Yes, it is a thrilling plot, the story of Pasternak's banned novel smuggled to the West then repackaged by the CIA and smuggled back into Russia but oh it's so clunkingly told. The opening sentence should have put me off: We typed 100 words per minute. Really? Too breathless, too many cardboard characters, too much switching back and forth. Confession, half way through I gave up.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 95 Winter 2020 ) |