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Chris Naveen chrisnaveen — Bu ilginçti çünkü lisede veya kolejde tekrar okudum, sevdim ve Thomas Hardy tarafından bulabildiğim her şey. Birkaç yıl önce onu dinledim ve kahramanın tartışmasız perişan kaderi yüzünden nefret ettim.

Max Dis mrdisipio — I have sad news. Anastasia is dead. Long dead. She died back in 1918 in a basement with her family. I am now convinced of this. Despite all the movies and claimants, she did not survive and escape. Meaning there is no hidden princess out there in the world. No unassuming person about to be uncovered and lavished with luxuries. Even more crushing, the probability that I am in fact a hidden princess is greatly diminished. My ten year old self is devastated. In fifth grade, we had to script and act out an interview with a historical figure. I chose, of course, to be Anastasia. And lucky for you, I found that script hidden away in a closet. While you read this excerpt from my make-believe talk show called “Talk-It-Out”, you have to picture me sitting in front of the class dressed in my costume: a frilly, pastel nightgown that my grandparents gave all us granddaughters for Christmas accented with some strands of fake pearls. [I kept my grammatical errors in tact for your further amusement.] Host: While in a Germany nursing home[…]you gave no identity and wouldn’t show your face. Why? Anna: Hmmm. I think I was safe in Germany for nobody knew I Russian. If I had given identity and shown my face. They would have known I was Anastasia, I was in the royal family of Russia. There would have been media, titles, and would I get back to Russia when I was in their country, their land and why go back to Russia for someone else was ruling it now. And I would have the title “Woman from Russia Royal Family in Germany” and that is a degrace. For I had no family. They were dead. [Fast-forwarding here] Anna: [...]First I was thought to be my sister, Tatiana. Then Anastasia. Then they knew. (pause) they knew I was Anastasia. Host: Then they knew your secret? Anna: Yes, (looks down). Reading this script makes me simultaneously cringe and smile. The drama! And now having read Massie’s book, I realize my interview was written about Anna Anderson, a pretender who Massie convincingly shows was not in fact Anastasia. Opps. I normally don’t do summaries, but let me offer a few clarifications about the book’s contents so you won’t be caught off guard like I was. It is not about how the Romanovs came to be murdered. There is nothing about the Tsar’s political missteps or such. (1) It starts out with a chilling and succinct description of the execution itself and moves forward. (2) And a surprisingly large chunk of the book is devoted to the forensic science of the case: analysis of the bones, in-fighting between experts, DNA testing, the ole match-the-skull-to-the-picture game, and so forth. Massie held my hands through the technical issues here (although I was confused by the names of the fifty million people involved). (3) Then there are smaller sections about the Anastasia wannabes and the surviving family members. (4) It concluded by recounting the Romanov’s last days before that fateful night they were murdered. This set-up felt odd while I was reading. Yet, by the end, I could appreciate how he chose to structure the book: starting with a bang, delving into the science, shifting direction to the living again, and zooming back into the personal story for some last minute poignancy. It was cleverly done. Unless you are really interested in Russian history (specifically the Anastasia myth) and/or forensic science, this isn’t the book for you. And to save you the hassle, I will share three of the most interesting bits I took away: (1) Nightmare jobs I will never complain about my job again. It could be so much worse. One Russian soldier was ordered to retrieve the bodies from their first hideaway: at night, in the remote woods, down an abandoned mine shaft, that was flooded. He just couldn’t catch a break. I get goose bumps imagining him wading in that frigid water up to his chest while several bloated corpses floated around, bumping into his arm. Ahh! Or there are also the college students charged with maceration, meaning boiling the meat off human bones. They literally watch body parts swim around in a vat of boiling water until the flesh falls off and the bone expert can start his analysis. According to the expert, "Yes, it's a very distasteful task, but I can only recall one or two students who have been unable to handle it." Yeah, that would be me too. (2) Did Hollywood screw up? All the movies and books nowadays focus on Anastasia. It is true that the remains of one sister were not found with the main cache of remains. But experts disagree which sister is missing. Most think it is Anastasia. But some think it is, for example, Marie. (3) More more more I was shocked to learn the intent to which the Romanovs were murdered during that tumultuous time in Russian history. Beyond the Tsar’s immediate family (which included Anastasia), there were at least twelve other Romanovs killed in cold blood. Let’s wrap up this review. If you are still interested after my precautions about content, by all means, read it. It is worth the effort. I enjoyed Massie’s style and would be open to reading another of his books about Russia, although preferably one with less science and more history.