The Secrets We Kept: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

I’m not usually a historical fiction reader, but The Secrets We Kept was an absolutely phenomenal read that had me glued to the pages from the very beginning. Told from the viewpoint of multiple people during the height of the Cold War, readers embark into the world of spies, revolutionaries, double agents, and their secretaries. A mix of love stories and spy work, Lara Prescott fills readers in on the true story of how the CIA smuggled Dr. Zhivago back into Russia as a way to bring down the Communists from the inside. Though the dialog is imagined, especially the Typists sections — those brave woman back from WWII delegated to secretarial work instead of the field where they belong, now that the men are home from the war — the people and events are real. Prescott is a very talented writer, and I loved the flow of the novel, jumping from character to character as the novel unfolds, allowing the reader to get to know all the key players, from the spies, Sally and Irina, to the Russian lovers, Olga and Boris, to even the secretaries, seamlessly tying the story together as each character shares their take on events. The Audible version actually employs multiple narrators in order to keep each person’s story separate, and I loved have male and female narrators accordingly. They expertly read their parts, and I easily got lost in their tales as they shared the story with me. If you have Audible, I highly suggest listening to this novel that way; it made it that much more real and compelling for me. I haven’t fully read Dr. Zhivago, though I tried immediately after finishing this novel, as I wanted to see what all the hype was about back in the late 1950s, however, that story wasn’t for me. Yet, whether or not you’ve read Dr. Zhivago has no baring on your ability to keep up with this whirlwind of espionage that Prescott so masterfully fleshes out for the reader. I spent a good few hours after completing this novel looking up the characters and learning just how well Prescott did mirroring the situations and adding dialogue that perfectly matches events, and yet captivates readers at the same time. Truth be told, the synopsis above tells it best. This is a powerful novel, and I highly suggest you move it up the reading pile so it’s next on your list. Five stars.

Words are powerful. This novel tells an interwoven story of Boris Pasternak, his mistress, his novel Dr. Zhivago, and the intelligence services of the United States. The story shifts in time between Russia at the time when Pasternak is writing Dr. Zhivago and a bit later to after the novel has been written. It also shifts between characters from the Russian cast and the predominately American characters. The reader’s view of the intelligence services is primarily through the eyes of the women who were largely confined to the typing pool. It is obvious that a lot of talent (including seasoned talent with significant war-time OSS experience) is being wasted on the sidelines. Pasternak was not given permission to publish his novel in Russian since it deem to have anti-Soviet views. That ban made the novel attractive to the American intelligence service as a potential asset/weapon in the Cold War. That ban may have also influenced the Noble Prize committee to award its literary prize to Pasternak for his body of work including his poems and this novel. The story is as fascinating as it was unknown to me. Visions of Omar Shariff, Julie Christie, and ice from the movie version of Dr. Zhivago were ever present in my thoughts as I read. (That’s a good thing!) There are subplots in both the Russian portion and the American that are not closely related to Dr. Zhivago. The subplots serve to flesh out the novel and to give more dimension to the secret world of spies in the Cold War era and the oppressive police state of Pasternak. I recently read the Noise of Time by Julien Barnes about Russia’s treatment of Shostakovich during the Stalin era. This is a nation that takes its art and artists very seriously, and, in an oppressive society, that is not a good thing for artists. Toxic. The two books are vastly different, but consistent in their portrayal of the political atmosphere and the burdens placed on the artists to denounce each other upon request. Unlike The Noise of Time, this is not a literary novel. It is historical fiction that sometimes feels contrived. I did appreciate some of the historical details, like the reactions to the launch of Sputnik. The characters are often flat which leaves the reader less connected to the dramatic story. Things that should have touched my heart, often did not. There are lots of secrets kept by the characters, and there are secrets betrayed. Ultimately secrets are isolating and they make you vulnerable to betrayal no matter how close you might hold them. It may not be a novel that is written well enough to lead to a Nobel Prize for its author, but it was written well enough to hold my interest and keep the pages turning quickly.

The author tells two loosely linked stories, one heartwrenching, soul searching, while the other more superficial and almost stereotypical. Jumping between the two plotlines felt a bit like channel surfing, where one showed strong characters living with dignity amid never ending challenges, while the other recounted the trite, trivial, and redundant stories of the 1950s. Lara Prescott's strength as a writer is clearly demonstrated with her many different first-person accounts, mostly of women's stories of lives as each person experienced it. Writing a 1950's storyline can be difficult, but the author avoids anachronisms and includes many accurate period descriptions to enliven the story. Historical novels are always problematic from mixing truth, half truth, and fiction into the same chapters. Although partially inspired by true events, I was glad the author's acknowledgement at the end included more accurate source materials for those interested in more authoritative souces. This new author has exceptional writing skills, which I hope to see in future fictional works. The Audible narrations of the multiple accounts using different readers enhanced recognizing the various first-person accounts. I admit that downloading the preview chapter excited my interest with the well-written prose that caught my attention; however, the imbalanced qualities the two primary storylines was disappointing and more than once along the way made me question my investments in money and time. The strong finish, especially of the better story, saved the book and made it more worthwhile.

1950年代、アメリカとソヴィエトは冷戦のさなかだった。 本書は EASTと WEST がほぼ交互に描かれる章立てになっており、EAST では、この時代、ソヴィエトでは高名な詩人だったボリス・パステルナークの生涯が中心となっている。彼はモスクワから少し離れた田舎でドクトル・ジバゴにとりくんでいた。妻ジナイダと愛人オリガの間を行き来しつつ。時にジバゴ、トーニャ、ラーラとオーバーラップする。しかし小説ドクトル・ジバゴは愛の物語であると同時に、ロシア革命、二つの大戦、スターリンの大粛清とソヴィエト権力の時代を背景としているために、反革命的文学として母国に拒否され、イタリアで最初に出版されることになる。ノーベル賞受賞も辞退させられる。このあたりの経緯を事実をもとに、フィクションとして、愛人オリガの視点から、その苛酷な状況が綴られていく。オリガの矯正収容所での日々、常につきまとう脅迫観念、そしてボリスへの変わらぬ愛と勇気など。 一方、 WEST では、設立されてまだ10年足らずのアメリカのCIA の世界が舞台となっている。1950年代から1960年代にかけて、スプートニク打ち上げ成功に沸くソヴィエトへの対抗措置として、アメリカCIAは様々な作戦を講じる。その一つが Zhivago-mission と称されるもので、ソヴィエトで出版禁止となっている『ドクトル・ジバゴ』をソ連国内に潜入させ、ソ連国民に彼らの国家体制の言論統制や検閲の実態を知らせ、自由を求めさせようとするのである。本書では CIA で働く若い女性タイピストたちの日常が前面に描かれていて(各章ごとの語り手が誰であるのか不明確な部分があるが)、彼女たちの一人がスパイとしての素質を認められ、他の CIA のスタッフとともに、任務を遂行していく様子が描かれる。 CIA の中の人間模様が、スパイ活動特有の危険や秘密性のもと、愛や友情と確執も伴って、興味深く描かれている。『ドクトル・ジバゴ』を入手し、1958年のブリュッセル万国博覧会で配布する作戦など臨場感にあふれて、そして何より当時の彼らは、文学が世界を変えることが出来るという信念に基づいて暗躍しているのだ。 昔、映画ドクトル・ジバゴを観たときの記憶が甦るとともに、本書のEASTとWESTの世界はそれぞれ、どこまで事実に即しているのかわからないが、様々に余韻の残る本だった。

The premise of the plot of "The Secrets We Kept" was intriguing, but the writing and structure never delivered the punch I anticipated. Honestly, the characters (and there are many!) were never developed or nuanced to a degree that made me care what happened to them, one way or the other. The chapters seemed choppy and the beginning of each one was spent figuring out who the narrator was. The Cold War atmosphere was well portrayed. The back story to Doctor Zhivago was very interesting, but the style in which it was presented was hard to read. This will not be a book I recommend to people who are interested in literature or the Cold War or a compelling narrative.

This book was a page turned and kept my interest the entire time. I liked the diversity in the story line and it was so believable .

Me gusto la mezcla de lo histórico con la ficción, así como también, lo bien que están caracterizados los personajes y la forma en que suceden los hechos en el presente y el pasado.

I enjoyed this book very much. I didn't expect to because I'm not a big fan of Russian literature, but I am a fan of books about the cold war in general. I bought it because of the good reviews and I'm glad I did. There is such a diverse cast of characters, all of whom were well written and interesting. The book moves along at a good pace and there were several times I was compelled to keep reading, even though my eyes were tired.