White Gardenia
Belinda Alexandra
Gallery Books, Feb 17 2015, $16.00
ISBN: 9781476790312
Having fled their homeland after the Tsar abdicated, many White
Russians settle on the border in Harbin, China.
There Victor Grigorovich Kozlov and Alina Pavlovna meet, marry and have
a child Anya. When Anya turns thirteen
her father dies in an accident. Not long
after his death, Russian Communists take control of Harbin from the Japanese
occupied Chinese; severely mistreating their former countrymen. Incarcerated Alina returns home to Mother
Russia to most likely die in a labor camp and abusive Tang possesses Anya. Family friends smuggle her out of Harbin.
In Shanghai Anya stays with Moscow-Shanghai nightclub owner and
opium addict Sergei and his avaricious wife Amelia. When their ward turns
fifteen, she begins to work at her guardian’s nightclub where she meets manager
Dimitri. A year later, Anya and Dimitri
marry. Her husband deserts her when the
Communists seize Shanghai forcing all foreign devils out of the country. Anya manages to get to The Philippines where
she makes new friends amongst the Russian exiles in a Tubabao refugee camp
before relocating in Australia.
This reprint of a mid-twentieth century epic grips the fans with a
profound look at what happened to White Russian expatriates decades after they
fled their homeland. The storyline
starts vivid yet fast-paced; slows down in the middle though retaining the
vibrancy; and accelerates with an exhilarating climax. Real events and a strong support cast anchor
Anya’s saga; as she struggles to survive in a seemingly ever changing but ever
cruel world while craving one impossible dream: reuniting with her mother.
Harriet Klausner
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