Prepare to be immersed in Russia on the verge of World War One and the following Revolution. Fitzgerald has done aThe Beginning of Spring: Russia 1913
Prepare to be immersed in Russia on the verge of World War One and the following Revolution. Fitzgerald has done a a masterful job of historical research creating Moscow culture as it existed. The Tsar yields complete power. Tolstoy is now considered a political figure hostile to the State. Equally watched are the country's students, considered the most dangerous and vocal against the empire.
But this would not be a Fitzgerald novel without a group of characters slightly out of place, clueless as to how they find themselves in places they haven't the slightest notion how they found themselves in such a pickle.
From the Introduction: The Beginning of Spring " The people she wrote about in her novels and biographies were outsiders, too: misfits, romanticize artists, hopeful failures, misunderstood lovers, orphans and oddities. She was drawn to unsettled characters who lived on the edges.
Her view of the world was that it divided into ‘exterminators� and ‘exterminatees�. She would say: ‘I am drawn to people who seem to have been born defeated or even profoundly lost.� She was a humorous writer with a tragic sense of life.
And it is that mix of humor and tragedy you will find in this novel as well as her others. This is my third Fitzgerald. I will not be content until I have read them all. In a nushell, they are enchanting.
Our hapless unsettled outsider here is Frank Reid, the owner of a printing company in Moscow. It's not his business decision to start this business. His father began the business. Frank was born and raised in Russia. He now owns it. Father has died leaving him the heir. Included in the legacy is a mammoth printing press which must be sold or "Reidka's will without doubt fail.
Frank's problems multiply. His English born wife, Nellie, leaves him a letter delivered by messenger that she has left him. Not only has she left him, she's taken thei three children. Frank wonders why she had a letter delivered by messenger. She had always had a lot. To say. Well, not lately. Yes, too wound up in the business, Frank.
Frank's next surprise is a message from a train station. Nellie has dropped the children off. Would Mr. Reid be so kind as to come fetch them? Of course, but what will he do with them. He must have someone to watch them.. A visit to the Chaplaincy yields no likely governess.
Enter Frank's second in command who produces an employee from a department store who sells men's handkerchiefs. She has no experience as a governess. Frank's partner ultimately suggests that the presence of an attractive young lady might lead to a sexual relationship.
Enter Frank's brother in law Charles with only the news he hasn't been able to locate Nellie. After meeting the governess Charles offers Frank to take the three kiddies to England provided the governess goes with him. Frank's answer is a resounding NO. Frank. Loves her. And tells her.
It is the beginning of spring. It is warm enough for a trip to the family Daucha. Frank's love asks for five days to think about his proposal.
And that's all you're getting out of this reviewer. Why? I want you to READ THIS BOOK. Fitzgerald didn't begin writing fiction until age 60. She's considered the finest writer in Great Britain in the past forty-five years. Based on the three novels I've read, I believe it....more
Nothing is right in Winslow's criminal justice system. Anything is possible because everything is negotiable. Defense lawyers and prosecutors sell nolNothing is right in Winslow's criminal justice system. Anything is possible because everything is negotiable. Defense lawyers and prosecutors sell nol prosses. Judges get their payments, too. So you're a cop. Why not be dirty and take your cut, too? There's no character to like here. Skip it....more
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