Enchantments: A Novel

I like historical fiction and love the era of the Romanovs. This takes place after the death of the enigmatic Rasputin, who has left 2 daughters behind. Masha, the oldest is the hope for the young hemophiliac prince, Alyosha, but she does not possess the powers of her father, but she is a wonderful storyteller. She and Alyosha develop a bond as she tells him mostly made up stories about the palace. It is well-written in a magical type way, it is enchanting like the title. If compared to the historical fiction of Hillary Mantel, it is lacking but it is a step up from a Philippa Gregory HF novel. I think if just read as a novel, it holds up better. My favorite way to learn about history is through fiction but that doesn't mean everything in here is true. You will have to look facts yourself. But it is a different look at a fascinating time period. ( )

Rasputin is a name to which history has not been particularly kind: the Mad Monk, sexually rapacious charlatan, filthy heretic, villain, predatory opportunist who was amongst the major reasons for the overthrow of the last tsar of Russia. It is hard to tease out the man from the myth, a myth written by the historical victors and Kathryn Harrison, in her newest novel, Enchantments, doesn't really try to dispell or reinforce the popular view of the public Rasputin. Instead she comes at him obliquely, through the eyes of his daughter. And what of Rasputin's eldest daughter? Maria Rasputin was only 18 when her father was murdered and she and her younger sister were taken under the protection of the Romanovs. These two girls lived with the royal family during their final days in power and in the early days of their captivity and house arrest. Although the tsarina has hopes that Maria (Masha) has inherited her father's healing ability, the power to ease and stop Alexei's hemophilia, she hasn't. What Masha does have, through her growing friendship with Alexei (Alyosha) and life with the Romanovs, is an insider's view of the end of a reign, a daughter's understanding of her father, and a very personal connection to the flesh and blood people up against the execution wall of history.


Told many years after the Revolution, Masha looks back on her past, her father, and her friendship with Alyosha Romanov, recounting that pivotal year she lost her much beloved father and half fell in love with the tsarevich, entertaining him with her fantastical stories, distracting him from both his pain and the simmering knowledge that he and his family were living under a death sentence. Masha spends many hours with the tsarevich recounting Russian history, his family's personal history, and her father's life. She tells of Rasputin's early life and how he became known as the mystical healer upon whom the Tsarina latched to save her precious son. She doesn't gloss over the way he accepted sexual favors as his due nor over the way he put his position above the daughters who loved him so well and his succumbing to the worldly temptations of the capital but she shows him as a more balanced man, holy and gifted and feared and martyred in equal measure. She creates a picture of Grigory Rasputin that does not often jibe with other, perhaps admittedly, biased accounts.

But her own father's reputation and life is not all she speaks of with Alyosha. Masha creates fantastical tales of his parents' courtship and love match. She recounts the madcap celebration of Tsar Nikolay's coronation and the tragedy in its wake. She draws intimate pictures of both the Tsar and Tsarina, capturing their humanity far beyond them as symbols of the monarchy. And the tsarevich listens enthralled, always wanting more, learning to see through the imagination and eyes of Masha. As she acts as his Sheherazade, the two, Masha and Alyosha, bcome extraordinarily close companions and confidantes. Alyosha feels comfortable enough with Masha to try to explore his new and budding sexuality with her although the majority of their interactions are centered around the stories Masha tells, almost folkloric in feel.


While the end of the Romanov tale is in no doubt, Harrison has done a beautiful job with the pacing of this non-linear novel, keeping the tension high as they move inexorably toward their date with destiny. The novel is a seamless blend of history and fiction, with the latter bringing the real life characters into clearer focus, giving them inner lives, desires, and pressures. Her use of Masha as a story-teller to educate Alexei (and the reader) on the history behind his birthright is well done and believable even when she tells of the most fantastical events and happenings. There is a sense of inevitability and yet the small dogged desperation of hope woven throughout the novel. Although the story continues with Masha's life outside of Russia and touches on the almost unbelievable path she trod as a performer, once her connection to the Romanov family is gone, the story is somehow less captivating. The major interest here is her complicated relationship with the doomed tsarevich rather than her life post-Revolution. Harrison has drawn a magnificent picture of a Russia in turmoil and the preternaturally calm patch of it that the royal family tried to maintain as the noose tightened around them. The writing is magical and fanastical evoking place and character beautifully and the reading was smooth and satisfying. Historical fiction fans, especially those enchanted by the doomed beauty of the last of the Romanovs, will enjoy this novel very much. ( )

You may not know Matryona Grigorievna by her first two names, but you will recognize her last, infamous name: Rasputina. The daughter of either Russia's most famous eccentric and healer or her most prolific sham, depending on who is asked, Masha's unique and by turns sad, very strange and moving story of life after her father's abrupt (and excessively violent) murder is a sure-to-please strong-female-character-powered novel. Enchantments was exactly what I wanted from another Russian historical fiction set about the same time (The Last Romanov) and didn't get: a fresh, compelling point of view, set during a popular and dangerous time period (the fall of the Romanov dynasty), a slight hint of romance that doesn't overpower character and/or plot development and (hopefully) amply furnished with enough accuracy to keep the tension high and the audiences interest consistently piqued. Veteran author Kathryn Harrison gracefully executes all these disparate parts to their utmost, with clear and tactile imagery and compelling prose. This is a darker novel in tone, for obvious and unavoidable reasons, but the intensity of the setting, the crackling tension and the characters desperation make for a moderately fast read.

I enjoyed almost everything there was to Enchantments. I did find the plot a bit lacking in some extended areas, but this is a novel that is carried by the strength of its cast. Harrison has a dab hand for foreshadowing ("There are those people who cannot be transplanted from one age to the next."), incrementally building up tension, and in setting up crucial, expected scenes without veering into predictability. Though the fate of the Romanov family is well known, Harrison makes their years-long journey to the House of Special Purpose compelling and touching. The unique POV perspective distinguishes this novel, as does the fact that Enchantments is more concerned about tsarevich Alexei's final days than either his brood of sisters or his parents. This is one of those historical fiction novels that makes a reader want to know more about the source material. As a ardent history major and freak, I was already well-versed in a lot of Romanov and Bolshevik Revolution lore, but Harrison's thoroughly developed and rounded versions of these real, flawed people reignited a previous cultural fascination with Russia and her Imperial family - I was Googling away on a vast array of subjects, people and events that had impact on this story.

As I intimated earlier, it really is the characters that make The Enchantment so compulsively readable. While Harrison sticks to facts for the bulk of her work, Masha's romantic entanglement with young Alexei provides a light spot in an overwhelming sad life. I appreciate the light hand used for the relationship - it felt natural and right for both characters, while not overpowering the more dramatic and worldly plotlines of the novel. The author also avoids the issue of characterizing Rasputin outside of his role as a doting father - while his life obviously impacts his daughters, Harrison never takes a side in the debate about his role as healer or heretic. Masha, obviously, believes in the power of her mystic father, and her belief is compelling but not convincing. Worshiped by some, reviled by others, but only truly understood by his devoted eldest daughter, Rasputin's magnetic pull is in evidence largely in absentia and its continued affect on Masha's life after his death.

To get a bit less positive about the novel, I will say that I found the shifts between the past and the present to be a bit disorientating. The flashbacks themselves are well-timed and chock full of historical detail and data without weighing down the overall plot and increasing intensity. Even when the expected end comes for Alexei, OTMA and the Imperial pair, Masha's dispassionate voice manages to convey her deep sorrow while keeping her emotional distance. I found the last part of the novel — with Masha apart from the Romanovs — lacked the dynamic of the previous chapters. I struggled slightly through the later, introspection-heavy pages devoid of interaction with the other players. But despite those few issues, there isn't much to malign here in Enchantments.

The unique, fresh approach of Rasputin's daughter, the finely and intricately drawn backdrop of Imperialist Russia, the wonderfully realized characters all made for a great historical fiction novel. People now tend to view Rasputin with the benefit of hindsight, often confusing the man with whatever he did or did not to to aid the downfall of the Tsars. Kathryn Harrison's Enchantments, through the eyes and ideas of his tale-spinning daughter, is singular in that it shows Russia's Mad Monk as a person, as a dad even, to great effect. Every choice Masha makes is influenced by her father and his desires for her and reading her life story as imagined by this author is a nice piece of historical escapism. ( )

I loved this book when I started it. There is a very dreamy, fairy-tale aspect to the writing that was just wonderful to read. The story focuses on the daughter of Rasputin and her relationship with the son of the tsar. The teenagers, Masha and Aloysha tell each other stories about their lives and Russian historical events, mainly to distract Aloysha from pain caused by a chronic disorder. Alas, I was about halfway through this book when I dropped it in the bathtub! I will be purchasing another copy so I can finish the story. ( )

Summary
Told from the perspective of Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin's daughter Masha (Maria in real life), Enchantments is the story of her father Rasputin, his murder and the undoing of the Romanov family, including Masha's close relationship with the tsar's only son Aloysha (Alexai in real life).

After Rasputin's murder, Masha and her sister go to live at Tsarskoe Selo with the Romanovs in hopes that Masha has inherited at least some semblance of her father's healing powers. Aloysha is a hemophiliac and has grown to depend on Rasputin to overcome his many illnesses, including tremendous pain and suffering throughout his young life. Masha takes her father's place, telling Aloysha stories that she heard from her father, about his life, the life of Aloysha and his parents and the history of their families, spun creatively into cultural stories with fantastic elements and details as well as fact.

What I Liked
The details - while the details were sometimes hard to read (the assassination, Rasputin's murder, burial, and unburial, Aloysha's bleeding, etc.) they made the story real. I think that's important for a story like this one where a lot of people think they know the story...when they really don't.

Another side to Rasputin - I always believed that he was an evil charlatan who was in some way responsible for the deaths of the Romanovs. In short, I accepted the "legend" of Rasputin without question, something I teach my students not to do :( Through Harrison's story I now see that there is another side (as there always is)...to this tragedy. We may never know the exact truth behind Rasputin's relationship with the Romanovs, but it certainly wasn't the clear cut version we've grown to believe. The facts lead me to believe that he was certainly a man who suffered from some kind of mental illness (maybe schizophrenia?) but he was incredibly intelligent at the same time...there usually is a fine line. I will definitely be reading more about this character.

A new vision of "monarchy" - we tend to put the monarchy up above the rest of the world...when they are just families...unfortunately, though they are families with greater expectations than the rest of us will ever know...with a country as their child.

I realized this when the tsar's supporters reached out to his other family members across the world for political asylum and no one came to their aid for fear of consequences within their own realms. Very sad indeed.

The facts - there is enough mixture of fact and fantasy to stir my curiosity to the point of literary/historical obsession as usual...I "need" to find out more. I "need" to tease out what we know from speculation. I also am intrigued by what we don't know and how as time goes on, we are still learning and putting the pieces of the historical puzzle together.

What I Didn't Like
The treatment of the Romanovs while under arrest - I realize this was a revolution, and I realize that the Romanovs were considered prisoners of war...BUT they were a FAMILY...4 young women and a young boy, their mother and father, including some of their most trusted aids. The soldiers who murdered the Romanovs kept detailed records of how they killed the Romanovs...how does a human being walk up to an injured 13 year old boy, put his pistol on the side of his face and shoot twice to finish him off.
I know this sounds naive of me, but I just don't understand.

The more I learn about the monarchy...no matter which country...the Cinderella story is a lie. The Romanovs looked for places to go...for political asylum...but even their relatives in England, Germany, and other European countries wouldn't/couldn't take them in, probably more for political reasons than anything...as a monarch, the fate of your country and the safety of your subjects is always on your shoulders. If one family must be sacrificed for the whole country, then so be it.
Nope, no thanks, not me.

The yarns and legends woven into the stories - I think if I had more of a background in Russian literature/history/storytelling, I might have appreciated and understood these more. As the story moved on, I sometimes found myself skimming through some of the more colorful stories Masha told Aloysha (flying carpets and such).

The Romanovs were doomed from the beginning...every choice they made seemed to be misconstrued...For example, after their son, the heir to the Russian monarchy (the savior of Russia) was born a hemophiliac, they moved away from the public eye to protect him and keep his sickness as much a secret as possible. A move made to protect their son was falsely interpreted as conceited, and after living away from the city so long, they missed many of the early warning signs of turmoil that might have saved them. As much as I liked this novel, by halfway through I found myself wanting it to be over. I almost think I felt the symbolic cloud (which must have been some form of depression?) that followed Alexandra around. I was trying to explain this to my oldest daughter and she said, "It's sounds like how you feel when you're reading Anne Frank." Yep, exactly.

The "romance" between Alyosha and Masha. I don't know if I'd call this a romance or Alyosha trying to lose his virginity. I'm anxious to find out where this part of the story came from.

Overall Recommendation
As one who only knew the fairy tale version of this story up to this point, I'm assuming that this is a story for those, like me, who aren't already steeped in Russian history. You certainly need to be a lover of historical fiction for this one as well. ( )