Our Second Book of the Week this week is one of the most incredible books we've seen this year, in a year absolutely packed with truly amazing ones. It's a book that stayed in our minds even when we weren't reading it! No exaggeration, that's how good it is."The Apartment: A Century of Russian History" by Alexandra Litvina and Anna Desnitskaya, translated by Antonina Bouis is much, much more than a fascinating slice of history. It chronicles the very human stories centred around a large apartment in Russia, beginning at the start of the 20th Century, right through two world wars and through to modern times.
The book begins by showing a huge family tree of all the families (and their pets) that lived or lodged in the apartment over the years, and historical figures who were pivotal to the evolution of the USSR and later Russia after the fall of the iron curtain.
Each triumph and tragedy is narrated through the words of the children in the apartment as they grow up and experience life in Russia - often fraught with hardships and shortages of the bare essentials, but still punctuated with moments of joy, national pride and contentment that comes from a close-knit family community.
There are weddings, there are births and funerals, there's the rise and fall of the cold war, and Russia's first triumphs in space, chronicled in a unique and personal way throughout this glorious book.
We've always been fascinated by life in Russia, and the cultural impact of the west on the east as music, movies and fashion slowly creep their way into everyday life across the iron curtain - before that too goes the way of history as Glaznost comes and goes, ushering new wealth and prosperity across the whole of Russia, and once again impacting the lives of those sharing this amazing vibrant living space.
Older children will obviously appreciate the history and the timelines within, as notable historical events and figures crop up prominently during the stories of these families' lives. As a way to kick off National Non-Fiction November, this book really shows that history doesn't have to use gross-out humour to win you over. It's just packed with touching, beautifully described and gorgeously written accounts.
Younger children will love spotting all the objects that each family hold dear. Their possessions are described and drawn in exquisite detail, ready for kids to spot them in subsequent pages.
At the end of the book there's a glossary and summary of many of the sources for these stories, collected together in such a thoroughly absorbing and thought-provoking way.
Truly this is a breathtaking picture book filled to the brim with joyful and sometimes tragic human stories of folk getting on with their daily lives.
Sum this book up in a sentence: A truly incredible slice of family history in a book that begs to be read over and over again.
"The Apartment: A Century of Russian History" by Alexandra Litvina and Anna Desnitskaya, translated by Antonina Bouis is out now, published by Abrams (kindly supplied for review).