Bombs or Books? A Book Review of The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
If you were to lead the siege in a war which weapon would you choose, a nuclear-powered bomb or a book?
Lara Prescott brings to light the unconventional, secret weapon of the United States during The Cold War in her debut novel, The Secrets We Kept. Because in the end it was literature and the power of free knowledge that disarmed two world powers in the greatest standoff in history. And while war is often memorialized, battles and sieges are fought on the ground by men and women who can be wounded. People like Prescott’s fictional characters Irina, Sally, and Olya.
Deep behind government lines drawn in the sand, live these survivors of Cold War ideology. The unrecognized men and women who pressed on to create a better history. And the story in this new book is one such example of the lasting wounds and sacrifices of those on the ground. The Secrets We Kept is a historical fiction straddling American soil and Russian snow. The plot dances around the historical mission to publish and distribute the real-life Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. Author Lara Prescott focuses on this book as a cultural artifact, pulling out the magnifying glass to reveal all the fingerprints that handled it. Some of those handlers were CIA agents who smuggled the original, banned manuscript out from behind the Iron Curtain, the language translators, the typist who disguised the prints for redistribution, the author’s mistress, and many other important figures.
The true background story of Doctor Zhivago is just as personal now as it was in 1957, especially for the author. Writers and readers alike find small scraps of who they are and what they care about within stories and relish those connections. Lara Prescott connected with the famous Russian novel since birth because of her namesake who is the main female character in the book. And while most of her youth she spent correcting people’s mispronunciation, the burden of her less American name turned into the delightful beginning of her journey to authoring The Secrets We Kept.
When Prescott became interested in researching the banned book’s origins, thus beginning her writing process, it felt like pulling on a loose thread which turned into following that string all the way to a beautifully woven tapestry. Due to her meticulous treatment of the story, her debut novel is now a piece of the whole Doctor Zhivago gallery very near to the muse of fictional character Lara, Olga Ivinskaya. As a child Prescott always looked to the woman with a beautiful name and presence but only believing her to be fictional. As an adult the truth of Lara’s inspiration and her hardships in the Gulag bolstered Prescott’s passion for the Zhivago story.
In an interview with Penguin Random House Library group, Prescott shares the immeasurable amount of research behind her book. A list of titles would be insufficient because she also collected timepiece artifacts, traveled to places in her stories, listened to interviews, tasted foods, watched movies, attended musical performances, and read Doctor Zhivago again and again.
Is that not how you expose a good secret though? Submerge yourself in the thick of the evidence until the truth is revealed. Prescott claims, “My book does not have good guys and bad guys.” In history we are always trying to pick a winner but with time the truth is appearing to be that war and conflict and human intention are much more complex than that. The Secrets We Kept is a multi-narrator expose of the complexity of human behavior in war, times of oppression, and relationships.
The Secrets We Kept is more than a commentary of the pain of The Cold War and it is much more than a political statement about forbidden homosexual relationships. If a reader finds these issues unsettling to address than this book is not for you. What Prescott has done with her novel is gather up evidence from culture, which is arguably more truthful than history books or personal statements, and request we reevaluate how we handle the secret things in our lives.
Are you able to expose yourself long enough to let others know the true you?
In Prescott’s words, “The revolutionary act is to imagine what makes us similar.” And when we find the ties that bind us, like a poetic book on love and hope for freedom, we may become disarmed. Through the cherished memories of a familiar story we might end wars, overlook disagreements, and understand one another.
This book is one you should buy, read, and pass along to spark conversations with your coworkers, family members, or neighbors. Thought provoking discussions are sure to be sparked by this novel. Personally, I am joining the conversation ProBook. What about you?
If you enjoyed The Secrets We Kept then check out these other titles.
