It's a rather odd tale, how two people from opposite coasts in Russia, one from Bessarabia and one from Yakutsk, first met each other in jail, and within earshot of the hoofbeats of revolution and entrenched cruel xenophobia, could somehow escape the devastation and end up in London Town to form one of the most mythic names in baccylore: The House of Sobranie.
I'd discovered this book a while back by complete accident, then forgot about it, then remembered it and finally got myself a copy --- when it arrived I quickly scanned it for relevant info, interesting but not earth-shattering, it didn't grab me, I sat it aside.
Today I drove my father down for a procedure and knew I'd be in the waiting room and was desperately trying to find something to read, having no luck, but then I noticed this book and grabbed it.
This time I was in the correct frame of mind to absorb the qualities of what this book is, initially I'd thought it'd be tediously boring reading and never really got around to it outside of the quick scanning over.
Well, this afternoon I was totally and fully engrossed with this book, it is a gripping tale, emotional and educational.
Written by a grandson who is trying to unravel a mystery, and a sense of love is felt upon the pages, breathing, giving breath to lost memories while uncovering facts and forming an overall whole.
Right from the acknowledgements,
I was hooked.
but it all came to me eventually I guess, sometimes it's like that, things will just serendipitously hit you when you're at your most receptive.
On page 2 it says:
The author says of his grandfather, Mr. Redstone:
good for anyone so interested in such, and along the way one picks up some solid history too, I'm not that familiar with revolutionary Russia and it was an extraordinarily complex time, the author has a knack for putting everything in a proper perspective and I'm glad he wrote such a book.
A good book!
From Siberia with Love: A story of exile, revolution and cigarettes
by
Geoffrey Elliott
http://www.amazon.com/From-Siberia-Love-revolution-cigarettes/dp/0413774597
I'd discovered this book a while back by complete accident, then forgot about it, then remembered it and finally got myself a copy --- when it arrived I quickly scanned it for relevant info, interesting but not earth-shattering, it didn't grab me, I sat it aside.
Today I drove my father down for a procedure and knew I'd be in the waiting room and was desperately trying to find something to read, having no luck, but then I noticed this book and grabbed it.
This time I was in the correct frame of mind to absorb the qualities of what this book is, initially I'd thought it'd be tediously boring reading and never really got around to it outside of the quick scanning over.
Well, this afternoon I was totally and fully engrossed with this book, it is a gripping tale, emotional and educational.
Written by a grandson who is trying to unravel a mystery, and a sense of love is felt upon the pages, breathing, giving breath to lost memories while uncovering facts and forming an overall whole.
Right from the acknowledgements,
I was hooked.
The first go round I admit to being a lazy reader and not even attempting to read the first few pages,...from the lawyer-encircled wagon train, which is all that remains of the UK tobacco trade, David Lewis of the premier cigar importers Hunter & Frankau Ltd introduced me to Robert Emory of Sobranie's very first retail outlet James J. Fox and Robert Lewis Ltd, who generously gave me one of the rare porcelain cigarette boxes which were one of the firm's hallmarks.
but it all came to me eventually I guess, sometimes it's like that, things will just serendipitously hit you when you're at your most receptive.
On page 2 it says:
Then the snowball starts and I'm at page 50 before I know it, time to pop out for a pipe and continue reading --- will probably finish it up this evening because at this point I am completely immersed within that world.This is a story of what led to that strange encounter, and of their tale, it is like a nest of enamel-painted matryoshka dolls. Layer by layer, new images emerge. Though they are images of times long gone, of parts of the world even today unfamiliar and hostile, of a family that never made the headlines, the underlying issues and values are much on our minds today: the ineradicable curse of terrorism, the systematic cruelty and criminality of authoritarian regimes and their legions of servants and officials, massive social upheaval and suffering, and quiet courage in the face of adversity.
The author says of his grandfather, Mr. Redstone:
It's a thoroughly enriching read,David was small - a little over five feet tall - eyes twinkling behind his spectacles, and always formally dressed. His shirts were the kind that required bone and brass collar studs back and front, and cufflinks, and his three-piece suits were impregnated with the fragrance of the rich Yenidje tobacco that was the lifeblood of his business, much as an elderly priest's soutane might carry the faint breath of incense.
good for anyone so interested in such, and along the way one picks up some solid history too, I'm not that familiar with revolutionary Russia and it was an extraordinarily complex time, the author has a knack for putting everything in a proper perspective and I'm glad he wrote such a book.
A good book!
From Siberia with Love: A story of exile, revolution and cigarettes
by
Geoffrey Elliott
http://www.amazon.com/From-Siberia-Love-revolution-cigarettes/dp/0413774597