As somewhat of a Francophile, I enjoyed this book very much. It is very well written and filled with interesting facts and stories about the Seine and its cities. Although I was just in Paris, it makes me want to go back in the immediate future and see more of the sites …more that the author described. If you are planning a trip on the Seine or to one of its cities, I think that you would particularly enjoy this book. (less)

I had the good fortune of hearing Lara Prescott present an abbreviated synopsis of her wonderful book, The Secrets We Kept, at the University of Texas, Austin. This book of historical fiction is even better than her excellent talk.

The book is a multifaceted story centered …more around the dissemination of Boris Pasternak's masterpiece novel, Dr. Zhivago, initially to the west and then back into the Soviet Union. This involves the work of many parties, including an Italian working at Radio Moscow, a filthy rich Italian nouveau publisher, the CIA, Pasternak's mistress, and almost accidentally Pasternak himself.

The book goes back and forth from East to West with Pasternak and his mistress Olga (the muse for Lara in Dr. Zhivago) featured in the East and the CIA and its agents heading the activities in the West. The characters are extremely well portrayed on both sides of the Iron Curtain. There is also an interesting subplot involving two of the female CIA operatives that illustrates the difficulties faced by those who strayed from the very rigid norms of the day.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who liked Dr. Zhivago, either book or movie, and/or A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Those who are interested in the history of the Soviet Union, the cold war, and the CIA would also probably enjoy this book. (less)