Despite the Falling Snow: - now a major film starring Rebecca Ferguson and Charles Dance

This has been such a great book to read. I practically read it in one sitting. The backdrop for this story is the 1950's Russia. It gives us a good idea of what living in a totalitarian state was like. And it even comes short to what it truly was like I assume. It's full of suspense, and you put together the puzzle with every other chapter.The pace is right on, the travel in time back and forth works nicely for the story, and the story is really good. I could really connect with the main characters emotionally and intellectually. It is a beautiful love story from cover to cover, with a spy agenda of course. It's an interesting ride through the twisted and pleasurable roads of love, with some detours into less pleasurable emotions such as hate, guilt, and betrayal, as well as a glimpse into relationships in general.It's great to see what this man, Alexander, makes out of his life even as an older man, despite of his losses and pain. And Katya, whom the whole story revolves around, is truly an intriguing character. She's seductive, secretive and mysterious, and yet very human. I loved it!

A great read and not what you think it's going to be when you first get started. This is a book I started, then set aside for a couple of months before getting back into it. It did not capture my full attention when I first started it. But once I began reading it again, I did not stop. And I'm glad, it was well worth waiting for. It is a love story of sorts and one you can appreciate without all of the intimate details. I don't generally like books that jump back and forth in time (which is what originally had me setting it aside) but as you might expect, the jumping is essential to the eb and flow of the story. It's an easy book to read and well structured.MUCH better than some of these so-called "Amazon best sellers" on Kindle that I've read and set aside because the structure was just too juvenile.I would gladly read another book by this author.

I watched the movie and the book. I loved the movie more than the book. The author made lots of changes for the movie which made it more interesting than the book. The book is well written but still I choose for the movie which is great.

I loved this story. Rebecca Ferguson's portrayal of both characters was amazing. If I had not known it was the same woman before I watched the movie, I'm not sure that I would have guessed that both Lauren and Katya were portrayed by Rebecca. Little has been said of Antje Traue's work in this film, but I think she also showed how conflicted Marina became after she got to know Lauren. I would like to see Shamim Sarif pursue Lauren and Marina's relationship in a sequel.

The beautifully written tale of suffering, of people learning to love and to continue to love. No matter what. However tragic, the novel makes for an excellent read.Phenomenal research. As though the author is either a Russian or has lived at that time in the Soviet Union.I highly recommend the book to all who is interested in the history of Russia and the mentality of the Soviet people.

The Story was ok. I was very disappointed with the ending. I was hoping Katya had gotten out of Soviet Union and they would have gotten to see each other again. I am not the author though. You are just left hanging at the end as to what happens next.

I love this writer. She paints such vivid characters and stories. I find myself not wanting to put her books down. This one was no exception. You get story that travels back and forth between 1950's Russia and late 1990's Boston. You follow the life of Alexander, his life, love, and escape from Russia to the US. You will experience love, loss and struggle. Worth the read.

This book seemed like an outline of a TV movie. Unlikely coincidences, characters acting out-of-character, very predictable story lines. I am so disappointed. Sentences like, "In is holding in one large hand an even larger cup from which steam rises," add to the disappointment.

I really enjoyed this book. It grabbed me from the start and I quickly became absorbed in both aspects of the story, one set in Boston in the late 1990s and one set in Moscow in the 1950s, with some characters overlapping. I love Ms Sarif's writing style. I find it eminently readable and she has an amazing ability to capture the nuances of human emotions that one can recognise and identify with but not necessarily ever have thought to verbalise. It also sparked an interest in recent Russian History and I felt obliged to find out more about it. I have now read all of Shamim Sarif's books and I intend to watch the films. I hope this one is also made into a film, it would be a good one.

Wonderful story set in Russia. Our heroine finds herself in love with a party member who she must spy on. Gripping, tense, wanted to read on. Very well plotted and original. Not another cold war book as we feel what life was like in Russia and how tough it was to survive. What lets it down are the leaps to the future - you may want to jump past those as they are dull at first - this writer loses the reader when they leap like that. We just want to get back. But the end if satisfying.

The book starts slowly... and never picks up any gears. Instead over elaborate writing suffocates a rather limited plot.

I'm giving up halfway through as there is nothing remotely interesting, entertaining or gripping about this book. Is there not supposed to be some narrative pull to make the reader keep reading. Read Amor Towles "A gentleman in Moscow" for a beautiful Russian novel.

I really enjoyed the gentle style of this love story even though it was originated in a brutal regime. A few areas were slightly weak and the title of the book didn't, in my opinion, correlate. But it is beautifully written and I will definitely be looking at other books by this author