At first, I was blown away by the art and very intrigued by the historical aspect — historical fiction is a genre i love dearly. However, it quickly got too complicated and heavy without prior historical context. I believe it would’ve benefited from being longer, the stakes don’t feel very high as we’re thrown in a lot of names and political happenings without really being shown the big picture.

What bothered me the most however, is the way rape was depicted here. First, having the disabled girl being raped needs to be handled with care as we know disabled people are often targets of rape. It wasn’t, her discomfort was palpable during the first rape scenes yet she gradually grows to appreciate her rapist, never showing any sign of trauma or disgust whatsoever.

Disappointing and unenjoyable read unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Trigger warnings for rape, amputation, torture, murder

This is an … intresting graphic novel that takes place in Stalin’s Russia after the fall of the Romanov Tsar. Bielka and her brother, Shchenok — both using false names — have come to a dacha (a small plot of land with a house on it) in search of … something. Captured and accused of being spies they are given into the control of Victor, who puts them to work as servants. Or rather, Shchenok as a servant. Bielka, confined to a wheelchair and an amputee who lost both legs, he rapes. There are several semi-graphic scenes of the rapes, so sensitive readers be cautious.

They spend three years with him, and it’s implied in the comic that she comes to be quite fond of him and his … attentions. Which, without showing any context, without showing any sign of a growing relationships between them — it shows a montage from one rape to another, to one where she is kissing and embracing him, and then we’re told it’s been three years.

There’s quite a bit of Russian history here, compressed into a graphic novel, and it’s always interesting to read stories that take place in different cultures, but this graphic novel is written by a Japanese author, so I don’t know how much is based on fact, and how much on fiction. The story itself is … interesting, but because the pace is so rushed it’s hard to get a grasp on any of the characters.

To be honest, I didn’t enjoy this graphic novel. The vibe, the rapes, the flatness of the characters, but other readers may enjoy it. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Before going into this, I saw that it was set in 1930s Soviet Russia. I have some knowledge of the era, but my knowledge is pretty limited. I think to fully appreciate this story, you need more than a limited knowledge set of Russia in the 1930s and how the Soviet era functioned. Because of this, some elements of the story left me a little lost. This story assumes you already know the real-world elements, and leaves you confused if you don't. The story itself was somewhat interesting. Full of tension and high political intrigue. You do wonder what the hell itself they are searching for, when they go to such insane lengths such as being tortured and raped. (The girl is raped several times. It was an extremely unpleasant jumpscare and I'm irritated that she essentially forgives her rapist down the line) The reveal at the very end doesn't really hit that heavy for me. Again, I think it's my bare-bones knowledge of Russia, the Soviets, and Russian Royalty that is doing this. The art style is interesting; it feels more like an old-school manga style.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

*Thanks To netgalley and Kodansha comics for early copy for review*

So this has rape in it and I would not recommend to anyone that is triggered by it. I am usually not triggered, but tend to not like stories involving depending on how it is handled. I think it was handled poorly in this manga. Overall this manga is a very rough read set during the 1930s Soviet Union. It is a very bleak manga that won an award so I though I check it out. I regret that I did that. If you are interested in this horrific time period and want to see some men do heinous crimes maybe this manga is for you.

The art style is beautifully detailed and lends a weight/darkness to the pages, which fits the overall story. I’m also glad the story did not center romance (which, I’ll admit, I kind of expected from the cover).

I’m not particularly familiar with the Romanovs and that period of (Russian) history, but I liked that this one didn’t center Anastasia and we instead got some interesting tangential characters (many of whom are apparently real historical figures!)

I think it took us a little too long to understand what exactly our main characters wanted, and when we did understand it all came at once in an infodump.