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The House of Special Purpose: A Novel by the Author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
Current price:
$18.99
Publication Date: August 17th, 2021
Publisher:
Other Press
ISBN:
9781635421774
Pages:
480
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(Fiction)
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Description
From the author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies and The Absolutist, a propulsive novel of the Russian Revolution and the fate of the Romanov family.
Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign. Eighty-year-old Georgy Jachmenev is haunted by his past—a past of death, suffering, and scandal that will stay with him until the end of his days.
Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him.
As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the czar, in the early twentieth century—a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution. As Georgy overturns the most painful stone of all, we uncover the story of the house of special purpose.
Praise for The House of Special Purpose: A Novel by the Author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
“[Boyne] guides us through the realm of history and makes the journey substantial, poignant, and real. He is one of the great craftsmen in contemporary literature.” —Colum McCann, National Book Award–winning author of Let the Great World Spin
“A tour de force, at once epic and intimate, and above all a marvelous read.” —John Banville, Booker Prize–winning author of The Sea
“[The House of Special Purpose] translates big issues of political change into more intimate, human terms…an exciting, fast-paced story that compels the reader through its seventy-year span…absorbing and richly satisfying.” —The Times (UK)
“John Boyne’s haunting novel travels to the heart of the Russian empire.” —BBC
“A thrilling historical novel rooted in the Russian revolution and the end of Romanov czars…a gripping story.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Boyne re-creates both Georgy’s personal life and the life of pre-Revolutionary Russia with astonishing density and power.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“[A] suspenseful and touching novel…ingeniously constructed and gripping…[Boyne] skillfully evokes the wrenching pain of loss and exile while presenting a tribute to enduring love.” —Booklist
“A wonderful, many-layered novel, written with thought and tenderness…mesmerizing.” ―Irish Examiner
“Boyne writes with consummate ease and is particularly good at drawing the indecently rich world of the pre-revolutionary Romanovs.” —The Independent (UK)
“John Boyne has a talent for bringing big historical events to life…Here once again he draws on past events to create a gripping drama.” ―Daily Express
“Boyne exercises total control over pace and revelation. A work that chimes perfectly with our times.” —Irish Times
“A riveting, bittersweet tale of love, loss, and intrigue…a spell-binding journey and a compelling read.” —Winnipeg Free Press
“In this richly textured, audaciously imagined alternate history, John Boyne chronicles a long and complex marriage forged out of the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Georgy and Zoya are a memorable pair of lovers, and as this ingeniously structured narrative takes us deeper and deeper into their shared past, our understanding of their unremarkable present is increasingly colored by the extraordinary secrets, regrets, and guilt they carry within them.” —Paul Russell, author of The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov
