Chimes of a Lost Cathedral (Revolution of Marina M. Book 2)
Chimes of a Lost Cathedral (Revolution of Marina M. Book 2) book cover

Chimes of a Lost Cathedral (Revolution of Marina M. Book 2)

Kindle Edition

Price
$15.99
Publisher
Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date

Description

"[ Chimes of a Lost Cathedral is] for anyone who's ever dreamed of meeting their heroes, centuries be damned."― Margaret Wappler, Los Angeles Times "Brilliant...a world of furious beauty, sprawling, majestic landscapes, and erotically charged and traumatic encounters, with life and love hanging in the balance... For the readers who have followed Marina and Fitch on this long, eventful journey, the ending feels satisfying. To Marina, it feels like divine intervention--a signal of the possibility of life and happiness despite everything...Fitch makes the answer clear: Marina is remarkably brave. Her saga should inspire us all to be braver."― Ani Kokobobo, Los Angeles Review of Books "We first met Fitch's passionate, independent Marina Makarova in The Revolution of Marina M ...Fitch's darker, equally compelling sequel tracks Marina's perilous journey from 1919 to 1921...Marina's yearning for freedom propels her to risk everything in the dramatic final scenes."― Jane Ciabattari, BBC.com (10 Smartest Beach Reads of 2019) "Ceaselessly entertaining...Fitch's transporting sequel to The Revolution of Marina M. is even better than the first book...In this full-blooded feminine epic, Marina narrates her dramatic life with striking visual detail...Awash with emotion and poetic imagery...Fitch's tale channels the woman's vibrant spirit throughout. Historical-fiction fans should devour this."― Sarah Johnson, Booklist, (Starred Review) "Fitch gives a 360-degree view of the suffering caused by the Bolsheviks' consolidation of power and tells a long and sweeping story without wasting a word...Our heroine reflects the genius of the Silver Age poets. Their works, personalities, and disagreements are examined as if through a jeweler's loupe."― Barbara Conaty, Library Journal "A treat for fans of Russian literature...An unusual and passionate re-creation of the terrible tragedy of the Bolshevik Revolution and the timeless literary culture it produced."― Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Janet Fitch 's first novel, White Oleander, a #1 bestseller and Oprah's Book Club selection, has been translated into twenty-eight languages and was made into a feature film. Her second novel, Paint It Black, hit bestseller lists across the country and has also been made into a film. Her third novel, The Revolution of Marina M., begins an epic journey through the Russian Revolution, which concludes with Chimes of a Lost Cathedral. She lives with her husband in Los Angeles. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Features & Highlights

  • A young Russian woman comes into her own in the midst of revolution and civil war in this "brilliant" novel set in "a world of furious beauty" (
  • Los Angeles Review of Books
  • ).
  • After the loves and betrayals of
  • The Revolution of Marina M.
  • , young poet Marina Makarova finds herself alone amid the devastation of the Russian Civil War -- pregnant and adrift, forced to rely on her own resourcefulness to find a place to wait out the birth of her child and eventually make her way back to her native city, Petrograd.After two years of revolution, the city that was once St. Petersburg is almost unrecognizable, the haunted, half-emptied, starving Capital of Once Had Been, its streets teeming with homeless children. Moved by their plight, though hardly better off herself, she takes on the challenge of caring for these orphans, until they become the tool of tragedy from an unexpected direction.Shaped by her country's ordeals and her own trials -- betrayal and privation and inconceivable loss -- Marina evolves as a poet and a woman of sensibility and substance hardly imaginable at the beginning of her transformative odyssey.
  • Chimes of a Lost Cathedral
  • is the culmination of one woman's s journey through some of the most dramatic events of the last century -- the epic story of an artist who discovers her full power, passion, and creativity just as her revolution reveals its true direction for the future.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(175)
★★★★
25%
(73)
★★★
15%
(44)
★★
7%
(20)
-7%
(-20)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Just as wonderful as "Revolution..."

The story of Marina as she travels through Russia after the revolution is spell-binding. The vividness of the writing, the fully developed characters, the twists and turns, the history...This is just as amazing as "Revolution of Marina M." Please, Ms. Fitch, more Marina!
4 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A remarkable epic

This (along with its predecessor) is a utterly remarkable work of historical fiction. I was riveted throughout both novels. There is so much suspense, such powerful emotion...I’m not sure how to even put it into words.
3 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Fabulous continuation of Book 1.

I would have given this book a 5 except for the confusing and hard to follow (for me) angles of the First WW and Russian Revolution. Also, the many poets and people in Marina’s circle were hard to keep track of as sometimes they were referred to by their full given names and at others by their familiar Russian “slang”, such as: Alexei Maximovich Peshkov also referred to as Maxim Gorky or just Gorky.

Otherwise, it was a fabulous, epic saga following a young woman poet during times of turmoil and upheaval in St Petersburg (Petrograd), Russia, the home of her heart. The author’s gift with the written word, especially her descriptions at times took my breath away. Just as exciting and spellbinding as the first book, The Revolution of Marina M. It has a fairly tidy ending but you are left wondering what becomes of Marina. I would have continued on to a third book!
✓ Verified Purchase

The gamut of life experiences in the worst of times

The most talented character builder I ever read (in 50 plus years of reading). The author's command of the language and breadth of vocabulary added to the richness of this novel. I absolutely adore every aspect of Marina and only wish there were a dozen more books featuring her.
✓ Verified Purchase

Excellent books !

Wonderful read. Really enjoyed both books
✓ Verified Purchase

Devastation and Determination: Marina's Next Chapters

Spending time with the main character of this book was like reuniting and spending time with an old friend...a lot of time. Because at 730 pages, Chimes of a Lost Cathedral took me forever to finish, just like its predecessor, 2017's The Revolution of Marina M (which was 816 pages). It's hard not to use words like "sweeping epic" to describe this tome spanning from the spring of 1919 to the fall of 1921, during the Russian Civil War. The stories, relationships, and Marina's persistence kept me reading but I will be honest that a lot of the political clashes and beliefs were hard for me to decipher. If you've read The Revolution of Marina M., you will also understand that Fitch will gut you with her descriptions of humanity's darkness, so much so that I needed to step away from the story and have a drink after a devastating event that occurred just before the book's halfway point.⁠

The novel opens with 19-year-old pregnant Marina Makarova traveling through the Russian countryside searching for a place to give birth to her child and follows her on her return to Petrograd, which is mostly deserted yet teeming with orphans. "Now fully a woman, she takes on the challenge of caring for these Civil War orphans, until they become the tool of tragedy from an unexpected direction. But despite the ordeal of war and revolution, betrayal and privation and unimaginable loss, Marina at last emerges as the poet she was always meant to be."⁠

I would recommend this novel (and The Revolution of Marina M) to lovers of Russian history, the Romanov family, and Cherise Wolas' novel The Resurrection of Joan Ashby.⁠