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The House of Special Purpose (Hardcover)

by John Boyne (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday & Co Inc. (7 May 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0385616066
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385616065
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 4.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,308 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Boyne's novel... is a work that chimes perfectly with our times
--Irish Times, Saturday, May 9, 2009


Product Description

In Russia during the year 1915, at the age of 16, Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for the heart of a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family. He is instantly proclaimed a hero. Before the week is out, his life as the son of a peasant farmer is changed forever when he is escorted to St Petersburg to take up his new position - as bodyguard to Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II. Sixty five years later, visiting his wife Zoya as she lies dying in a London hospital, memories of the life they have lived together flood his mind. Their marriage, while tender, has been marked by tragedy, the loss of loved ones, and experiences of exile that neither can forget. "The House of Special Purpose" is a novel about a young man ripped from a loving home and thrust into the heart of a dying empire. Privy to the secrets of Nicholas and Alexandra, the machinations of Rasputin and the events which led to the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy is a witness and participant in a drama which will echo down the century. His is also a story of a marriage in which a husband finds it impossible to live in the present and a wife unable to reconcile herself with the past. Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, the novel moves from revolutionary St Petersburg to Paris after the First World War, and from London during the Blitz to the eastern coast of Finland during the 1980s, before returning to a quiet hospital bed where Georgy and Zoya's story must finally be resolved.
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good writing, bad history, 22 Jul 2009
Boyne can certainly write. His characters are flawed people trying to make their way in an uncertain world and that makes them more human and easy to sympathise with. The main male character feels responsible for the death of his best friend and turns his back on his own sister with no good reason yet somehow the reader remains in his corner. Boyne knows how to evoke time, place and season. Yet he can be astonishingly inaccurate historically (which is surprising considering how spot-on he was in his 'Mutiny on the Bounty'). The October Revolution appears to have taken place several months beforehand and his assertion that the names of Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin became familiar in the Imperial household in the twelve months prior to that is fanciful in the extreme.

But the major flaw in this book is the sheer impossibility of the central relationship either occurring in the first place or taking the anonymous path he maps out. Secondary to that is the constant telegraphing of the main female character's "secret." If you haven't figured that out early on then you're reading a book with too many big words for you. It's like one of those annoying TV documentaries which has to repeat what it's about after each ad break.

Enjoyable, but not as good as I was expecting.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars huge disappointment, 13 Jul 2009
By Marianne (Galway, Ireland) - See all my reviews
i was really looking forward to this book. a first hand account of the romanovs just before the revolution, who wouldn't be intrigued. it was such a let down.

absolutely no research appears to have gone into the book. after the success of the boy in striped pajamas you'd think the author could have afforded to take his time and write a real meaty in-depth story. instead he has churned out every cliche associated with pre-revolutionary russia. of course the hero happens upon a faberge egg and the tsarina is portrayed as a cold distant woman as history depicts her. the lack of detail is astounding which is such a pity because the idea is so good and he could have written a really absorbing stimulating novel.

one plus is this, as ever boyne's book are very easy to read and this is no exception.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Poor, 30 Jun 2009
By Garth (London) - See all my reviews
I was very dissapointed with this novel. I hadn't read a John Boyne book before, but as I have an interest in the Russian Revolution - in particular with the Imperial Family, it prompted me to order a copy. Initially I was quite into the idea of the book - it had interesting moments about life as an emigre - how a person copes with losing everything including their homeland and entire family, but then the plot dissolved into a farce! It was innacurate - Boyne clearly had done little more than superficial research into the period - the characters (and as the book is about the Imperial Family, these are real people who I feel could have justified a little more research and a more honest retelling of their story) are poorly written and one dimensional. Of course the novel is a fiction, but when dealing with history, I think the writer should try to be as historically accurate as possible. Rasputin could have been further explored other than simply showing him as the mad monk of the Boney M song...theres a great book by Edvard Radzinsky that Boyne should have read prior to his work....and Alexandra was nothing but a cold woman, lofty and distant (again - read some biographies that are out there and try to shatter some of the myths about the last Empress of Russia - theres more to Alexandra than just Boyne's version!!! - surely the writer could have taken this opportunity to portray the family as they were - closely knit and caring albeit flawed and mistaken - people not cut out to rule a vast empire but more the Victorian ideal of a caring family beset by trauma and miscast in their roles.
The ending was obvious from page 1 (and unbelievable) but I do think this novel could have been salvaged if it had dealt with emigre Russian aristocrats, not of quite so high a stature. As I mentioned, the sections about life post 1917 were really engaging and captured my interest- well written too - its just the nonsense about Imperial life that made me skim read so much as it was ridiculous, untrue and as I have said before, a caricature!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant
This is a book once started i could not put down.A truly wonderful story laced with historical fascination. Excellent congratulations to the author John Boyle.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. agv jones

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow to get going
Having read the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas I had high hopes for this book. It is a good read but takes a while to get going. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Fiona Lever

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical events seen through troubled memories
In this book John Boyne weaves a historical novel around two characters who have emigrated from Russia. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. P. Gardiner

4.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling historical tale
I found the book to be a good read and was very taken by the historical detail and insights set around the period of the Russian revolution that the author discloses. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. W. Platt

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Boyne Masterpiece
This is one of the most captivating stories I ever read. Boyne is one of our greatest literary voices and this epic novel confirms his talent as a unique and powerful... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Omega Man

4.0 out of 5 stars A novel view of history as it might have been
I wanted to read this novel after hearing part of it on the BBC's "Book of the Week" slot, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. Deborah Gill

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I loved this book. The ending was obvious but I still enjoyed reading it and would recommned to all.
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. A. M. Hussey

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