Double-Stacked Bookshelves

John Boyne's The House of Special Purpose Logistics Title:  The House of  Special Purpose Author:  John Boyne Published:  May 7, 2009 Publishing Company:  Other Press Page Count:  469 Summary via Goodreads Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign. Eighty-year-old Georgy Jachmenev is haunted by his past—a past of death, suffering, and scandal that will stay with him until the end of his days. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the czar, in the early twentieth century—a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution. As Georgy overturns the most painful stone of all, we uncover the story of the house of special purp...

I had to check David Besmozgis's The Free World out twice just to finish it (stinking two week limit and other responsibilities).  I just got it back this past Thursday and finally finished the last 200 pages or so and I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. The novel centers around the Krasnansky family; three generations of Russian Jews.  Their goal throughout the entire book is to escape the Iron Curtain and make it to the West and the "Free" world.  The story is told from several different perspectives; mainly Samuil, the patriarch of the family, Karl, the straight-laced oldest son, Alec, the charismatic playboy and youngest son, and Polina, Alec's wife.  There are other members of the family who've made the journey:  Emma, Samuil's wife and Karl and Alec's mother, Rosa, Karl's wife, and Zhenya and Yury, Karl and Rosa's sons.  The journey they go on eventually lands them in Rome, Italy.  It is here that the majority of the story plays...