The Bronze Horseman
A Novel
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4.5 • 478 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
USA Today Bestseller
Called “a Russian Thorn Birds,” The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons is a sweeping saga of love and war that has been a monumental bestseller all over the world. The acclaimed author of Tully, Simons has written a stirring tale of devotion, passion, secrets, betray, and sacrifice. “A love story both tender and fierce” (Publishers Weekly ) that “Recalls Dr. Zhivago” (People Magazine), The Bronze Horseman is rich and vivid World War II fiction at its finest.
The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad, marking the start of the brutal Siege of Leningrad.
Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young Red Army officer. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him, the beginning of a forbidden love that will be tested by the impossible. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love forms a devastating love triangle that threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in her native St. Petersburg, Russia, Simons's latest thick novel (after Tully, etc.) focuses on a WWII love affair. As the story opens, Tatiana, the youngest member of the Metanova family, is just 17; she still shares a bed with her older sister, Dasha. Not long after the country goes to war with Germany, Tatiana meets Alexander, a soldier, and sparks fly. It turns out, however, that Alexander is the same soldier Dasha has been crowing about. Possessed of a strong sense of family loyalty, and living under conditions that permit no privacy, Tatiana refuses to interfere with her sister's happiness, but the attraction between Tatiana and Alexander proves too powerful. Complicating matters, another soldier, Dimitri, has information that could destroy Alexander, and Dimitri likes Tatiana, too. In order to protect both Dasha's feelings and Alexander's life, the star-crossed lovers become part of a deceptive quadrangle as war intensifies around them. Taking her title from a tragic poem by Alexandr Pushkin, Simons skillfully highlights the ironies of the socialist utopia. Despite the novel's sprawling length and its seemingly epic scope, the nearly single-minded focus on dialogue between Tatiana and Alexander leaves other character development shortchanged and the reader with the impression of a peculiarly tiny canvas. Na ve and occupying the Cinderella role in her family, Tatiana is certainly a survivor though one who finally outstays her welcome. While her love story is often both tender and fierce, it is also overwrought and prolonged past the breaking point.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful read, I was looking for someone like gabaldon and found it!,
A thoughtfully written novel with the author's own historical background playing a role. I usually enjoy a Diana gabaldon novel, but as I wait for her next installment in the outlander series, I was more than pleasantly surprised with ms. Simons. Read this book and the two that follow you will be hooked. I just finished the summer garden and I am wanting to start over, paullina continues to develop her characters until the last page and with this knowledge it makes you want to start it all over again. Enjoy! Thank you paullina for such a great series!!
MISSING 100+ PAGES!!!
This is my favorite book of all time, I fall for and root for these characters, and can never put it down. However, the iBook version is missing 100+ pages in the chapter "scenting spring" which is severely disappointing!!! Buy the book regardless and hopefully they will fix this problem soon.
My all time favorite!
Out of all of my murder mysteries, novels, historical reads, and romance novels. I find myself again and again re-reading this book every few years. My all time favorite.