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    The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar
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    The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar
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    The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar

    Written by Robert Alexander

    Narrated by Allen Lewis Rickman

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Drawing from decades of work, travel, and research in Russia, Robert Alexander re-creates the tragic, perennially fascinating story of the final days of Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov as seen through the eyes of their young kitchen boy, Leonka. Now an ancient Russian immigrant, Leonka claims to be the last living witness to the Romanovs' brutal murders and sets down the dark secrets of his past with the imperial family. Does he hold the key to the many questions surrounding the family's murder? Historically vivid and compelling, The Kitchen Boy is also a touching portrait of a loving family that was in many ways similar, yet so different, from any other.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 1, 2018
    ISBN9781101624746
    Unavailable
    The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar

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    Reviews for The Kitchen Boy

    4/5

    392 ratings37 reviews

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    • 4/5
      An intricately detailed story of the last days of Russia's last Tsar and his doomed family. A straight forward example of great historical fiction that wasn't straight forward at all! This mystery completely eluded and thrilled me. Highly recommend - a tale that is quick to read, but will stay with you long after the final page.
    • 4/5
      Facts mix with fiction in this story of the last days and weeks of the Romanov family, the last Tsar of Russia. He and his wife and 5 children were held captive in a house. Told from the point of view of Leonka, the kitchen boy, we learn about each member of the family and also about the loyal help that stayed with them and the hardships. Prominent members of the Red army and a couple of nuns are also woven into the fabric of what I think for me will be an unforgettable story. This slim volume is deceiving -- there is much packed into it, with an astonishing set of twists near the end.

      The book is also a statement on the times. That the kindly Tsar didn't stay current may have contributed to his downfall, a lesson that resonates across ages. His wife, the Tsaritsa, was largely unknown to the people, so rumors flew, as often happens. Their only son was a hemophiliac, a death sentence at that place in history. He and the kitchen boy, early teens, spent time together. A young kitchen boy under these circumstances could come and go invisibly, bringing hope and information to the royal family. And what really happened to that vast fortune of jewels anyway?

    • 4/5
      Sad, sad....good read....sad!
    • 4/5
      4.25 starsMisha is 94 years old and living in Illinois. Just before he dies, he has a story to tell his granddaughter, Kate, so he records it onto a cassette. There was a secret he kept for 80 years, something he felt guilty for all that time. Little did anyone know, but he was the kitchen boy, a servant, for the Romanovs in Russia. Nikolai and Aleksandra Romanov were the last Tsar and Tsaritsa in Russia before the Bolsheviks imprisoned, then later murdered, them, one night in July, 1918. Misha (then Leonka) witnessed the entire horrifying event. Misha tells of the last month or so of the Romanov family's lives, as he helps to smuggle letters in and out of the house they are imprisoned, in hopes of rescue. This was really good. I don't know much about Russian history, so it took a short bit at the start to get a little bit familiar with the names (and sometimes different names were used for the same person, but it was surprisingly easy to follow, all the same) and an introduction to the events leading up to where this story starts, but it didn't take long to get into it at all. The book just builds and builds, and the last third is mesmerizing and horrifying, as Misha describes the murder of the family, and the aftermath. I just didn't want to put the book down at that point. But, it doesn't end there, as time comes back around to Kate and her search for more information about her grandfather.
    • 4/5
      One of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century concerned death of the Romanov family. The father, Nicholas II, was the last Russian emperor. He, his wife, their five children and four servants descended the basement steps of the house in which they were held prisoner one evening in July, 1918. It was the intent of their captors, the Bolsheviks, to kill them. Which is essentially what they did. But the murder and its sequelae left many unanswered questions. It is into this hazy landscape that Robert Alexander journeys with his novel, The Kitchen Boy.Alexander tells the story of the last days of the Romanovs through the voice of Leonka, a young man who worked as the cook's helper in their kitchen during the last 18 months of their lives. He tells the story in retrospect, at the age of 94, speaking into a tape recorder to leave a record for his grand-daughter, who is his heir. He has a conscience that is troubled by what transpired as the Romanovs met their death and part of his motivation to give the world the truth of that event.But all is not as it seems. I found the story captivating from start to finish. While I read this book for its entertainment value there was a side benefit, which may not have been intended by the author. While Alexander tells a fictional story he does so while drawing heavily from historical events. Real people did real things, and some of those things were heinous. Looking back through nearly 100 years of history it is easy to see what was not clear then, which is that in murdering the Romanovs the Bolsheviks were revealing their true colors as ruthless murderers, willing to do anything to grasp and maintain power. And in doing so they paved the way for profound brutality and ruthlessness that continue today. For the most part the murky details of the Romanov mystery that set the stage for this tale have been resolved. Darkness, however, continues to loom large in the human heart.
    • 2/5
      I feel like I've rea this before. It seemed way too familiar.
    • 4/5
      I knew it would end badly for the Romanovs. The last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family have intrigued the west (thanks in no small part to our Cold War view of the Bolsheviks), and in the end it seems, capitalism triumphed at least for the Kitchen Boy. It is a good read if you like speculative historic fiction, but the truth is more thought provoking than this small book is.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book and particularly appreciated the attention to detail. While the ending seemed a bit implausible, I did keep in mind that this book is a historical novel and the author has the liberty of using facts as a backdrop to spin a tale of creativity.I highly recommend this.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this short little novel about the last days of the Romanov family, leading up to the executions by the Bolsheviks. The book offers a "possible" version of what might have happened to the two Romanov children whose remains were never found. Interestingly, just days after reading this novel, the remains were found and positively identified as those of young Nicholas and Maria.
    • 4/5
      A view of the Romanovs in their last days from the point of view of one who shared their captivity. This enables the author to really develope the personal relationships of the Tsar and Tsarina. A very haunting and engrosing read.
    • 2/5
      Long on historical detail and short on literary quality. Would've worked better as a short story. Characters flat and unconvincing. Pacing issues. Etc.
    • 3/5
      OK, I admit it - ever since reading 'Nicholas & Alexandra' (by Robert Massie) in high school, I've loved Russian history and particularly that of the last Romanovs. So when I heard about this book, I immediately got it from the library and read it. I enjoyed it enough to now be reading the second one "Rasputin's Daughter" although it wasn't as great as I had hoped. Still, Alexander obviously did tons of research and constructed what he believed to be an accurate portrayal of the final days before the Romanovs were killed. He, naturally, takes some liberties to fit the needs of the story.Perhaps what I found most annoying was the repeating of information.....although, if you consider the narrator is an old man....well, sometimes they do repeat themselves.Still, I found it interesting and while it may not be an exact portrayal of the events of those days, it seems that Alexander has enough information to at least give a good feel for their states of mind and some of the activities as they happened.
    • 4/5
      The entry in the diary of Tsaritsa Aleksandra Fyodorovna on July 16, 1918, read: "Suddenly Leonka Sednyov was fetched to go and see his Uncle & flew off." So one of their servants, a young kitchen boy who had been present throughout their captivity, survived the carnage. Robert Alexander uses this as the basis of this historical novel. An old man in Chicago records the story of the captivity and the massacre on a tape left for his granddaughter. We live through the entire ordeal, until a strange twist at the end leads us down another path. A great historical novel that has enough truth in it to make it read like a biography!
    • 5/5
      What a find! This was a great book that I couldn't put down. So much has been written about these events that you go into it thinking it will be the same old story. The writing was beautiful and the way the story was told kept me turning the pages! I was sad when it was over.
    • 5/5
      I checked out this book on the recommendations of several bloggers. I have always been interested in the fate of Nicholas II and his family, so it seemed a natural choice. I was pleasantly surprised. The Kitchen Boy was a quick and very enjoyable read. Beginning as the Romanovs are in exile, Alexander traces their final days and the events leading to their execution. The story is told by Leonka, a servant who works in the Tsar's kitchen. But, exactly what does Leonka have to do with the executions? Why his extreme guilt? The suspense builds until the last page.
    • 4/5
      This was a well-written book and a nice, if not short, historical fiction look at what the last few days held for Russia's Romanov family.

      The narrator is an aged man who was a member of the Romanov's staff during their exile in Siberia. A boy at the time, the tale is woven through the eyes of youth, health and loyalty. The end of the book makes this one a must read and will drive me to the next in this trilogy.

      Highly recommended
    • 3/5
      This is good historical fiction - at least up until the ending.Leonka is the kitchen boy to Tsar Nicholas and Tsaritsa Alexandra. He eventually witnesses the slaughter of the Romanov family. This is obviously well-researched, and it's a fascinating glimpse into the life - in exile - of the Romanovs and the forces that brought them down.But I thought the ending was contrived ... too bad.Book club # 1 read it in January 2005; Book club #2 chose it in Oct 2005 - I didn't re-read it.
    • 3/5
      At first, I enjoyed this book so immensely I cannot put it down. But the end was really a bummer since I was still reading this when news of a DNA test result confirming the remains of the Romanovs came out. And besides, the ending's totally realistic anyway.
    • 3/5
      I had high hopes for this book: a short, fictionalized account of the last Tsar's last days. Most of the book, however, was rather boring to read. I also felt like I needed to know more of the history to really enjoy the book, which was rather frustrating.
    • 3/5
      I had a hard time getting into the book. Then, the story picks up with very interesting twists. Makes me want to go research the actual history of these events.
    • 4/5
      I love Russian history and this slim but content heavy novel fit right in. Reading along, thinking I knew where it was going, surprised by the turns and outcome, I have to say this was as entertaining and enlightening as I could ever hope on the events that lead up to fate of the last Russian czar and family. I'd recommend to anyone who has ever wondered... what really happened?
    • 3/5
      Sigh. I was really enjoying this "novel of the last Tsar", as it is subtitled. A tale told by an old man living in America, who reveals himself to be Leonid Sednyov, former kitchen boy in the household of Tsar Nicholas II, who accompanied the royal family into their lengthy house arrest, and because of his youth and insignificance was sent away by the Red Guards before the family was murdered on the night of July 17, 1918. Using the common literary device of a final letter revealing long-kept secrets, to be opened only upon his death, the narrator ostensibly tells an insider's story of what really happened in The House of Special Purpose during the month before the end came for the Romanovs. And he explains how he managed to sneak back to the house and watch the whole grisly scene through a barred window, how he followed the truck that took away the bodies of Nicholas and his family, how he knew where the bodies were disposed of, and what happened to the two that were not found with the others after the fall of Communism. All this, for the benefit of the old man's granddaughter, and to enjoin her to return to Mother Russia the Romanov treasures he had spent a lifetime recovering and hiding in an elaborate vault in his home. Fanciful, a bit of a stretch, but nothing quite so fantastic as the stories that circulated for decades, igniting so many romantic imaginations, of various women who claimed to be or were presented as the Grand Duchess Anastasia, a miraculous survivor of the massacre. If the author had left it at that, this would have been a satisfying, imaginative historical novel. But he had to try to jump the shark, and he missed. I won't slip in any spoilers, but suffice it to say the "surprise ending" set forth in the Epilogue is not only pure foolishness, but it's badly written, whereas the rest of the story was quite well-told. This novel shares an unfortunate failing with several others I've read --The Girl in the Blue Beret, People of the Book, Sarah's Key--in that the modern frame for the historical story just doesn't work very well.Review written in 2012
    • 3/5
      Overall, this book was well written. Though the ending caught me by surprise, the author set up well for it, as I discovered when I went back to re-read some of the earlier parts.I understand that the section about the night the Romanovs died had to be detailed to make the plot work, but that part was really hard to read. Also, the profanity used to describe the death of the empress was disrespectful and didn't even fit the voice of the narrator.Those who like reading about the Romanovs may want to give this a try.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this. At one point, I went through a Romanov phase, and I was very interested to see a lot of very familiar stuff - letters and diary entries I recognised, for example. I also read a lot about "Grand Duchess Anastasia" (I lived in Charlottesville for a while, and we had acquaintances in common), and the whole "What really happened in Ekaterinberg?" mystery. I was interested to see oblique references to several of the more popular theories, bits from here and there stuck together.This is a rather long-winded way of saying that Alexander has really done his homework. This is the best kind of historical fiction, well-researched, and sliding neatly into the actual blanks left in reality. I don't believe that his solution is correct, but I don't think he's very far off, either.I want to also comment that his website is one of the best I've ever seen (except for JK Rowling's, and that's on a whole different plane of expenditure), and I intend to read his other books based on what I saw there.
    • 5/5
      This gripping novel was based on the reminiscences of Leonid Sednyov, who worked in the kitchen of the infamous House of Special Purpose in Yekaterinburg where the last Tsar Nikolai II and his family and a few servants were incarcerated. He was a real historical character who was spared the final slaughter. It has not been known what happened to him afterwards, though a recent article in Wikipedia offers some contradictory evidence as to his later fate in the Soviet Union . In this story he survived and fled to America, where he tells his story in his nineties after the fall of communism and the official reburying of most of the Romanov remains. But there are several final twists in the story, which I found a little implausible, though they match various legends that I have read elsewhere. Great stuff for anyone interested in Russian history. 5/5
    • 3/5
      read for community book group at freeport high school. Very interesting discussion. The book was kind of all over the place.
    • 5/5
      This was a very suspenseful and sympathetic tale that focused on the last months of the Romanovs' lives. The kitchen boy reflects on his role in the assassination of the Romanovs, on how he failed them, and what really happened to the two youngest Romanov children. While largely a tale of fiction, the author has made the book as accurate as possible, including actual notes and events from the House of Special Purpose. The book is further enhanced by visiting the author's website, where he has many photos and a reader's guide to the book.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book, even more than Rasputin's Daughter, which was written by the same author. I did not like how things ended with Misha in the last chapter before the epilogue, but this was an interesting twist on the Romanov story.
    • 4/5
      There are so many books out about the Romanov's and their last days, and though this one is a work of Fiction, it was very inlightening. Alexander took bits of history from many sources and combined them all into a very complelling story. At times he did seem to ramble, but then in my mind all I pictured was an aging Russian with a dark past, wanting to tell everything and being easily sidetracked. This book will keep you guessing to the end, and just when you think you have it figured out...he changes the rules.
    • 4/5
      This book will surprise you. I love to have my expectations for a book to be completely wrong.

      Don't be fooled by the lukewarm beginning and the lenghty routine descriptions. It's description of the assassination and transport of the dead royal family is amazing, as well as the secret at the end.