Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Amber Keeper

Title: The Amber Keeper

Author: Freda Lightfoot

ISBN: 978-1477826157

Publication Year: 2014

Summary

     After her mother commits suicide, Abby Myers returns to her home town with her illegitimate daughter to reunite with her family after seven years. Her family blames her for her mother's death and Abby is filled with grief and turns to her grandmother, Millie, for answers. Her grandmother tells her the story of how she became a Russian governess and struggled to survive in the Russian revolution. As the events of the past are revealed, it becomes clear to Abby that the past is now threatening the family's peace.

Review

     The Amber Keeper takes place in 1960s England and 1910s Russia. Although this book struggled to keep my attention in many parts, the story was interesting and well thought out. It offers a perspective of the Russian revolution that does not focus directly on the monarchs. It focuses on the servants of the aristocrats instead. The Amber Keeper does not demonize the aristocracy neither does it glamorize it. It shows three lessons that everyone could learn from:

1. Assumptions could damage relationships. Abby and her family were at odds for almost the entire book simply because they assumed the cause of their mother's death rather than thinking more about it.

2. Lack of communication can damage relationships: much of the book's conflict could have been avoided if both Millie and Abby's mother had simply told the family the truth to begin with. Everything from the jewelry shop's decline to the trouble  Millie went through when her daughter was a teen could have been avoided if the truth had been revealed earlier.

3. Some bad people never change. There are some people who will always do the same thing no matter what they experience or what consequences they pay for their actions. Countess Olga(a very important character in Millie's past) learns noting from the Russian revolution and commits the same mistakes for all her life.

The Amber Keeper is a good read and I would recommend it.

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