The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar

By Far the Best Book I Have Ever Read

This was defenitely the best book I have ever read. It was a perfect blend of fact and fiction, and it was beautifully researched. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. When I bought it, I thought it would be really light and some Romanov 'what-if' fluffy fantasy. But I was wrong. This took me about a week to read as the text was very small. The way Alexander spins the story is incredible. The story is in the point of view of of ninety-four year old Misha, who is living in a huge estate on Lake Michigan and waiting to die. His wife, May, is two weeks in the grave, and Misha is facing serious inner torment, which he has felt for over eighty years. On a series of recorded tapes made for his granddaughter and heir Kate, he explains the last days of the Romanovs and that he was really the kitchen boy. As those last days in Siberia unfold, Misha reminisces of the family that so quickly ceased to exist and his part in their downfall. By the end, Misha has unvailed the his truth. The end is very confusing, but a reread or two will make it make sense. Overall, this was an amazing book. It was so well written in its simplicity. This is one of those books that everyone should read. Praise for Robert Alexander's The Kitchen Boy!!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

best book i ever read

this truly was amazing it was riveting it literally had me putting together a million different endings! a must read!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Book!

I really enjoyed this book. I read on the train going and coming from work. I got so into it i almost missed my stop a couple of times....this one is hard to put down. There are so many book about the Tsar's family it was interesting to read from a servant's point of view.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Kitchen Boy is dramatic with a surprising ending.

The story catches your attention right away. The historical facts are presented in a very interesting plot with amazing insignts to the day-to-day trials of Tsar Nicholas and his family. I enjoyed reading this book, and will recommend it ot all my friends.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I thought I knew how this was going to end---I didn't!

I'm a fan of the Romanov period in history. I picked up this book because of the cover.
This book was an easy read, and I thought I knew what was going to happen. But I was wrong. I did not see the ending coming.

For another book with a surprise ending, see Pat Conroy's South of Broad.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Start to the Set of Three

"The Kitchen Boy" is the first in three books including "Rasputin's Daughter" and "The Romanov Bride" (about the Empress' sister) that Robert Alexander wrote about this dynamic and tragic time in Russia's recent past.

What's fascinating is the combination of a great deal of actual history and plausible fiction (namely in the form of character dialogue and motivation, though certainly some of the action is invented.) It opens a window into the worlds of peasants and rulers with drama and affection.

Knowing some of the foolish decisions that were made at the time, I found myself developing sympathies toward to some (though not all) of these iconic people.

(I accidentally happened upon the three books in reverse order. That didn't stop me from enjoying them as they don't lead one into the other.)

I'm also recommending Tom Bradby's "The White Russian". This book falls in line with Alexander's trilogy in both time period and even some of the characters. (The Empress herself makes an appearance and some of the dialogue includes the discussion of the Imperial family and Rasputin.) Again, it provides a window into the lives of people from this place and time with evocative settings and dramatic plot.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Just Leaves You Begging For More

The Kitchen Boy is amazing, absolutely amazing! It's the story about when the Russian Imperial family was thrown into exile some of their servants from the palace camewith them, willingly. But along with the Empress's maid, the Tsar's footman, the Tsarevich's doctor, and the cook came a little boy named Leonka who has never been in close contact with let alone in the same boy as the Romanovs. He does though become friends with the young royal prince Aleksei as he starts to earn the trust of the entire family things become more dangerous as the Kommandant starts to grow suspicious could Leonka become one buried with the Romanovs?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good book for historical background if you are going to Russia.

We are going to Saint Petersburg as part of a cruise this summer. This is a good book to give some historical background for the trip. I would recommend "Leningrad" also for historical background on Saint Petersburg. It is a little harder read as it is history not a historical novel.

Don't read

Don't waste your time or money. I could only read the fist 82 pages....this book lacks passion and imagination. The topic is one of great depth and this does not do it justice. Very superficial and bland.

Well written story

The book builds to a strong final life journey.
Highly suggest reading after ken follitts fall of giants.

Gilly willy

Best book ever you won't belive how good this book is

Great book!

I love Russian imperial history...so this is my kind of book. I love it and highly recommend. It's was a page turner and hard to put down. I thought I had it all figured out towards the end of the book but there was a surpriseni didn't see coming.....I love novels like that. I can't wait to read the other two novels by Alexander, rasputin's daughter and the Romanov Bride.

Highly Recommended

I really enjoyed reading the Kitchen Boy. I have trouble finding historic books that I enjoy, but I really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed it because it had twists and turns that when looking at it, you would never expect it to have. I also enjoyed the book because it was written in journal form and the way the author wrote in details about what they think actually happened to the Tsar and his family. The author also described a lot about the Tsar and his family instead of just assuming that the reader would know about them. I also liked the way that Robert Alexander told not only good things about the Tsar but also bad things too, which helped the reader to understand why they were being held in the Ipatiev house.
What stood out with this book is that it is actually almost like non-fiction. The only reason that it is fiction is because we don't know for sure what exactly happened in the Ipatiev house when the Romanovs were being held there. This book was also full of details and really made me believe what happened in the book.
I would recommend this book to any high school student and even some adults that like historical fiction books would enjoy reading it. I think the high school students would enjoy the book more because they might understand it easier if they are currently learning about revolutions and other historic moments that brought about violent times. High school students should especially read it for history book reports because it is fairly easy to remember most of the details. I would recommend this book because I think everyone should read it even if they don't enjoy reading or don't enjoy historical fiction books. Even if you don't read very often, I think you will really enjoy reading this book.

Love This Book

I am someone who loves all things Russian - from the history, to the language, to the culture to the music. One of the most intriguing stories in Russian history is that of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. While "The Kitchen Boy" is a fictional story, it draws on historical fact to pull the reader into a tale that you will find you are wishing were true. I was completely engrossed in the story and could not put this book down. I had to keep reminding myself that the story was fiction based on fact - that is how spellbound I was. Whether or not you are familiar with the story of the last Tsar and his family, you will enjoy this book. Well written, historically accurate and a real page-turner.

Russian History Buffs may enjoy

For the average reader it's an ok book that picks up towards the end. I think if you're into Russian history, it is probably a much better book than if you have a mild interest in it. Once the executions happened towards the end, the story got more interesting. and there's a great twist at the end to reward you if you stuck it out.

Kitchen Boy Review

Robert Alexander, one of the greatest authors of all time. He wrote a book in 2003 named "The Kitchen Boy." The kitchen boy takes place in Siberia during the Russian revolution during the early 1900's. This book tells the retold story about a kitchen boy named Leonka who worked Tsar Nicholas II and his family who are being held captive in the House of Special Purpose. This story is about a terrible experience surrounded by a mystery that only one person alive knows The Kitchen Boy.
The story is told by Mish Semyonov a Russian immigrant who is living in the Chicago. He is telling the story to his granddaughter Kate. He is the last living person to witness the murders of Tsar Nicholas and his family.
The protagonist in this story is Leonka: a kitchen boy who has moved into the Tsar estate. He is a tall kid for his age and only speaks when spoken to. With the help of 2 two nuns he receives notes from the Russian guards who are trying to help him and the tsar family escape from the House of Special purpose.
All in all I believe the Kitchen Boy is a great book because of its great story of mystery and death. What stood out in this book for me was the great feeling of that you're in the book, that when a charater gets in trouble you get in trouble. I would highly recommend this book to all ages high school level and above. I especially recommend this book for a book report for a high school student because of its fluent literature and it thrill will make you want to read it. This book will keep you busy reading and every time you're done with a chapter you will want to keep reading on to the next one.

The Kitchen Boy review by a high school student

I found The Kitchen Boy to be very interesting. It always kept my attention, and there was never a dull part. The Kitchen Boy is a great story that combines history and mystery. I really liked it because I never wanted to set it down. I discovered something new on each page, which made me keep reading. I think this book was really well written, and did a great job of keeping my interest. The only thing that I did not like about The Kitchen Boy was that it was a little bit difficult to follow. There was a lot of information that I had trouble keeping straight, and I was constantly looking back in the book to find out answers.
I would recommend The Kitchen Boy to anybody that is looking for a good, easy and attention-grabbing book. If I could read it again I think I would find out some more background information on the time period of the book. I would have researched the Russian Revolutions and gotten some more history on Tsar Nikolai. Robert Alexander did a good job describing the situation the Tsar and his family were in, but I felt like he lacked putting in background information. Therefore for me the book did not make complete and total sense.
The Kitchen Boy is a pretty easy read, and could easily be read by pretty much any age group. However I think it is most appropriate for high school students. I don't think any younger kids would really understand what was going on throughout the entire book. I found it hard to follow because I only had a general idea of what The Kitchen Boy was about. I believe that anyone who has the same amount or more information about the Russian Revolutions than I had is the ideal person to read this book. I think that it teaches anyone who reads it a lot about the events during the Tsar's exile. Therefore I believe that it is especially good for a high school student. From reading it myself I felt like it tied a lot of things together. In the book there were lots of things mentioned that I had learned about and from hearing these references I was able to tie a lot of previous information together. It helped things make sense to me, but at the same time I was still learning new things.

One of the best books I ever read.

Even though you know the truth of the story, this book is so well written that it makes for engrossing reading. Do not put this book aside when you are halfway through and think you know the ending. Believe me....just don't do it.

Truly one of the best books I ever read.

I loved this book!

It may not seem like much in the beggining but it gets to be amazing! It just captured me. It was a story with not the best ending, but overall I thought it was phonomenal!

Good Read

I bought this book as part of a 3 for 2 sale a few years ago. I picked it up thinking it would be intriguing and mysterious and that's that.
Well, it blew me away. I have always enjoyed history but didn't know more than the basic facts about the Czar and the death of his family. This book went into details (both factual and fictional) and storylines I never would have dreamed of.
I highly recommend The Kitchen Boy. I had my mother read it and she in turn had her book club read it (two members gave it a thumbs down though everyone else enjoyed it).
Yes, there is some foul language and brutatlity but the story can't be told without these elements.
Wonderfully written and a book you won't be able to put down.