Not sure if the I had other expectations for the setting. Didn’t finish this one, I’m not sure why the soviet country had to be unnamed but England was there.

I found this book original and unusual. Cannot believe Vesna Goldworthy’s first language is not English - she writes beautifully. However, this book reads more like a historical memoir than a novel, thus the 4 stars instead of 5. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the writing.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers, Random House for this ARC.

An interesting look at the different cultures in two very different countries. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review

I love this era and the mystery that still surrounds pre wall coming down but also the potential exaggeration of what happened around this time. Either way it’s a really good read. I’ll definitely read her other books as she’s a new author to me.

Iron Curtain is a story about the life of a privileged Eastern European princess living in luxury in the Soviet Union during the Cold War in the 1980s. She meets a British poet and before longs plans her escape to the West with him but before long discovers the West is not what she expected. She must decide what she actually believes in and where she will end up.

Thanks to Vintage for my free ebook! I absolutely cannot resist any type of culture about Soviet satellite states: histories, novels, TV programmes, you name it, I'll probably want to consume it. So obviously I was very interested in Iron Curtain, which follows so-called 'red princess' Milena as she falls in love with an English poet, escapes to London, and flees both her overbearing vice-president father and the surveillance state of her unnamed home country... all to find that England, and her love affair, isn't really worth it. I enjoyed this novel on the whole – its evocation of grim grimy ugly stifling 80s London is brilliant, and Milena's observations on life in a capitalist vs communist country were a real highlight – but there was a lot I didn't love. It didn't really go deep enough into Milena's period of adjustment to London life, the pacing was a bit off, the ending wasn't particularly fleshed-out, and I found it hard to grasp Milena as a character. Her husband Jason is quite thinly sketched, and his habit of sincerely calling himself Irish (he's thoroughly English) made me think he was a right wanker from the very beginning – meaning I never actually cared about the love story at the centre of this novel. In short: I was expecting something different and more darkly funny from the blurb, and it didn't quite deliver. Saying all that, I will be telling my dad – who shares my interest in Soviet satellite states – to read it, so if the blurb piques your interest, then I would encourage you to read it!

An intriguing and interesting read that will pull you into a deep story, likeable characters and twists and turns will make you run through this book

There isn't a dull moment in this novel, although the reader knows the ultimate outcome of the plot from the outset. The storyline is expertly crafted so as to bring out the similarities and differences between political systems and their communities, and between forms of family relationship. It's hard to believe that the glorious, thought-provoking prose was written by an author whose first language is not English.
This has been an excellent read.

I loved this book - beautifully, sensitively written. I read a lot of Soviet-inspired fiction and my benchmark is always: would this grab someone without a pre-existing interest in the era? In this case I think it absolutely would.

Really interesting perspective of life behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War as we meet Melina, who is the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country, therefore one of the elite. This is a rich, opulent and decadent lifestyle. She meets a young British poet, falls in love and runs away to life in poverty in England. The contrasts are excellent, the originality of the rich lifestyle being behind the curtain, versus hardship in the West made for a good read. The only thing is that it is written in an abstract way at times, so you are actually surprised at the fact she is in love with the poet, there doesn't really seem to be any emotional connection

In an unnamed Soviet bloc country in the 1980s Milena is a Red Princess, the daughter of one of the country’s leaders and thus leads a privileged life far removed from the shortages and restrictions of ordinary people. But nonetheless Milena is already showing signs of rebellion and when she meets a rather wild Irish poet who has been invited to perform his work at a Festival and to whom she has been assigned as an interpreter events are set in train which will alter her life for ever. The novel is an insightful exploration of the personal and the political and what it means to be “free” and a vividly atmospheric portrait of life behind the iron curtain compared to life in England. East and West come face to face and Milena is forced to choose between them. Vesna Goldsworthy is a wonderful storyteller, a master of her craft and the book is pitch perfect and expertly paced. At its heart there’s a love story of a sort but it’s also an intelligent and non-judgemental examination of different and opposing cultures, ideologies and world-views. I found the book enormously enjoyable, a real page turner and a great read. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book particularly because it gave an insight into what life was like in a soviet satellite country. Milena is a privileged daughter of a very senior politician who meets a British poet as his translator but a relationship develops. The second part of the book focuses on life in rural England and London which was fascinating in the comparisons with the undisclosed soviet country. I did wonder whether this was an autobiographical book but on further research discovered it wasn’t. I felt the characters were extremely well drawn and was only slightly irritated by some stereotypes of life in London in the timeframe - bowler hats weren’t seen in the City and by then Shepherds Bush wasn’t a sleepy enclave of London but a 24hour vibrant area of many nationalities and cultures.

I hugely enjoyed this - the sanguine voice of the lead provided a wry, relatable commentary on a part of modern history I'm only sketchily familiar with, and then the UK scenes were an interesting twist on 80s Britain, casting it in a new light as if viewed from outside. I liked the subtlety of never naming Milena's country, leaving this veil of secrecy which matched the sinister air of her compatriot minders and observers. She was a tough, appealing lead character who I felt connected to, so combined with the unique place & time setting, made this a great, bittersweet romantic read. Recommended.

An interesting read, written from the perspective of Milena Urbanska and her life as a part of a very priveledged family growing up in one of the smaller communist coutries in the 80's. The story reminded me of the song "Common People" by Pulp as although Milena sets out to be independant and escape her upbringing the running theme is that she can't and she actually doesn't mind that.

I was given a copy of Iron Curtain by NetGalley and the publishers.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It successfully combines the personal with the political: the story of a romance between an East European woman and an English poet who makes a pre-glasnost visit to her country. Alongside this is the contrast between lives led in Eastern Europe and England in the late 1980s, which subverts expectations as the woman leads a life of great privilege as the daughter of the Vice President which is in sharp contrast to the shabby semi-poverty of life in a dingy London flat.

It is astute and funny, some of the reflections on English life are hilarious, and the personal and political are perfectly balanced. I would definitely recommend this book. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy.

I really enjoyed the style and the engagement of this. A love story which is very real, with all of the flaws exposed. It was also wonderful to read of the political climate at the time.

Milena Orbansky is the privileged daughter of a hero of the revolution. Her life is one of luxury and indulgence, albeit within a communist state. Then she meets an English poet, over to perform at a festival, and her life changes. She falls deeply in love and escapes to the West. However life in 1980s London is not what she is used to and she begins to realise that there is a price to pay for freedom.
This is a really strong book. The decadence and rebellion of Milena's life in her home country is contrasted so sharply to realities of poverty in the free world. There is also a huge undercurrent on the theme of betrayal, Milena will not betray her country or her family but her husband has no such morals. It is obvious that the author has lived life in the communist bloc, the authenticity screams from the page.

I enjoyed the story being told in this book, a dfferent way of portarying love and the emotion. Kept me turnign the pages, and wanting to rea more, to find out why how and what was going to happen next. Loved how the character told her story and revealed her feelings and emtion in her own way

This book is set in the 80s in an undisclosed soviet satellite state and its main protagonist is Milena, the daughter of a national hero and high-ranking government official. Like all children of the nomenklatura, she is privileged and entitled to goods and services her contemporaries can only dream of. But the bargain she has to make is not enviable – it is almost impossible to escape the influential sphere of her omnipresent father. No matter how much she pushes the boundaries, there is always her father who holds the reins. Her first boyfriend, Misha, also an offspring of a family within the highest political echelon, could only find escape through suicide.

Milena – deploying a high level of deception - does manage to flee her golden cage and follows the love of her life, an English poet who she met as his interpreter at a cultural event in her home country. Together with him she starts a new life in England, but even there she cannot escape her father’s power and influence.

In essence, this is a love story, one in which love’s first bloom becomes seriously compromised when living so close to and dependent on each other. Love’s rose-coloured glasses become ever murkier when facing the mundanities of life as a young family.

It is however also a story of perception, how East perceives West and vice versa – there are some astute and eye-opening observations made by Milena when she settles for her new life in the West, and also by her then still boyfriend, when they met in her home country. Some of their reflections are very sharp and some are downright funny – in many cases challenging popular opinion about what the East/West divide was really like. There is a tendency to explain life in the socialist East for the Western reader, which I thought unnecessary and a bit patronising but what comes across very clearly is that nothing is black and white and that all easy models of what represents the capitalist West and the socialist East are false.

I liked Milena a lot and it was her sharp intelligence, curiosity and often warm-hearted reflections that kept me reading. In the end I found myself disappointed with her last big decision, almost as if a circle closes and she finds herself back where everything began but I guess the end of this story could also be open to a different interpretation.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Milena is the daughter of a very senior member of the hierarchy in an unnamed Soviet Union state. She leads a privileged life but it is one with many restrictions - she has no privacy from her family, she has limited career opportunities and is encouraged to marry as soon as possible. Slowly but steadily following a terrible tragedy involving her boyfriend and then an encounter with a visiting Irish poet, Milena’s world changes but to say more would definitely spoil the story.

While I don’t feel like I can identify with all of Milena’s decisions and actions, I found this book really interesting and unusual - it felt like I was reading two stories; one a love story and one a historical commentary on the benefits and let downs of freedom. Both are obviously intertwined but it makes reviewing quite difficult. We’re so taught to put books into categories but I don’t want to pigeonhole it. I would recommend it to anyone considering it as their next book but go in without too many expectations (I hope I haven’t given too much away!) and judge it for yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.