The Lost Season of Love and Snow

 
Natalya Goncharova was the wife of one of Russia’s most famous writers, Alexander Pushkin. Catching his eye at her first ball when aged barely sixteen, she would later become notorious when held largely to blame for his tragic early death after a duel with her alleged lover, a Frenchman, George d’Anthes. This novel is an attempt to give a fresh voice to Natalya and restore her reputation.

Considered to be a great beauty and moving in court circles with their vicious gossip and loose codes of fidelity, it is inevitable that she will have to deal with jealous women and men other than her husband being attracted to her. Her struggles to avoid the unwanted attentions of Tsar Nicholas I are a particular challenge. Yet Natalya can’t seem to control her naturally flirtatious nature and throws herself into an unwise (if unrequited) relationship with d’Anthes.

The descriptions of aristocratic life in early 19th Century Russia are well-drawn and the risky political intrigues of the revolutionary Decembrists, with whom Pushkin was involved, are not explored in much detail. It is only due to his popularity as an author that he does not suffer the fates of many of his Decembrist friends – death or banishment to Siberia. Yet he remains conflicted over them as he copes with the highs and lows of his career and marriage.

So - does the novel succeed in rehabilitating Natalya? Unfortunately, no. By giving us her first-person voice, it should make her more sympathetic to the reader, but the result is contradictory. She keeps telling us how much she adores her husband and will love him forever, yet also tries to justify her roving eye for other men. She professes to have writing skills of her own but this aspect is never fully explored. Ultimately, she comes across as totally self-centred, more concerned with dressing up, attending balls and flirting with other men (even when pregnant!) than being a devoted and loyal supporter of Pushkin or demonstrating serious intelligence to match his.
​
Interesting in parts, in others this odd novel borders on the repetitive and I struggled to finish it. (The title doesn't make much sense either.) By the end, my patience had been severely tried with Natalya’s behaviour that always ended with her bemoaning her situation or having regrets, also her cavalier treatment of others, including bitchy rows with her sister Ekatarina. I felt for Pushkin, if the real Natalya was this flippitygibbit of a wife. If he hadn’t been shot by the other man, eventually he might have ended up using his pistol on himself!

Two stars.

(I purchased this from a secondhand bookstore and as it was published in 2018 it may now be out of print in some countries.)
 
amazon.com
 
amazon.co.uk

---