I read this book in more than a week, which for 350 pages is quite a long time for me. This is because despite the aura of mystery, Communism and international spying, I never found it fascinating enough to read for long stretches at a time.Fastidious is probably the word that describes it better. It seems that Shamim Sarif wants you to think exactly what she herself thinks about all her characters. Her descriptions are very detailed, with many adjectives, but apply mainly to the characters' psychology, which means you get very little descriptions of Khrushchev-era Russia for instance. Well yes, I have to admit, among other things it was the setting that attracted me to this book, and in this respect I was disappointed by the lack of information.The fact that every scene is so minutely detailed means that the pace of the action is very slow and laboured. You know that everything, however innocuous, will be recounted for at least a few lines, sometimes a few paragraphs. After some time I just wished the author would get to the point already.I also found that all characters, except for Estelle, were lacking in depth--even Alexander, the main protagonist, but this was especially true for Melissa and Lauren, who seemed only to represent one characteristic each. Melissa was the hard businesswoman, Lauren the loving niece. I cannot understand how it is possible to spend such great lengths of time to describe every action of your characters and yet have them remain almost completely shallow.I am trying to find a way to conclude this review by saying something positive, but the truth is, neither style nor plot made this book a great or even particularly good one for me.[Cross-posted my Tumblr]
Everyone should read this book!!I'm surprised this book is so little known, because it's just a heartbreakingly lovely story, I loved it. The backdrop for this novel is Russia in the 1950's; the beautiful Katya spies on the idealistic politician Alexander. Tragically she falls in love with him. The story switches back and forth between Boston in 2000 and Moscow in the late 1950's; that is, every uneven chapter takes place in Boston and every even chapter takes place in Moscow. This pacing actually works out very well. We get to see what Alexander makes of himself after he has defected from his home country of Russia and lost his beloved wife Katya. And we gradually find out the events that led to his defection and with Alexander we find out what happened to Katya. The characters of Katya and Alexander are the highlights in this book, they are very well written and make the story come to live. Katya is bold, intriguing, but at the same she's damaged and struggling with herself and the path she has chosen. Alexander is introverted, idealistic, but it is his quiet and overwheming love for Katya that makes him so compelling. This book is by no means perfect; the final conclusion is a bit predictable. However that didn't take anything away from the story. This novel relies more on the narrative and characters than on the plot, but that is harder to do right and Shamim Sarif did it brilliantly. This is a book that wil get you emotionally invested and remind you why you love reading so much. I would recommend it to everyone!
What do You think about Despite The Falling Snow (2004)?
I have to admit, this is a first. I just can't finish this book. The plot is interesting, and it's been holding my attention on and off as I've tried to make my way through it. But it's just not enough. The concept of back and forth in time from chapter to chapter is one that's been done in many books. But it just doesn't...work in this one. It becomes far too disjointed, and the entire thing starts to plod as I continue to push through it.I picked this book up on an Amazon recommendation whim, and while I think it had the right idea, I just can't do it. Kudos to the author for the story itself. But the writing style and format of the book just killed me.I can't recommend this. :(
—Isadore
