Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad, USSR, in 1963. At the age of ten her family immigrated to the United States. Growing up in Russia Paullina dreamt of someday becoming a writer. Her dream was put on hold as she learned English and overcame the shock of a new culture. 
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
All the stars everywhere for this book. I need to read more of this story!!
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons is one of those books that I was putting off. I admit it – it was because of the size/length. At 800+ pages I kept thinking it would take me forever to get through it despite the fact that I had a number of people tell me I would love it. Don’t let this scare you off and I hate that it took me so long to get into this book because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!
The story revolves around Tatiana Metanova and Alexander Belov who meet the day the Germans attack the Soviet Union during World War II. It not only follows their relationship and the hardships they face on that front but also includes the impact war has on them and the people they know. Some of the most painful parts of the book were just reading about the way Leningrad and its people were cut off from everything. Reading about the starvation and how difficult it was just to find ways to stay alive made me wonder if I would even have the strength to survive.
There is so much that happens in this story. In the first chapter, we find out that Tatiana lives in a communal apartment building and shares two rooms with her mother, father, sister, brother, and grandparents. It isn’t ideal but they get along. Having been sent out by her father to get food for the day, Tatiana finds that she can’t get what she needs and that is when she decides to get an ice cream and sit on a bench to figure out what she is going to do. As she is sitting on that bench she notices a soldier across the street – Alexander – and the rest of their story begins here. They absolutely face some tough times, not only because of the war, but because of the situation they find themselves in. I know that sounds vague but I don’t want to give anything away and shortly after they meet, you will find out exactly what I am talking about.
I really like Tatiana as a character and she goes through such a change from the first page of the book all the way to the last page. She is smart and she cares about everyone. She is also so selfless …sometimes to a fault. She would absolutely give up her last bit of food if it meant that someone else was suffering less than her. Being the youngest child/daughter, she believes that everyone else should come first even if it means she would go without. This includes her sister, Dasha.
Tatiana would give up everything she wanted or needed just to make her older sister happy and I think that is one of the reasons I didn’t really care for Dasha so much. There were times that Dasha would reach out and try to connect with Tatiana but I found myself thinking that the only reason was so that she could talk about herself or what she wanted. There was a scene when they were all really hungry and Alexander brought them some of his rations that made me angry for Tatiana and I was glad Alexander was willing to jump in.
Alexander….he isn’t perfect but he is still one of my favorite characters ever. He loves Tatiana and defers to her on what she wants to do about it. Unfortunately that means he has to hide his feelings and he truly does his best. I can’t say I agree with how it happens but I understand the reasoning behind it…again, don’t agree but when you read why, you will know what I mean. Despite this, he does everything in his power to help Tatiana survive and support her family. Whether it is walking her to the market to get her families rations or standing up to her family when they hit her, he doesn’t want anything to happen to her.
Alexander has some secrets of his own and through his relationship with Tatiana, we find out what they are fairly quickly. Outside of Tatiana, there is one other person who knows who he truly is and he continually threatens to expose Alexander. As the story progresses, both Tatiana and Alexander try to figure a way out of the situation.
Dimitri is the “friend” that knows Alexander’s secrets. He is essentially blackmailing Alexander to get him away from the dangers of war. Just know that I hope Dimitri burns in the fiery pits of hell someday – he is that creepy and evil. He is selfish and only worried about surviving and was never a true friend to Alexander and I hope by the end of the book, you completely agree with me.
I feel like I rambled on and on and on with this one but then I also think that I didn’t really tell you anything. While reading this I had to text Kelly over at Belle of the Literati over and over and over because of all the feels and if possible, I recommend you have someone you can talk to about this because you will want to share all the things about it as you read.
If you know me, you know I love historical anything and this book not only includes the historical pieces but also what I imagine to be a true picture of what it had to be like in Leningrad after the Germans began their attacks. On top of that aspect, the book includes some action and definitely some romance. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and find out what happens next. Trust me when I say you need to read this if any of those things sound interesting to you.
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