The author’s effortless, eloquent prose transports the reader via a dramatic, suspenseful and satisfying work of historical fiction ... Lawhon brilliantly employs an inventive and non-linear dual narrative to tell the tale of how Anastasia would become Anna Anderson, or, perhaps, how Anna became Anastasia ... In the end, what Lawhon does so convincingly is shake up our notion of identity.
Lawhon’s extensive research traces Anna’s steps backward from 1970, when a Hamburg court determines that her claim is 'not proven.' In the years leading up to this moment, she is institutionalized, interviewed by Anastasia’s family and contemporaries, and romanticized in plays and movies ... Though DNA evidence has finally proven what happened to the Romanov family, Lawhon’s labyrinthine tale remains fascinating to the end.
The suspense hinges on the reader’s unfamiliarity with the real history, and John Boyne’s The House of Special Purpose (2013), also about Anastasia, handles the dual-chronology structure more smoothly. However, Anna’s narrative, involving institutionalizations, glamorous excursions, legal battles, and meetings with people who want to support, exploit, or debunk her, compels with its many contrasts. Recommended mainly for readers unacquainted with this twentieth-century mystery or anyone interested in Anna Anderson’s troubled life.
[A] novel with an interesting story and refreshing structure that falls slightly short. In the end, I Was Anastasia's promising concept sets expectations high, which makes the novel’s less-than-perfect execution slightly disappointing ... The book is clearly well-researched and the historical elements are woven seamlessly into Lawhon’s fictional construction ... But if the concept is innovative and the adaptation of history expert, the writing itself leaves something to be desired ... The novel’s structure and its historical grounding make its concept compelling, but some off-putting style choices and gaps in character development ultimately detract from its execution.
Lawhon’s spectacular, emotionally rich third historical thoroughly imagines the events leading up to the execution of Russia’s royal family in 1918, after the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks ... This sprawling, immersive tale travels from revolutionary Russia to interwar France and Germany, bringing its characters to sparkling life.
What pushes it a little too far from the point of view of readability is the decision to tell individual Anna chapters backward ... Somewhat overcomplicated but ultimately satisfying. Anastasia Romanov lives yet again!
