THE DOGS OF LENIN

The book generally talks about how partisan the media can be, seeing it is the common channel masses use to get information and the goings-on. Meet Lisa Danton Cummings. A lovely and well-to-do journalist. Lisa is described as the most popular local news anchorwoman of all major networks. It is also said that she attracts more viewers compared to her male counterparts; suggesting she is liked more. She is obviously successful at her age, big in the industry and financially stable. There is a lot to love about Lisa. Her bubbly and lovely personality adds to the many likable things about her. She drives a white 280 Mercedes and everything about her screams ‘classy’. She rocks.

We are first introduced to Grant Chandler when Lisa has a flashback. It’s January 1967, in San Francisco. Grant and Lisa are in the same American history class. Grant has a different personality. From the text, we can tell that Grant has an aggressive temperament. He asks questions and is bold enough to differ with what’s being said if he doesn’t agree with it. Later on, the two conversed about their backgrounds, personal things and got to know each other more. I love that as the book started, the reader had not just a glimpse of the characters, but also learned a few things about history.

I enjoyed the dialogues between Grant and Lisa. Each of them had individual traits but always had engaging discussions and stories to tell.

The book gets interesting as Grant and Lisa fall in love. Their relationship is good but also weird in some way. I loved reading the romance bit as the writer had the reader connect with the characters’ story. Their love was somehow ill-fated.

The book talks about the life of a typical activist and an extraordinaire media personality. Linda Freeny in her creative way wrote the book in a fantastic manner, that almost every story bore a new and interesting tale. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense throughout the book. The hook of every chapter was absorbing enough, that the reader wished to finish up so as to enjoy the next part of the book. It gets better when Grant and Lisa reconnect later in the book. Both being in different professions but having the same goal.

Linda Freeny is obviously talented. I loved how every character was depicted. Boris, Karin, Simon and every other character mentioned was important in the making of the plot.  Grant’s knowledge of Russia, North Korea, and other countries made me love him. His act of aiding someone to escape from East Berlin, his dealings with the sect he joined and his love life were the most interesting scenes for me in the book.

“The Dogs of Lenin” is a work of fiction but the events and occurrences mentioned in the book happen in the real world. A lot of topics covered represent the real thing that happened. Power, politics, activism, mainstream media’s influence, romance, friendship, and bonds are some of the themes the author covered in the book. If you are among those who enjoy adventure, stories about the underground world and extreme life then this book was written for you. The writing style was nothing short of excellent and the plot was amazing from the start