I Was Anastasia 🌟🌟🌟
by Ariel Lawhon
Feb 2018 by Doubleday
Finished Nov 11, 2017
Remember the thriller recently written completely in a reverse timeline and readers either tolerated it or hated it? I didn't mind it too much, once used to it. Well, in this book only half of it goes backwards in time, but it bothered me anyway. The chapters alternate between Anna Anderson's story and Anastasia's. The Anastasia chapters slowly lead up to when the Romanov family is executed in 1918, and Anna's goes from 1970 to around the time of the executions. Only at the end do we know how it all started.
I have been wondering... why another book on Anastasia; doesn't everyone already know this story? Have we not watched it played memorably by Ingrid Bergman in the great old film, Anastasia, and heard the countless rumors of a Romanov surviving? I was curious what this author could offer that wasn't already done. For me, a few more personal details, and a renewed curiosity about Anna Anderson. This is historical fiction and the author says she fudged on some details but not much.
All in all, I am not certain I'd recommend this one unless you do not already know the story, and even then a non-fiction might deliver better. I have enjoyed looking at some pictures of the two characters, and there was a definite facial resemblance. If this had been my first time learning about the Romanovs, I am sure I would have rated it much higher. Knowing how it would end and failing to feel any real connection until the last couple of chapters sabotaged this experience for me, I'm afraid. Even so, some parts will remain memorable, I'm sure.
Than you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.
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