The House of Special Purpose
John Boyne
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
4.10
· 20 ratings · 478 pages · Published: 15 May 2009
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.
Tagged as:
- romance 4
- historical 3
- historical fiction 3
- war/big battles 3
- drama 3
- royalty 3
- literary fiction 2
- world war I 2
- 20th century 2
- winter 2
- alternate history 2
- action / adventure 2
- on the move 1
- magical realism 1
- military 1
- military, war & conflict 1
- Add topics
- format - reader age
- audiobook 3
- young adult 2
- book 1