The Russian Concubine

Book review by Tracey
This book was right up my alley. Lent to me by my wonderful next door neighbor, who as yet cannot be persuaded to write her own guest review, I enjoyed every page. Set in Junchow, China, in the early part of the twentieth century, it’s main character is a teenage girl named Lydia. She and her mother are white Russian refugees living in the international settlement there. Lydia is quite a handful who lies and steals quite efficiently to keep a roof over the pair of them. Her mother, an accomplished pianist, does what she must to survive, but is haunted by the loss of her husband in Russia and her inability to provide a stable home for her daughter and herself. During one of Lydia’s early scrapes, she encounters a Chinese man named Chang An Lo. He saves her from possible death, and they immediately feel a strong bond. Chang is a communist, and is fighting a subversive war against the forces of Chiang Kai-shek. They spend the rest of the story trying to protect--even though they are supposed to hate--each other. Lydia does a lot of growing up, and learns many secrets about her past. It was very interesting to discover the true relationships between characters as the story unfolded. Definitely worth a read.

Tracey.