Play Book Tag discussion

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
3 stars

The topic was interesting and I learned something new about American/world/literary history, but the execution was just meh.

Y'all know that I love learning new things in books. I don't care if it is nonfiction or historical fiction, I put a lot of stock in exposing me to something new. This book gets top marks in that category! Did you know that Doctor Zhivago was smuggled out of the USSR, who declined to publish it, by MI6 and CIA operatives as part of a propaganda plot to undermine USSR during the Cold War?!?

Seriously, the real life story is crazy. Doctor Zhivago was smuggled out, published in Italy, and then published around the world. CIA and MI6 agents actually had covert missions to get the book BACK INTO the USSR. Then, Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for his works right after Doctor Zhivago and the USSR made him turn it down.

Oh, and Pasternak's mistress was his closest confidant and helped him to get his works published. The were together his entire life, even after she spent years in a work camp for protecting his secrets! What?!?

So, this whole story is told from alternating views of Pasternak's mistress, Olga, and the female CIA operatives who were involved in the operation. And, while the underlying story is enthralling, I found the execution to be less so. I felt like I should have been on the edge of my seat the whole time, but I got more excitement from reading news articles about Doctor Zhivago instead. I think the author was so focused on the characters and their love lives that she lost a lot of the suspense and excitement that should have driven her story.

Honestly, I say to skip this book and just read some news articles. The story is thrilling but the book does not do it justice.

I did know about the Dr. Z thing which is why this book appealed to me in the first place-damn I thought this would add more to the story-now I am not sure if I should bother....I may leave it on the shelf for a while and see if anyone else here reviews it-I just don't have the desire or time for "meh"

Great review, Nicole. The subject matter does sound fascinating!

It was interesting from the perspective of learning something new and it did go through the details of how the plot took shape and was executed. So, from that POV you might really like it.

Even if you think it is meh, it is a pretty quick read, so there is that!

Wow! Thanks Nicole, that is really interesting. I usually give extra points to a book when I learn something.

I think this is why you and I intersect so often, even though you like romance much more and I like mysteries. It is that whole, I can learn something thing, that unites us.

I agree! Nothing better than learning something new! Especially when it is these quirky little bits of history. I love that most.