Review: I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been so excited about this book from the moment that I heard about it. I’ve been fascinated with Anna Anderson and her story for years. And this is a really effective fictional exploration of Anna as well as Anastasia. This is a historical fiction novel with quite a lot of suspense. The novel really looks deeply at Anna’s desire to be recognized as Anastasia as well as the story of Anastasia’s life. The novel weaves their narratives together really seamlessly. It’s obvious that Lawhorn did a ton of research for this novel. I loved the fictional look at each of these women and their experiences. I felt they came alive on the page which was really enjoyable. The narrative wasn’t always as concise and connected as I’d have liked so some of it felt disjointed. Yet, it was still a fantastic read. I loved reading Lawhorn’s Author’s Note and learning a bit about how she came to this story as well as what she changes in order to fit her fictional story. I was very taken with Anna’s story (which some reviewers seemed frustrated with due to the narrative structure) and also enjoyed Anastasia’s story. I was much more familiar with Anastasia but Lawhorn gave me more of her as a person and her emotional journey which I enjoyed. Knowing the outcome of the question of whether or not Anna was Anastasia didn’t really take away from the novel for me. I think it actually gave me what I was looking for … some insight into Anna – who she was, why she did the things she did and how this entire thing came about. I appreciated how well wrapped in historical facts the fiction was. This is one that I’m seeing get a lot of mixed reviews and I can understand that … some of the Anna sections & their chronological structure were less cohesive than they could have been. It didn’t bother me as much as it did others apparently. All in all, if you’re fascinated with the whole Anastasia narrative, I recommend this novel. Although not perfect, I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it. Be aware that the structure of the narrative is non-linear and challenging – it can be confusing so know that going in and pay extra attention to the timeline pieces & I think that may help those who are concerned about that piece of the book. But, I really did enjoy this is and look forward to reading more Lawhorn in the future!

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.