Cian reviewed After Arkadia by Nella Bielski
A strangely atmospheric book about a cypher
4 stars
This book about a French woman, who grows up in pre-Revolutionary Ukraine, and then experiences the horrors of WWI and the revolution is more about atmosphere than plot.
The central character is a slightly implausible character that things just happen to, but who barely reflects upon how she feels or those experiences. Instead she just lives through a collection of events that do not entirely cohere (gifted ballerine, who just stops due to illness. Silent film star who just... stops. Lover of a man who just stops. And so forth). Psychological plausibility is not something that you will get from this book.
Instead what it provides is atmosphere and the strange, almost kinetic, experience of just drifting through history. Of a woman who unreflectingly just is, and who the other characters (mostly men) see what they want to see, or fear.
This is a pretty minor novel, but it is …
This book about a French woman, who grows up in pre-Revolutionary Ukraine, and then experiences the horrors of WWI and the revolution is more about atmosphere than plot.
The central character is a slightly implausible character that things just happen to, but who barely reflects upon how she feels or those experiences. Instead she just lives through a collection of events that do not entirely cohere (gifted ballerine, who just stops due to illness. Silent film star who just... stops. Lover of a man who just stops. And so forth). Psychological plausibility is not something that you will get from this book.
Instead what it provides is atmosphere and the strange, almost kinetic, experience of just drifting through history. Of a woman who unreflectingly just is, and who the other characters (mostly men) see what they want to see, or fear.
This is a pretty minor novel, but it is engrossing. I cannot imagine reading it a second time, but I'm glad I finally got round to it.