I was slightly skeptical about American writing a book set in this time and era but the book was ok. I did not quite understand the hype around it as it was nothing special and I felt that the author did not utilize the era properly. There are flashes here and there of the atrocities of what the boshelviks were doing to people but I still missed a a bit depth relating to this story. For me it was nice read but definitely not a book I will be re-reading.