Lara Prescott weaves a fascinating tale of espionage during the Cold War using Boris Pasternak’s book Dr Zhivago as the basis for her debut thriller. Dr Zhivago is a book that was banned in Pasternak’s homeland - the Soviet Union. People are willing to die for this book, but on the other side of the coin there are agents prepared to kill for it too!

Set both in the East and the West, our two main protagonists Sally Forrester and Irina Drozdov work in the CIA typing pool, a very male dominated environment of former OSS operatives, (and indeed the typists were OSS operatives too, all heroines in their own right’). However, our two protagonists are not merely typists, they’re also spies!

A smuggled copy of Pasternak’s novel finds it’s way to the West, and the CIA use this to their political advantage by sending reprints back to Russia, to manipulate public opinion, and turn the Cold War in their favour.

The author has captured the Cold War era in the West perfectly by means of the lifestyle of her characters, and also the political and sexual attitudes in the workplace, most of which would be frowned upon today.

In the East, we get more than a sense of how married Pasternak maintains a relationship of many years with his muse/lover Olga Ivinskaya, a woman who spent three years in a labor camp because of her association with him, and it captures so well the fear of being watched constantly by the State, and the dread that one day a government black car will turn up and they will never be seen again.

This is a compelling account of the suppression, publication and distribution of Dr Zhivago and all the controversy surrounding it, and it was such a pleasure to read. I expect it will be a great hit!

I was really swept up in the story of this book, it was so interesting to read a book about female spies compared to male spies. And the setting of the Cold Wars locations of the Russia and US was described in such detail the story l=took on a life of its own. I don't know much about Dr Zhivago and i may have to look into the story but this was a very enjoyable read, from a debut author and i look forward to reading more from them. This book was what i would normally pick up but it was great to read something different to what i normally pick.

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
This book is set during the height of the Cold War and dealt with an aspect of the Cold War with which I was unfamiliar. I found it fascinating to read about the lives of the women in the typing pool. During the Second War these women had been responsible for covert operations and were all highly intelligent. Following the war they were reduced to writing up the notes for the men who are in charge of the operations. One woman dares to voice her own very lucid and pertinent thoughts in a discussion where she is taking notes and she is never asked to take notes again.
There are two parts to the story those set in the East and related to Boris Pasternak and his lover Olga. The time which Olga spent being “re-educated” in a labour camp give some idea of what life must have been like in the Gulags.
We also find out about Irina who is taken on in the typing pool but her other skills for undercover work are soon employed. She is inducted into the life of a spy by Teddy Helms and then by another member of the typing pool. The story revolves around the publication of Doctor Zhivago which was banned in Russia due to its critical standpoint on the Soviet State. This novel becomes a key element in the cultural Cold War. Fascinating!
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for enabling me to read a copy in return for an honest review.

I was sent a copy of The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott to read and review by NetGalley.
This is a novel set in the 1950s and centres around the publication of Russian Novelist Boris Pasternak’s masterpiece Dr Zhivago. Alongside Pasternak this story is filled with women, those that surround him personally and also those who play a part in getting Dr Zhivago published. While this is an interesting and enjoyable book involving lots of characters and intrigue, I did find it rather confusing at times – exactly for that reason. Even though the book is a novel it is based on fact, so I learned a lot about the cold war and the difficulties of having a voice in the USSR at that time. Having only previously seen the original film starring Julie Christie and Omar Sharif this novel has sparked a desire in me to read Dr Zhivago in the very near future!

I struggled to read this book as the book title appeared over 180 times in the Kindle version in the middle of sentences. Likewise the author's name appeared over 200 times. It made it hard to read as so often your flow of reading was interrupted as you had to backtrack and mentally removed the rogue words. There were also times when I wasn't sure who the speaker was until some way into the chapter.

The story is set in the 1950s and alternates between the USSR and USA. In the Soviet Union Boris Pasternak's is writing Doctor Zhivago which is guaranteed to cause problems as it does not portray Soviet Russia in a good light. The plot focuses on Pasternak’s relationship with his muse Olga Ivinskaya and how his writings affect her life and family for decades.

Meanwhile in the USA, the plot centres on a pool of typists in Washington DC, some of who are secretly part of a spy network. They were involved in spy operations during WW2 but some are now back on the job being part of the Cold War.

After Doctor Zhivago was rejected for publication in the USSR the manuscript was smuggled to Italy for publication. It then spread to other countries including USA who used their spies to introduce it back to USSR.

The book was a bit of a cross between a romance and a spy thriller but concentrates mostly on the many relationships. There was a tie up between the East and West plots but not as much as I would have liked and I found the ending a bit of a damp squib.

With thanks to NetGalley and Cornerstone, Penguin Random House UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well written, fictional account of the way a novel, “Dr Zhivago,” became a political bombshell; used by the West as a propaganda tool. The novel begins with the arrest of Boris Pasternak’s pregnant mistress, his muse and the inspiration for Lara, Olga Ivinskaya. As Pasternak, against threats and fears of retribution, continues work on what will become his masterpiece, the West are interested in rumours of this book.

To my mind, the parts of the novel which worked best, were the scenes featuring the typists, who worked for the CIA in the Soviet Russia Division in Washington. Many were women who had worked as agents in WWII and had returned to America, to find that their roles have been diminished. Others have completed university to find that a rather menial job as a typist, is all they can find. However, there are those who are approached to do more than just type and these secret lives, within the rather mundane setting of a typing pool, appealed to me.

I have not read about these events before and, as such, found the book interesting and would now like to read a non-fiction account, such as, “The Zhivago Affair,” by Peter Finn. However, this is a fascinating introduction to the battle over, “Dr Zhivago.” I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.

This novel delves behind the writing of Dr Zhivago and the life of the author, Boris Pasternak. Based on fact, this fictitious tale takes into account the paranoia of the age, the role of women and how they were discriminated against and used by authority both in the USA and USSR.
An extremely well-researched novel which gives more background information to Dr Zhivago than I thought possible. I now need to re-read the book and watch the film.




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An intriguing tale, which takes you to Russia and back, with secrets lies and deceit. You hardly know the truth, until the end. An good read.

I had to dip in and out of this book as I didn't find it an easy read. However, it was interesting and has made me want to find out more to see how much of the content is artistic licence and how much is based on known facts.

It's an interesting period of history and was good to read more about it.

#TheSecretsWeKeep was a book that grew on me. I found the first third of the book quite hard to follow (not helped by the formatting of the copy that was shared for reviewing) and I didn’t think I was going to like it very much. I had very much enjoyed the book and film of Dr Zhivago, which is why I asked to read and review this book. I also have an interest in this period of history, particularly for women.
I kept on reading despite my reservations and developed a relationship with the characters and the ended up enjoying the book. The main women characters grew on me and I wanted to find out what happened to them. I also appreciated the idea and the background story to Dr Zhivago.
Following the Second World War it was difficult for women to find a place in society where they could continue to make a difference. They were used in certain roles during the Cold War, as shown in the book. This was interesting and it is clear how much research the author must have undertaken.
Thank you to #NetGalley the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Dr Zhivago as a book and a film holds a special place in my heart as I grew up on the film and have read the book several times over the years (I also have a music box that plays Lara's theme).  The Secrets We Kept centres around Boris Pasternak's writing of Dr Zhivago, its reception in Russia, and how the CIA used the book as a weapon in the Cold War. Through the voices of the secretaries who worked in the CIA as agents, Boris and Boris's mistress Olga this fascinating story of the book and those who sought to use it for their own purposes is told.
The Secrets We Kept is one of the most intriguing books I have read in a long time and it had me utterly gripped, and left me with a huge book hangover.  I thought I knew quite a bit about Boris Pasternak and Dr Zhivago, but I had no idea of America's use of the book in the Cold War.  The book is split into parts East and West, Russia and America/Europe and the plot is told in the first person narrative by the main characters during the 1950's.  This book covers so many different genres, thriller, espionage, romance, history, that there really is something for everyone. Lara Prescott, named after the main character in Dr Zhivago, writes with such a beautiful style, and is able to adapt between the more American use of language and the difference of the Russian style with great skill which helps with the demarcation of the East and West.
Lara Prescott really does justice to the main players in this book and skilfully gives them all their own voice in her use of the first person narrative. My favourite character was Olga, which is a bit of a surprise as I sometimes got quite angry with her for putting Boris  before her children.  She may only have been his mistress but she was the one who seemed to suffer the most at the hands of the Russian regime, being  sent to the gulag prison camps in order to try and stop Boris writing the book. Her strength and belief in his work was unbelievable, and showed her love and loyalty to him. In America it was the stories of Sally and Irina, and their role in smuggling the book into Russia that got my attention. Their stories are fascinating, their training, background and their undercover work had me gripped. It gives an insight into the role of women in the CIA, both in the 1950's and during the previous war with Japan, and how even though they put their lives on the line there were still many prejudices surrounding them.  There are many other characters, all memorable in their own way, and add to the brilliance of this book.
The Secrets We Kept is an absolutely amazing read, and one of the most captivating and interesting books I have read in a long time. The espionage, thrills, romance and historical detail combine to make this such a well rounded, multi layered and breathtaking read. Even if you know nothing about Boris Pasternak, and Dr Zhivago, this is still a book that will captivate you, and maybe even encourage you to read, what I think is an absolute classic.  This is a stunning debut from Lara Prescott, and will definitely be one of my ten best reads of the year. I really can't recommend this book highly enough, so get clicking and buying.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my review of The Secrets we Kept.  I would like to thank Cornerstone publishing for my copy of this amazing book to review.  If any of you are interested in reading Dr Zhivago Vintage Classics have released a newly translated version.

Much has been said about this book, it has been ‘hyped’ ( not a great word but its as it is ) and spoken about as ‘THE book of the year’ and various other platitudes
The book is all about ( trying to keep this as simple as can ) Doctor Zhivago, the author of it, his lover, how the book was banned and how America managed to get the book published and into Russia ( all based on fact ) intermingled with fiction re the ‘spies’ of the 1950’s, the ‘typists’ of the American Govt, who saw all and said nothing and a forbidden love affair between a typist and a spy
That is the easiest way to explain it, the reality of the book is more complex
It was fascinating to read the ‘typists’ take on working for the ‘spies’ and I enjoyed that part of the book the most, the flowery romanticism of the author and his lover left me cold at times if I’m honest and the story of ‘forbidden love’ although poignant was over before it really began and no one really enjoys chapters of a forsaken lover nattering on about lost love, do they??
The part at the World Fair where the ‘spies’ distribute copies of the book to Russians was well done and you felt the urgency of the task
The ‘typists’ characters were great, the rest ‘ok’ and didn’t really raise an emotion either way
Quite a bit of repeated story that ‘filled out the book’
I am sure many will love this book but it sets its stall out very high with its own praise ahead of publication and will be interesting to see how it is received
6/10
3 Stars

I thought this book was very well researched and written in a very readable way, but I didn't like the way the reader didn't always know who was talking until some way into a new chapter. The story about the publication of Doctor Zhivago was new to me and although Cold War fiction is a genre I usually ignore I enjoyed reading about the efforts to get it published and the aftermath of that decision. A great set of characters and locations. Highly recommended to lovers of historical fiction, Russia, literature and more. It is a very accomplished debut novel. With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this novel.

Not at all what I was expecting but a fantastic read. I flew through the pages blending history and secrets seamlessly all around a great love story, fully recommend

What a good, satisfying read. For anyone who enjoys John Le Carre and William Boyd, this is intriguing, readable and tell a fascinating true story. It's inspired to me get hold of a copy of Dr Zhivago to see what the fuss was all about - and I'm loving it.

The Secrets We Kept is an unusual and gripping novel that tells the story of how Boris Pasternak's novel Dr Zhivago came to be published.

Banned in Pasternak's homeland, the USSR, a plot by CIA operatives enables the manuscript to be smuggled out to Italy and published worldwide, leading to Pasternak being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1958.

The novel focuses on the lives of two women, Irina and Sally, working in the CIA typing pool but also trained as spies, and Pasternak's lover Olga Ivinskaya. I did find it difficult to follow the different voices at times but it was still a riveting read.

Some beautiful sentences resonated and the research Lara Prescott undertook does not overwhelm the story. Recommended for people interested in learning what life was like in both the USSR and America in the 1950s when books could easily be banned because the ruling class decreed it.

Many thanks to Random House/Cornerstone/Hutchinson and NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Secrets We Kept.

Lara Prescott has clearly done a great deal of research on the writing of ‘Dr Zhivago’ and its various publications, not least how the novel, banned in the Soviet Union even though its author Boris Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, became as widely read there as in the West.
Whilst there’s plenty of non-fiction written about the naissance of this novel, and its political ramifications, Prescott breathes new life into the story through her careful evocation of both life in Soviet Russia and post WW2 American intelligence. And whilst this may seem like a man’s experience, given Pasternak’s gender and the usual CIA American operators, the author gives us a far less obvious perspective.
Central to this novel are the characters of Olga Ivinskaya, Pasternak’s long-term lover and muse, and Irina and Sally, two women employed, ostensibly, in the typing pool at the bureau, who are also trained as undercover agents. Her subtle and convincing characterisation allows the reader to become fully immersed in these women’s struggles to be true to themselves and to those they love. Whether they be in the East or the West, they all suffer because of their individuality in societies which punish those who do not adhere to the accepted norms.
Prescott’s Greek Chorus use of the typing pool is also extremely effective. These are clever witty women, stalwart in a patriarchal environment, who understand a good deal more than they are given credit for. At the end of the novel, as they look back on this particular CIA story, their strong voices resonate with generosity of spirit. Sadly, the same cannot be said for brave and resolute Olga because, of course, she is no longer around to continue her tale.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

I absolutely loved this book and was totally gripped from beginning to end. The book tells the story behind the publication and subsequent distribution throughout Russia of Boris Pasternak’s masterpiece, Dr Zhivago. The multiple narrators, including Boris’s lover, Olga Vsevolodovna, typists from “The Agency’s” typing pool and various employees of the American Secret Service move the plot along at a terrific pace. A thoroughly enjoyable and informative tale, written stylishly by Lara Prescott. I will certainly be recommending to friends.


NB The reason that I will not be buying for the library is that I work in a Primary School library!

I have posted this review on my GoodReads profile.

This is a very clever idea. The intriguing part is guessing what is fact and what is fiction. The book will certainly make many readers want to read Doctor Zhivago to remember what it was that made the book iconic and Pasternak a Nobel prize winner. The emphasis on the action taken by the CIA to spread the book across the world to embarrass the Soviet government which wanted to suppress it is a clever approach to the story. It also means the creation of a number of other characters who add interest to the book. Then there is the fleeting love affair between two of the female spies used to spread copies of the book in other countries. That is well merged into the story. The atmosphere of life in the Soviet Union at the time is well depicted too.

This book is a must read for lovers of "Doctor Zhivago". For others, who have not read the book and/or seen the film this story should encourage them to do so. Pasternak's book is a masterpiece and deserves to be read. This tale of the trials and tribulations of getting it published has voices in the USA and Russia, some for and some against. In some ways the story of Boris and his relationships mirrors that of Yuri. What is quite frightening is how (relatively) recently this all happened. Highly recommended, as is "Doctor Zhivago" itself.