The House of Special Purpose is titled after the ill-fated house in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where the last Tsar of Russia and his family were executed on July 16th, 1918. Their story, and the days leading up to their demise has been told countless times throughout history; however, author John Boyne follows the life of Georgy Daniilovich Jachmenev, a peasant boy turned bodyguard to the young prince, who falls in love with the youngest princess, Anastasia Romanov. Through Georgy's eyes, we see the crumbling of the Romanov Empire, and the rise of the Bolshevik regime. Tragic, yet quietly triumphant, this novel breathes life into the people who have long turned to dust, and is a gripping read from start to finish.
"A man was standing at the end of the hallway, just outside an open door, from where a great light shone, illuminating him as a god...Who was this man, bathed in white glory? Why had he been sent for me?
'Are you Jachmenev?' He asked quietly, his voice low and peaceful but making its way down to me without difficulty.
'Yes, sir,' I replied.
I had never met this man before...but I knew immediately who he was.
His Imperial Majesty, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All of Russias, Grand Duke of Finland, King of Poland.
My Employer."
I came across this book while up north at my grandparents' cabin with my husband and our family. Andrew and I were perusing the shelves of the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, Michigan, and I was just about leave when I caught the words: The House of Special Purpose. Immediately, I recalled this as the code word the Bolsheviks used for the Ipatiev house, which was the prison and later execution site of Tsar Nicholas Romanov, and his family. It was to be my first fictional book based on the Romanovs, and I couldn't leave without it.
After reading a few chapters, I was initially disappointed to find that Boyne chose not to follow the true characteristics of the Romanovs. Nicholas was portrayed more stern and authoritative than quiet, and gentle; and the sisters did not truly stand apart from each other other than Anastasia. In fact, Olga, the oldest daughter, was hardly mentioned at all. With that said, the disappointment dissipated when the things I loved about the novel quickly outweighed anything negative. I also had to realize that I did pick this book up from the fiction section of the book shop.
One example of many reasons why I loved this book: I loved how real Boyne's representation of the young prince Alexei felt, a boy with a deadly disease called Haemophilia, and the fate of all of Russia sitting on his frail shoulders. If any of the characters of this novel were portrayed true to form, Alexei was the one. He was quiet like his father, but being a young boy, was also adventurous and wanted nothing more than to play like the other children, and not be treated like an invalid. There are several key moments in the novel (that I won't mention) that the reader sees a boy, a young, impatient, and lonely boy, instead of the last crowned prince of Russia, making his demise all the more tragic.
Lastly, The House of Special Purpose is not just about the events leading up to the Ipatiev house. Rather, the scope of the novel spans through the decades all the way to the 1970s, where an old Georgy and his dying wife, Zoya, live in London, England. The timeline of the novel is what keeps the pace so gripping--one chapter, Georgy is plotting to kill someone connected to the Royal Family, and in the next, he and his wife and child are hunkered below the streets of London during the air raids of the Second World War. Throughout reading it, you never know where or when Boyne will take you next.
All in all, this was a 4-star novel by John Boyne, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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