great job of involving the reader into the hardships and triumphs of the characters.
Edwin is on the road to success and following his dream of becoming a train engineer when suddenly he jettisons everything to pursue an infatuation with Galina, Daisy's unstable, unpredictable sister. Offered a position on a steamship, he berates himself at first but then finds strength and hope as he considers the end result of his drastic choice:
“He would survive the stokehold – of course he would survive. He was young and strong and if he pulled himself together and stopped wallowing in self-pity he could achieve whatever he wanted. It was a hard work, hideous work, yes, and he was condemned to loneliness because he was ‘different’ from his fellow stokers. But did that matter? Wasn’t it much better that he should be apart from them, free to follow his own pursuits, to see Galina whenever he could? And in his mood of rising hope and determination he knew he would do whatever he had to, follow whatever path was necessary to continue seeing Galina...”
Throughout this sad story, Edwin has this hope that his love is going to change Galina. Hope on, hope ever... sometimes just simple faithfulness, perseverance and goodness *can* evoke change. But there are also instances where it does not. Human nature is not a toy, a plaything we can manipulate like dolls into behaving according to our wants and wishes. Life has a way of interfering with the most carefully thought out plans, and in this novel, a world war and revolutionary upheaval is going to have a radical effect on all of Edwin's plans.
"The Summer of the Barshinskeys" was a long, emotion-building epic that kept me reading, even though there are many sad situations and hardships portrayed. We hope, so hope, with Edwin that Daisy’s sister Galina will mature and cast aside her promiscuous and self-centered behavior. Is there hope for Galina to become all that Edwin dreams of? We cheer Daisy May as she ventures into unknown territory, the vast land of Russia, seeking to rescue Edwin and Galina caught within the throes of suspicion and the Russian revolution. We suffer along with Sophie when Ivan is drawn to her older sister and doesn’t seem to notice her.
There are times when the author's lyrical writing carries the reader into a place and time that is forever gone, and conversely there are moments when we want to take a character by the scruff of the neck and shake some sense into them. What a story! A story of a lost England and the effects of war on two vastly different families that intertwine throughout the years of a turbulent period in Europe’s history.
“I still do not really understand what drew the Barshinskeys to us and even stranger, what drew us to the Barshinskeys. They were little better than tinkers, we were ‘peasant gentry.” They were poor, dirty, but free; we were well fed, comfortable but confined tightly within our barriers of respectability. Sometimes I think our fascination for one another began because of that particular summer – I look back and remember everything bathed in a golden haze, and it is not just the magic memory of childhood that makes it so. I have spoken to old men and women about that summer of 1902, and it was a good summer, a strange one, when wild geese flew across the skies every evening, when there were bumper cops of wild strawberries...”
The story takes us through Sophie Willoughby's growing up years but changes perspective with the characters of Edwin, her brother, and Daisy May, the more stable member of the Barshinskey family. As war begins and then the Russian revolution, the changing fortunes of each family member comes into play and the author does a great job of involving the reader into the hardships and triumphs of the characters.
Edwin is on the road to success and following his dream of becoming a train engineer when suddenly he jettisons everything to pursue an infatuation with Galina, Daisy's unstable, unpredictable sister. Offered a position on a steamship, he berates himself at first but then finds strength and hope as he considers the end result of his drastic choice:
“He would survive the stokehold – of course he would survive. He was young and strong and if he pulled himself together and stopped wallowing in self-pity he could achieve whatever he wanted. It was a hard work, hideous work, yes, and he was condemned to loneliness because he was ‘different’ from his fellow stokers. But did that matter? Wasn’t it much better that he should be apart from them, free to follow his own pursuits, to see Galina whenever he could? And in his mood of rising hope and determination he knew he would do whatever he had to, follow whatever path was necessary to continue seeing Galina...”
Throughout this sad story, Edwin has this hope that his love is going to change Galina. Hope on, hope ever... sometimes just simple faithfulness, perseverance and goodness *can* evoke change. But there are also instances where it does not. Human nature is not a toy, a plaything we can manipulate like dolls into behaving according to our wants and wishes. Life has a way of interfering with the most carefully thought out plans, and in this novel, a world war and revolutionary upheaval is going to have a radical effect on all of Edwin's plans.
"The Summer of the Barshinskeys" was a long, emotion-building epic that kept me reading, even though there are many sad situations and hardships portrayed. We hope, so hope, with Edwin that Daisy’s sister Galina will mature and cast aside her promiscuous and self-centered behavior. Is there hope for Galina to become all that Edwin dreams of? We cheer Daisy May as she ventures into unknown territory, the vast land of Russia, seeking to rescue Edwin and Galina caught within the throes of suspicion and the Russian revolution. We suffer along with Sophie when Ivan is drawn to her older sister and doesn’t seem to notice her.
There are times when the author's lyrical writing carries the reader into a place and time that is forever gone, and conversely there are moments when we want to take a character by the scruff of the neck and shake some sense into them. What a story! A story of a lost England and the effects of war on two vastly different families that intertwine throughout the years of a turbulent period in Europe’s history.
September 7, 2010
Finished. Really did enjoy this book all the way through. Takes place during WWII. Adventurous storyline. Took me to another time and place during my 10 hour drive home from WA this weekend. If a book can make hours fly in a car, then it must be good!
August 24, 2010
I read this a few years ago and remember loving it. I ordered it again and I will let you know if I still love it as much. THIS CAME IN THE MAIL AND I STARTED READING IT AND PUT DOWN WUTHERING HEIGHTS FOR NOW! Loved it again... just a nice, easy reaad...
September 28, 2015
Great story!
November 5, 2013
Fabulous read about growing up, family, love, and sacrifice. Written very well . . .
September 2, 2015
This author is a wonderful storyteller.
August 15, 2018
Deutsche Ausgabe: Eine russische Liebe oder der Sommer der Barschinskys
June 29, 2015
Great beginning, long, rambling and dull middle, and a deeply unsatisfying ending. I was too invested to quit, but I can't say I enjoyed it.
June 3, 2016
I brought this book at a garage sale. It was an amazing book. I truly loved it! It is still one of my most favourite books I've ever read. If you can find it I recommend it.
December 27, 2020
I definitely didn’t enjoy The Summer of the Barshinskeys like I did Csardas. The storyline started well but spiralled down, down, down to a helpless, hopeless mess.
It’s based on two families - the Willoughby’s and Barshinskeys. One middle class the other poor, one educated the other not. There is division, love, hatred, culture, class.
My disappointment was that too much of the book gave Galina Barshinskey centre stage. From the start she is a loose woman - selling herself to anyone with trousers; along with Edwin who totally falls for her and mindlessly chases her eventually to Russia. She’s a woman without character or conscience, selfish and shallow with desires only for worldly things, the flesh and immediate. Fellow humanity is off her radar. And so she ruins Edwin (like everyone else) and eventually herself. There was no hope for their ‘relationship’ from the start and it took far too many chapters for the end result to finally come. I persevered but very nearly gave up...
Likewise Lillian and Ivan’s relationship was never going anywhere - Lillian was pretty, and the darling of the village but as cold as a fish. The last straw for me came (& I nearly threw the book out) when Ivan raped Sophie....(and it really was sickening to hear Sophie justifying his violent actions!)
In the end both Sophie and Daisy ended up with the men they had always loved but for Ivan and Edwin both girls were their second best.
There really seemed to be very little love in this story .... a summarisation of the fact that the heart of the book was as cold as a Russian winter!
It’s based on two families - the Willoughby’s and Barshinskeys. One middle class the other poor, one educated the other not. There is division, love, hatred, culture, class.
My disappointment was that too much of the book gave Galina Barshinskey centre stage. From the start she is a loose woman - selling herself to anyone with trousers; along with Edwin who totally falls for her and mindlessly chases her eventually to Russia. She’s a woman without character or conscience, selfish and shallow with desires only for worldly things, the flesh and immediate. Fellow humanity is off her radar. And so she ruins Edwin (like everyone else) and eventually herself. There was no hope for their ‘relationship’ from the start and it took far too many chapters for the end result to finally come. I persevered but very nearly gave up...
Likewise Lillian and Ivan’s relationship was never going anywhere - Lillian was pretty, and the darling of the village but as cold as a fish. The last straw for me came (& I nearly threw the book out) when Ivan raped Sophie....(and it really was sickening to hear Sophie justifying his violent actions!)
In the end both Sophie and Daisy ended up with the men they had always loved but for Ivan and Edwin both girls were their second best.
There really seemed to be very little love in this story .... a summarisation of the fact that the heart of the book was as cold as a Russian winter!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2017
This book is stealthily fun. It grows on you like a fungus. There's nothing flashy about it at all. The prose is plain, the narrative structure is basically just 450 pages of "this happened, then this happened, then this happened...", many of the characters are two dimensional (saintly servant, tempestuous Jezebel, brutish husband).
And yet, I read three quarters of this book in one sitting, riveted. Isolated and examined individually, no one element of this book is particularly impressive yet for some reason I find difficult to pinpoint the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I really enjoyed how well wrote Pearson wrote day to day life for the characters, making the quotidian details of daily existence feel vital and important. This is an excellent slice of life novel. These small scale triumphs and tragedies occur concurrently with epic historical events, such as WWI and the Russian Revolution, that Pearson also writes ably.
A very easy read for one of these sprawling family sagas. There's no bloat and the writing never drags.
And yet, I read three quarters of this book in one sitting, riveted. Isolated and examined individually, no one element of this book is particularly impressive yet for some reason I find difficult to pinpoint the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I really enjoyed how well wrote Pearson wrote day to day life for the characters, making the quotidian details of daily existence feel vital and important. This is an excellent slice of life novel. These small scale triumphs and tragedies occur concurrently with epic historical events, such as WWI and the Russian Revolution, that Pearson also writes ably.
A very easy read for one of these sprawling family sagas. There's no bloat and the writing never drags.
February 13, 2019
In the summer of 1902, the Willoughby children bond with the visiting family whose name they spell Barshinskey (as if readers weren't familiar with the name "Brzezinski" in 1984). Fifteen years later, that bond motivates them to try to help the "Barshinskeys" through the Russian Revolution and participate in the Quaker mission that helped some people in those hard times.
Pearson's stated purpose was to dramatize the history of the English Quaker mission. So this novel might be considered Christian fiction. But her method was to use multiple romances, some happy and some unhappy, and terse but unmistakable extramarital sex, and unlikely escapes and coincidences. So this novel might be considered unwholesome, un-Christian fiction. On the whole, I'd rate it R but give it three stars as above-average adult fiction.
Pearson's stated purpose was to dramatize the history of the English Quaker mission. So this novel might be considered Christian fiction. But her method was to use multiple romances, some happy and some unhappy, and terse but unmistakable extramarital sex, and unlikely escapes and coincidences. So this novel might be considered unwholesome, un-Christian fiction. On the whole, I'd rate it R but give it three stars as above-average adult fiction.
February 16, 2018
Such an exquisite beginning...but when the children grew into adults, the book, although still quite good, did not live up to the promise of that magical beginning. The part set in Russia, when Edwin lost his brain and took hundreds of pages before finding it again, was, to me, the weakest part of the story. It just seemed as if the author had no idea where she was going with that part of the tale . Let's face it, Galina was the most poorly developed character in the story and a major bore, so trying to build a long epic story around her made that part of the book a major bore; just like Galina, it was too false and insubstantial to stand. The parts about this dullard needed to be edited out not dragged out.
May 31, 2025
I actually read this book many many years ago. I remember loving the first third which was richly written and filled with period detail. I also remember being disappointed with the final two thirds which seemed hastily written as though to meet a publishing deadline and which was filled with stereotypical characters abd deteriorated into a not very inspiring romance, if memory serves. There was a plot libe about a performing bear which was both fascinating and heart breaking.
September 3, 2022
I've had this book forever on my shelf, and realized that the Universe really knows the perfect time to read each book. The story captivated me in a way I've not recently experienced, and the intertwined story of the Barshinkeys and the Willoughbys teaches us a lot about destined attachments. Highly recommended.
July 25, 2024
I have had this book on my (overfull) shelves for years now. I pulled it put earlier this month and I am so glad I did. This book is wonderful, a tale that wraps itself around you and moves along, pleasant at first, then faster and faster as the families are swept into war. I don't know if this is still in print, but it's worth a read!!!!!
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October 13, 2020I read the first part, about 200 pages in, and realized I didn't want to read anymore, so I skipped to the end and read the last 5 pages and that covered pretty nicely where and with whom everyone ended up, so I was satisfied.
June 24, 2022
I enjoyed the interactions between the two main families through the years. Though I do not like war stories, I was surprised to see the similarities in wartime Europe and our current pandemic problems and the Ukraine situation.
May 27, 2017
It was a marvellous book and a great read, I couldn't it put it down! I would have given it six stars if I could have
July 14, 2022
I love this book I got my children's names from it Lily and Daisy May
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