The Amazing Literary Adventures of Amber & Eleanor the Cat / “The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the last Tsar” By Robert D. Zimmerman
By: Amber Ford, The Mountain Times
In the spirit of giving thanks and showing gratitude, Eleanor decided it would only be right to showcase the most favorite book we’ve read in recent years. Now before you go assuming we’re going to say any and all Tolkien or The Harry Potter series, you wouldn’t be completely wrong. We hold a special place for our fantasy novels and esteemed literary idols, but when it comes to books which deserve recognition, we have found one that has impacted our way of reading and writing. Robert Zimmerman’s “The Kitchen Boy” is the most esteemed of reads in the last decade.
We all know the way to Eleanor’s heart is through sharing cans of tuna in bed while watching any documentary on The History Channel or exploring a historical fiction novel. A peculiar fact about both Eleanor and myself is that we are suckers for Russian history. While I share no known DNA with Russians – and we are fairly certain Eleanor does not either – the royalty, tragedy, and continuously unfolding power struggles of Russia have always fascinated us. More specifically, the dynamic and overtly dramatic Romanovs and their untimely massacre directly correlates to “The Kitchen Boy.”
“The Kitchen Boy” provides an accurate depiction of revolutionary Russia and is both terrifying and intensely suggestive. The stage has been set for Tsar Nicholas II and his family long before the actual execution. The novel follows 14-year-old kitchen boy, Leonka Sednyov, as he and a few select assistants, doctor, and a chef accompany the royal family as they are evicted from their palace and taken to the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The detailed accounts of the final days of the last royal family of Russia brings readers a very challenging concept: that although this family once ruled one of the largest countries in the world and have a lineage compelling to historians, they were still a family, a family that experienced pain, anguish, and a very disturbing end.
Although the story is told through the eyes of a servant to the family, readers still experience what everyday life was like for the Romanov family, imprisoned by The Bolsheviks. A riches to rags story in every sense of the word, the family began to rely heavily on the close-knit bonds and skills learned from their servants over the years. The novel twists and turns through the final days of the Romanov family’s lives, including explaining the relationships they made with their captors.
While the end of the novel is no surprise to readers who know of the brutal execution and disrespectful burial, “The Kitchen Boy” has a most shocking and intense twist, leaving readers in absolute shock. The plot twist was so intense, Eleanor and I had to reread the last chapter several times before it finally hit us: We had been completely blindsided in all the best literary ways. The last few chapters, with the historically accurate execution looming throughout the pages, reveals the shocking fictional twist.
Eleanor and I both know we preach historical fiction from our soap box, but even if you consider yourself a “thriller enthusiast,” the twists and turns of this novel are sure to engage you. And while there have been many, many books we have thoroughly enjoyed since reading “The Kitchen Boy,” none have given us the same bookworm goosebumps.