Rating: 
Summary: Russka, the overlooked Rutherfurd novel
Review: Although all the recent press for Rutherfurd's latest efforts, the Forest, have referred back to Sarum and London, Russka remains a compelling read. Following the same structure as his other novels, Russka follows several family lines. Even though I have more of an interest in his England-based works, I found Russka to be an interesting study of feudal society transforming into a struggling modern capitalist culture. Definitely worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Russkie Business
Review: As an Anglophile, I fell in love with Rutherfurd's 3 novels of England. I really wasn't sure about reading Russka, but I took a small risk based on the other books. Again, Rutherfurd engages the reader and holds one's attention for nearly 1000 pages. In the process, one is educated about a mysterious and complex land and its people. The only thing I want is more Rutherfurd!
Rating:
Summary: Russkie Business
Review: As an Anglophile, I fell in love with Rutherfurd's 3 novels of England. I really wasn't sure about reading Russka, but I took a small risk based on the other books. Again, Rutherfurd engages the reader and holds one's attention for nearly 1000 pages. In the process, one is educated about a mysterious and complex land and its people. The only thing I want is more Rutherfurd!
Rating: 
Summary: Enlightening and readable
Review: Briefly, Russka is a novel that follows two families through the rich and dramatic history of one of the most powerful countries in the world today. I am currently on a Russian literature binge and bought this book to read after finishing War and Peace. Expecting a bland modern twist on War and Peace, I was delighted to find that this book explores not only the lives and emotions of the characters, but also the anthropological aspects of its history, including genetic characteristics, social class structure, and linguistics. (As a scholar of anthropology and archaeology I found this fascinating.) I suppose my one complaint would be that because this novel spans about one thousand years it makes it more difficult to follow the character lineage. (Although I do understand the author's intent.) I found myself referring to the family tree at the beginning of the book quite a bit. The trials and tribulations of the families in the novel are believable and interesting, and like War and Peace I found the characters realistic, yet I found the most rewarding aspect of the novel the fact that I have a new and better understanding of the Russian people. The origin of the features, the personality, the passion, the strength that are distinctly Russian has been revealed to me. Am I now closer to understanding Russia's strange, twisted social and political past and its wonderful people? Perhaps I am, but like all good books Russka left me with the hunger to learn more.
Rating:
Summary: I think this guy is better than the Big M.
Review: By the Big M I mean James Michener, of course. They both write these long, sweeping historical novels and this is the first one I've read by Rutherfurd. I thought it moved more quickly than a Michener novel and contained less fluff. I was able to get through the 900 pages without a problem while with other historical novels I sometimes find my eyes glazing over if the story gets off track with too much dialogue. If you like historical novels then give it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: As endless as the Russian steppes
Review: Having enjoyed Sarum and London, Rutherfurd's other two books, I was prepared to like Russka, too. But the author's formula of interweaving family histories throughout many eras, does not succeed this time. Somehow, the cumulative weight of the story, and of Russian history, became as oppressive as most of the governments of that country. I ceased trying to remember which family did what to whom in some previous generation, and ultimately ceased to care. Rutherfurd also seems to have an aversion to the 20th century, which is strongly evidenced in Sarum, and is apparent in Russka. Perhaps olden days are more interesting to him, but the price to be paid is that some readers identify more with recent times, and would at least like to have some balance in the storytelling. It is possible that the cultural gap between this story of Russia, and his previous stories about England, had some negative effect on my reaction to this story. If so, that would be my fault, and we will see what happens when Rutherfurd's next Micheneresque book comes out. But I will be chary.
Rating:
Summary: Rutherford does it again
Review: Having thoroughly enjoyed Rutherford's early piece (Sarum) I eagerly started on this novel. Whilst I enjoy history, this is a land and a time I must admit did not know a great deal about. Once again I became immersed in the day to day lives of the characters. I was horrified but in a way fascinated by the cheapness of life in days gone by. I eagerly followed the families through time and the development of the area depicted in the novel. As a way of learning about history I heartedly recommend his work. Whilst I would rate Sarum as the better of the two books, Russka is not far behind.
Rating: 
Summary: Low points, high points
Review: I bought this book because I've been always been interested in Russia. However while not disappointing, this book is not an enthralling one. Basically the weak points are in the storytelling. Most of the stories told here are uninteresting, the fictional characters wander too much without adding any to the book. Sometimes the narrative gets to muddled and it wonders me how such a re-edited and revised edition has this many errors. For instance, there's a part where the character is Boris and he's called Ivan. I would caution a lot of attention on this for the editors. High points of course are on history, only when it's explained properly because the author seems to think that the reader knows that much about Russia as he knows, which is not true. I would recommend it to the readers only if they don't care about slovenly narrative when reading history.
Rating:
Summary: satisfying
Review: I could not believe how artfully this book was put together. Taking exhaustive research and putting it into humanizing stories takes great skill, but Rutherford's stories were each worthy of a novel in and of themselves. I appreciate that he did not have the good guy always have a happy ending, as he did a bit in London, but let fate have its way with both the innocent and the corrupted. There was some justice in Russka, but mostly it was realistic in the way it depicted how life is cruel to most of us. Also each of his stories were intricate, with exciting cliffhangers. All this made me forget I was getting a history lesson in the process! I regretted there was not more on the era of communism, but I guess we have gotten a lot about that in recent years. Rutherford is a serious talent in the area of historical novels. I loved this even more than London.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond the stereotypes
Review: I first picked up Russka, not out of any interest in Russia, but because I'd enjoyed Rutherford's book Sarum and wanted to read more of his books. Russka ended up influencing my life more than any other book I've ever read. Before reading the book I knew nothing about Russia beyond the usual Cold War stereotypes. After reading the book I was so interested that I learned to speak Russian and hope to travel there someday. In Russka, Rutherford brings history to life in a way his other books (Sarum and London) can't rival. Besides telling a good story with engaging characters, Russka shows how major historical events affected the lives of individuals and how human desires and frailties shaped history. Rutherford doesn't write about "the Bolshevik Revolution" or "Consumer good shortages during the Soviet era", he writes about the ups and downs of individual families living through these events. Russka is first and foremost a story that pulls the reader in. Gaining insight into the Russian mind-set is an unexpected perk. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, regardless of whether they're interested in Russia. However, if after you've finished the book you'd like to learn about post-Communist Russia, I recommend Mark Taplin's nonfictional account Open Lands: Travels Through Russia's Once Forbidden Places.
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