My Review of The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

My Review:

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott is like no other book I have ever read, in fact to describe it as merely one novel does not encompass the sheer breadth of it nor can I do it justice in one review it's so epic.

The Secrets We Kept encapsulates several first person narratives, all female, from the seemingly homogeneous and invisible typists to spies to a mistress. All are at the mercy of men and even when they think they are in control they aren't. You can't read The Secrets We Kept without feeling a deep sense of pathos for the protagonists. As readers we have come across such women in fiction before: the typists could have stepped straight out of Mad Men with its representation of women as being there to service the whims of men. They're capable of so much more and I was also reminded of Hidden Figures and also The Bletchley Circle. 

Women in the 1950's operated within limited parameters defined by men. Prescott has vividly fleshed out the characters for the reader to invest in and it's sobering and heart wrenching to know that the mistress, Olga Ivinskaya, existed or if not literally then most certainly women like them. The Secrets We Kept to me is a homage to our sisters of the Cold War who suffered because of their gender. The book is billed as historical fiction but I found it so relevant to the world we live in today, especially in light of the #MeToo movement.

Whilst the women in the novel are suppressed and oppressed they are most certainly not subservient in anything but appearance and Irina is the epitome of this. Born in America of Russian parents she metaphorically straddles to the two countries in a way others characters cannot. The dramatic irony is poignant as as a reader there were times when I was willing one character on whilst in the next breath shouting 'no' at another but ultimately it is a basic human right to make their own choices, to the the extent available to them, and at its heart #TheSecretsWeKept is a loves story to these women. Love is a central tennet of the novel with its parallel stories of all consuming love which left me emotionally exhausted at the end, just like the characters involved.

You may now understand why I suggested one review wasn't enough for #TheSecretsWeKept as I haven't even mentioned Dr Zhivago yet... Prescott presents fictionalised versions of the author Boris Pasternak and his mistress Olga Ivinskaya but to label her as only this does her a great disservice. Olga is so much more than a socially scorned appendage of a man and is the character I cried for and am still haunted by. Prescott has given Olga a voice that she has been denied up until now and I applaud her for it.

Thank you so much to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part in this stupendous tour.