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/ Past Monthly Featured Review

Stalin’s Door

Rating:
☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5
Buy on Amazon

Title: Stalin's Door

Author: John St. Clair

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Cover:

The bold red cover immediately caught my eye, and I was intrigued with the neckerchief and woggle. I was unfamiliar with the term “woggle,” but St. Clair quickly introduces the item and keeps it in a prominent position within the story.

Premise

While this story begins in 1934, it spans nearly 70 years and takes the reader through one of the bloodiest times in Russia’s history in which Joseph Stalin ruled as the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. St. Clair shares the story through the first-person perspective of three very different characters whose lives are intertwined by nothing more than split-second decisions that change the course of their futures.

Why I chose this book:

My husband, Keith, who is also an author, bought John’s book after a Twitter exchange involving an adorable picture of John’s dog, Grover. Little did I know that I would soon spend the weekend sick in bed with hours to invest in a new book. I knew nothing about the story other than it appeared to occur during Stalin’s reign, and even that was a fuzzy piece of history for me. After reading just the first page and a half, I was intrigued and decided to keep reading.

First Impression:

Even though I frequently read historical fiction, I cannot recall reading a book about Russia during this time. However, just a few months ago, I watched a Netflix series called The Last Czars, which detailed the reign of Czar Nicholas II. Nicholas ruled until 1918 when the Bolsheviks rose to power under Lenin, Stalin’s predecessor. It was with this knowledge that I began reading and I could not put the book down once I started it. The story maintained a steady pace that kept me turning the pages until the very end.

What I loved:

John made this era of history come alive for me through the unique perspectives of Zhenya, Sava, and Lera. He provided relevant details that set the backdrop for the reader to immerse themself into Russia and its culture. These details never felt cumbersome but, instead, were interesting and supported the reader’s journey through the lives of these endearing characters. I feel as if I better understand the time and the horrors those generations endured under Stalin’s rule. The amount of research that went into Stalin’s Door is remarkable. Only a dedicated author could complete such a project.

Stalin’s Door took me through such a range of emotions…sadness, anger, confusion, hopefulness, shock, relief, and even admiration. At times I found my heart racing as I turned the pages, wondering what would happen next, and in other moments I found myself savoring each word. The characters were not just characters to me. They had taken on a life of their own, and in the process of reading about their lives, I had grown attached. I even cried as I shut the book for the final time. I found myself longing for more.

Additional Thoughts:

While I certainly do not want to disclose any critical details of the story, I wish we were given additional insight into Lera’s painful journey, specifically, her ability to process her own story as it relates to Sava.

Whenever dealing with historical fiction, the reader is faced with not always knowing what parts of the story derive from historical fact and what parts are the author’s creation. For those not familiar with this time in history, I think a brief guide at the end of the book would help distinguish what parts of the story were based on documented fact and what parts required John to fill in the gaps to tell a compelling story.

Quotable Quotes:

• She said we should always strive to be as self-sufficient as possible. The future wasn’t certain, and what was here today could easily disappear tomorrow. (Page 24)
• The student never stops learning, and the teacher never ceases teaching. (Page 86)
• Bureaucracies bred quotas, and their quotas have voracious appetites. (Page 156)
• Perhaps what this world needs is a bit of hope amongst the chaos and despair. (Page 175)

Who might enjoy this book:

Stalin’s Door is ideal for those readers who enjoy historical fiction and the ability to immerse themselves in the details of another time and place.

Overall Impression:

Five stars. Stalin’s Door is a beautifully written story in which St. Clair immediately and effortlessly pulls the reader into Russia during the 1930s and 40s. These years in Russian history, known as The Great Terror, set the grim backdrop for the story of Zhenya and two strangers, Sava and Lera, who impact her life forever through their selfless actions that can only come from a place of pure love and a sense of doing the right thing. Family does not always come in the form of blood relatives. Sometimes our family consists of those we choose to love and keep in our hearts forever. Stalin’s Door is a story of love, loss, hope, resiliency, and making peace with a devastating past that destroyed the lives of so many Russians. This is St. Clair’s debut novel, and it is my sincere hope that he continues to write and publish stories of this caliber. So take a chance on Stalin’s Door . You will not be disappointed.

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