The White Russian by Vanora Bennett

from goodreads

3 stars

I know I have talked about this a bit before, but the cover has a lot to do with whether I will pick up a book or not. If someone recommends the book then the cover doesn't really matter. It is more for the books I have never heard of before where the cover is essential.

For example this current book. I read a copy that had a different cover. Goodreads doesn't have it as one of its images and amazon and chapters had other things added to it so I couldn't use it, but here is a link to the cover here. (I am in no way endorsing this company or asking you to buy a copy of the book. I just want you to see the cover.) Now that cover has intrigue and excitement all over it. I saw that cover on my library's homepage where they have a section of their new books scrolling through. When I saw it I thought "that book looks intriguing. I'll put it on hold", which is precisely what I did. I do not think that would have been the case if the cover that I am using was the one on my library's website. While I like things from the the thirties and most things black and white, this cover seems to sell a completely different kind of book. This almost has a weird silent movie tragedy look to it. Intriguing is not a word I would use. And now, after reading the book, I would be expecting a completely different kind of story. I'm not saying this cover is bad, it just doesn't reflect the type of story I think the book is.

It is the same for when I see recommendations on goodreads. Quite often I won't even see the book description unless either the title is really catching or the cover is really catching, and sometimes both need to be. I wonder why that is? Perhaps I am more visual that what I thought I was. How about you? Are covers of books essential to you wanting to pick them up?

Synopsis

Evie, has never known her maternal grandmother. There was a parting of ways many years back between her mother and grandmother. After returning from college (which the grandmother paid for) Evie does not want to return to her stifling life with her mother. Instead she books voyage to Paris to meet her Grandmother and ends up being entwined in a plot between the White and Red Russians.

My Thoughts

This was a pretty interesting read, but I wanted more. I found the love connection a bit weird. It wasn't love at first sight, yet there wasn't enough to make the deep connection they had seem real. Some of the characters seemed a bit too one dimensional for me and it left me lacking.

What I did enjoy was the history of the story and how this event really occurred. I never really thought about what happened to the people who fought against the Reds in the Russian civil war. I guess I just naively assumed that once they were beaten they just admitted defeat and went on their way making a new life under a new system. Obviously that didn't happen, but I just never thought about it before. It was interesting to learn about this whole Russian sub-culture that existed in Paris. It was also interesting to get some of the Parisian take on this Russian immigration.

I also liked seeing the generational gap between Jean and Yevgeny. Jean is trying to move away from his Russian past and trying to embrace the new life in France. Yevgeny is holding on to the hold ways and hopes to return to Russian someday and still hopes that he can defeat the Reds. It makes for a very interesting juxtapostition.

While this book peaked my interest I simply wanted more. There were so many cool plot twists and turns and possibilities, yet I found it simplistic and a bit flat. It is hard to explain. I guess it needed a bit more humph for me.