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A Partial History Of Lost Causes (2012)

by Jennifer duBois(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1400069777 (ISBN13: 9781400069774)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

The Dial Press

review 1: The writing in this book was beautiful. I was lucky enough to visit Russia over 15 years ago, and the descriptions of that country, even though they portrayed a place I would not like to live, transported me back there. It was particularly timely to read given the situation in Ukraine and the tension between NATO and Russia. However, the two main characters led very depressing lives, and it was hard to read. I think I would have given up half way through the book had it not been for a bookclub. I was surprised that in the end I finally liked the main female character, Irina, and overall I felt the ending was more uplifting than I expected it to be. I also really enjoyed the discussion in my bookclub about "what would you do?" if faced with a diagnosis like Huntington... more's disease. Interesting questions to think about and discuss.
review 2: The theme of how do you proceed in an endeavor when you know you will fail was well explored. I don't know much about Russian history so the setting was interesting and I have always liked chess so that also worked for me. But, I did get bored in some parts and skimmed. While the chapters alternated between Aleksander and Irina, Aleksander seemed more well developed as a character and we get more of his story. less

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