Blood Red, Snow White

by Marcus Sedgwick

Set at the time of the Russian Revolution, the end of a centuries old dynasty, the rise of the Bolsheviks sent shockwaves around the world. This is the story of one man who was there. It's real history - about the riches and excesses, the glory of the Russian nobility, Nicholas and Alexandra, their haemophiliac son, Alexei, notorious Rasputin, Lenin and Trotsky who ruled from palaces where the Czars had once danced till dawn. The man was real too, his name was Arthur Ransome. He was a writer, accused of being a spy, perhaps even a double agent, and he left his wife and beloved daughter and fell in love with Russia and a Russian woman, Evgenia. Fictionalising history and blending it with real life, part i is told as a fairy tale. Wise and foolish kings, princesses, enchantresses (characters more suited to fairy tale than reality), wishes and magic, Russia with its vast cold plains and mighty cities, its riches and poverty, all play a part in the downfall of the Czars and rise of the new order. Part ii is about betrayal - Ransome the spy, bleak and threatening. Part iii is a love story, a fairy tale, ending - of Ransome's love for his daughter, Tabitha, and for Evgenia.

• ISBN10: 1842551841
• ISBN13: 9781842551844
• Publish Date: 6 August 2007
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 January 2010
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Orion Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[readingwithwrin]

“There never was a story that was happy through and through.”

See reviews first on my blog

Lets get a few things straight about this book.
1. The main character is not a young adult.
2. This does have fairy tale elements, but it wasn't the main focus of this book.
3. I feel like I was supposed to get so much more out of this book than what I did.

Having said all of those things, I feel like I should also say that I really enjoyed the historical part of this book. The main character is based off a real writer who was actually in Russia during this time and did write several of the pieces mentioned. I found the parts mentioned about his actual work very interesting, especially how he would get the information for his stories.
When it came to his personal life, I just didn't really like him. He ran from his problems once he realized that the person he was oh so in love with wasn't who he thought she was. He ran from the child he so desperately loved, to a country that he had no real ties to besides the fact he wanted to live there. The new person he was so in love with I was constantly afraid was someone who was really just a spy or someone using him, so I never felt comfortable with the relationship.

As for the fairy tale element thrown in randomly throughout the story, sadly for me they just didn't work. They didn't bother me, I just didn't feel like they helped the story at all.

I am interested to read more of Sedgwick work though as it is so loved. Plus the writing in this one did keep me captivated the story itself just wasn't one I particularly loved.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
This book was such a gem. It's historical fiction, yes, but so much of it is just plain authentically historical, with some fictional bits. So if you are going into this expecting a fairytale, this isn't one. In fact, the protagonist is a real person, an author in fact. But the fictional and fairytale bits brought the story together so well for me, and made it so appealing!

The story is set primarily in Russia, in a time of tremendous upheaval, not only in Russia but the world as a whole. I adored that we not only got to see inside World War I, which is so rare in books, but got to see it from a European viewpoint. If you are curious, you may want to read the synopsis of this Goodreads edition, because it kind of gives you a bit more to go on than the US version. Because this is part fiction, yes, but also partly biographical to an extent, and most certainly historical. I also don't really understand its marketing as Young Adult in the US if I am being perfectly honest, because there isn't really much room for even crossover- I think this is just straight up historical fiction, though that's just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth.

I enjoyed all the aspects of this story, it was so eye opening. I liked and empathized with Arthur, though I didn't quite have an emotional connection to him. I still was able to find him incredibly relatable, which is no small feat considering I have basically not a thing in common with this man. There is romance, there is war, there is deception. Family and friendships also play a huge role, as does politics of the time period. Basically, there are a great many things that can appeal to the reader, no matter what you enjoy reading about.

Bottom Line: I loved reading Arthur's story, as well as the story of Russia in the early twentieth century. It's such an incredibly fascinating and somber time in history, and I thought the author did a tremendous job of exploring it. That said, it is most definitely historical, and quite a bit factual, so just be prepared for that going in. If you are into historical books, I absolutely recommend this one!

[pagingserenity]

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley, courtesy of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Blood Red, Snow White is not the fairytale retelling you might assume it to be based on the cover or title. Instead, it is a story told in three parts, all of which mainly focus on the life of Arthur Ransome, a British writer.

The beginning of Blood Red, Snow White is a bit weird, but in a good way and it was intriguing enough to hold my attention. The fairytale aspects were nicely woven into the story with a nice balance between the fairytales and the story itself. The writing starts out fresh and complex and the story is beautifully crafted. However, the story falls a bit flat in the following two parts. What started as interesting and unique soon became boring near the end of the first part. What started as historical fiction started to feel more and more like historical nonfiction; almost like a biography rather than a fictional story.

I think part of what gave the book a biographical feel were the characters. They were told in a more imaginary way, but besides the little fairytale retellings, the characters actually existed in real life at one point of time. Arthur Ransome, along with other characters mentioned in the book like Lenin, the Tsar and his family, and were all real people, all of which felt static.

Another problem I had with Blood Red, Snow White is the plot and the story itself. I get that the three separate parts are supposed to be like three different novellas and as a whole, a retelling of the life of Arthur Ransome, but even keeping all of that in mind, I felt like the whole book was all over the place. And if I wasn't as familiar with the early 1900 Russia (which I’m no expert on), I would be very lost and confused. More confused than I was, at least.

In conclusion, well crafted and with a combination of fairytales, history, spies, romance Blood Red, Snow White had the potential to capture my full attention. Unfortunately, with a more biographical like plot and flat characters, Blood Red, Snow White fails to do just that.

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