The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

             This is not the first time I have read The Kitchen Boy.  Nor is it the second.  I know I have now ready this book at least three times.  While I often reread books, this is one I especially value.  Every time I read it I get wrapped up in the story.  The story is incredibly engaging and a well crafted piece of historical fiction.

                Misha is at the end of his life.  It has been a long life full of secrets.   As the end is near, it is time for these secrets to be revealed.  With his beloved wife already gone, and his son dead long ago, the only one left to hear Misha’s story and carry out his wishes is his granddaughter, Kate.  There is one catch.  Misha does not want Kate to know the truth until after he has died.  He sits down and records everything, leaving the tape for Kate along with instructions on how to carry out his final wishes.

                The story Misha is so eager to tell is one that would solve a historical mystery.  Misha is not truly Misha.  He is Leonka, the lost kitchen boy from the last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.              

                At this point the book shifts to the events of Leonka, a boy who not only works in the kitchen of where the Romanovs are held captive, but also befriends the members of the family.  After Leonka discovers a note in the cork of a milk bottle, he becomes entrusted with a mission.  He is given the task of passing notes from the tsar to those trying to rescue him and his family.  The responses are delivered in the milk bottle cork which Leonka removes and brings to the tsar.  Each response brings hope that their days of captivity will soon be over.  Sadly, the day of rescue for the Romanovs never arrives, and Leonka believes it is all his fault.

                It is very easy to care for these characters.  They are well rounded with Robert Alexander writing about their positive characteristics as well as their faults.  This caring is probably what makes the final moments of the Romanovs’ lives so hard to take.  On top of it, the scene is very descriptive with the actions of the guards, making the words difficult to read.

                When Misha finishes his recording, one would think the story is over.  It is not.  The tape is just the beginning.  There is much more to be revealed.