Show Me 5 Saturday: Russka by Edward Rutherfurd

Alipet started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. Unfortunately, our host has been missing in action but Jenners puts up a Mr. Linky if you would like to play along. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week. It will work like this: Each Saturday you will post the answer to these questions:

1. Title of book: Russka by Edward Rutherfurd
2. Words to describe book: Historical fiction
3. Characters you met or locations:

• Russka: two small settlements in Russia; one in the north and one in the south where a large proportion of the action takes place.
• The Romanov family who ruled Russia as Tsars for centuries.
• Lebed: a half breed woman living in the forest whose family line is followed through out the story beginning in the year 180 A.D.

4. Things you liked or disliked about the story:

• I loved the descriptions of the land and the overall geographical information about Russia's vast and varied landscape.
• Following the ancestry of several families from 180 A.D. to 1991 was extremely interesting.
• I really liked the way the author told each time segment through the eyes of a fictionalized character who brought the history to life.
• Another thing I really enjoyed reading about was how the economic, political and religious climate of the times changed over the years.

5. Stars or more for your rating: 4****. This is a work of epic proportions spanning 1800 years of Russian history in just 945 pages. Not your normal thrilling pageturner, but I became very invested in the book.

Disclosure: A copy of this book for review is from my personal library and was purchased by me.