The House of Special Purpose

 

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne

Fiction

2009

Finished on June 5, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the author of The Absolutist, a propulsive novel of the Russian Revolution and the fate of the Romanovs.

 

Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign.

Eighty-year-old Georgy Jachmenev is haunted by his past—a past of death, suffering, and scandal that will stay with him until the end of his days. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the czar, in the early twentieth century—a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution. As Georgy overturns the most painful stone of all, we uncover the story of the house of special purpose.

I bought The House of Special Purpose at Parnassus Books four years ago while visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Tennessee. I always make an effort to buy at least one or two books from an independent bookstore while traveling, and having read a few of Boyne's novels, this one caught my eye. Not wanting it to languish on my shelves much longer, I decided it would be one to read this summer, as I love a hefty book to sink into during the longer days. 

Spanning seventy years, separated by past and present, and clocking in at almost 500 pages, this one took me two weeks to read. At times I was thoroughly engrossed in the lives of Georgy and Zoya, but there were also moments when I grew impatient with the details, silently complaining about the drawn out length of the tale.

Ever the critic, I found one irritating error, which the editor should have caught. Boyne's main character, Georgy, has received birthday gifts from his wife and one-year-old daughter. Little Arina later asks, "Father," she said, sounding so serious now, the way she always did when she had a question she considered to be of the highest importance. "Whose present is the best, mine or Mother's?" Either Georgy has an exceptionally bright toddler or her age was misstated earlier in the chapter. 

I have now read five of John Boyne's novels, and while The House of Special Purpose was worthwhile, it's not one that I'd like to read again. Having said that, I would like to read more about that period in Russian history. I might give The Romanov Sisters (Helen Rappaport) a read later this year. If anyone has any other recommendations, please let me know.

My Reviews of John Boyne's Novels:

The Absolutist (5/5)

A Ladder to the Sky (4.5/5)

The Heart's Invisible Furies (4.5/5)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2/5)