Title: The Mirrored World
Author: Debra Dean
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: I had mixed feelings about this one, which was beautifully written and conveyed the essence of events very well but never made me feel engaged in the plot.
This book was inspired by the life of Xenia, patron saint of St. Petersburg, but is told from the perspective of her (imaginary, I think) cousin. We watch as Xenia falls madly in love and her complete devastation following her husbands death. As Xenia finds solace in giving her belongings for the poor and slowly transforms into a pauper revered as a “holy fool”, her cousin must decide whether Xenia needs saving from herself or just support in her choices. Her cousins life is also deeply impacted by Xenia’s transformation which helps her find love in the most unlikely of places.
The first thing that struck me about this book was the gorgeous and evocative imagery. Early on, the narrator remembers a fire that occurred when she was very young and the author did an amazing job conveying the feel of the scene with just a few of the narrator’s impressions. Every sentence was well crafted, every word carefully chosen to form a certain image. This was true throughout the book. Because the author did such a wonderful job conveying what it felt like to be in a particular scene, I felt as though I was present with the main character and empathized deeply with her feelings.
I’ll definitely want to find a non-fiction book about this era as well, because the historical details were fascinating. Overlapping the beginning of Catherine the Great’s rule of Russia, it seems being part of the court could be very dangerous as harsh punishments were visited on those who displeased the empress. My one complaint with this book is that despite the sometimes dangerous situations, I never felt concerned about our protagonist. And for all that the events sound exciting when you describe them, I found the plot somewhat bland and un-engaging because of my lack of worry about what was going to happen next. However, I can’t put my finger on any one thing that may have made me feel uninvolved with the plot, so I think other people might enjoy the book even more than I did.
For some other perspectives, check out the other stops on the tour, Amazon, or Goodreads.
If you’re looking for a decent history, I hear Massie’s bio of Catherine the Great is a good read.
Thanks! I will definitely look it up 🙂
Hmmmm. The cover drew me to this book, and I’m still willing to give it a shot. I kind of with it was from Xenia’s POV instead of someone else’s.
I think you probably should 🙂 I didn’t quite connect with the characters but I can’t put my finger on anything specific that was wrong with the book, so I suspect it was just me.
Added it to me to-read list!
Pingback: Debra Dean, author of The Mirrored World, on tour July 2013 | TLC Book Tours
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.
Absolutely 🙂 Thanks for including me!
Aha … I wanted to like this more too! But I agree that since it’s told from someone else’s POV it’s much less involved.
Btw, I was in this tour too. http://guiltlessreading.blogspot.ca/2013/07/the-mirrored-world-by-debra-dean.html
Isn’t that disappointing?! I’m sorry you didn’t like it as much as you expected either but I’m excited to check out your review 🙂