Lara Prescott's debut novel quickly became a New York Times Bestseller and was chosen as the September 2019 Reese's Book Club pick. A story that is told through multiple points of views, this book deals with miscarriage, public outing, torture, death, homophobia, police brutality, rape, infidelity, and general violence.
Irina's mother came to the United States from Russia alone while pregnant with Irina and had to find a way to support herself and her daughter once they arrived, her husband, having been "detained", was never able to leave Russia. Now it's time for Irina to get a job and she just so happens to know a guy who knows a guy in the CIA, so she's able to land a job in Agency's typing pool. But quickly she's asked to take on extra responsibilities, namely becoming a courier for confidential information. When she turns out to be a natural, they start to train her and eventually put her into the field to help inseminate Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago to the Russian populace. Along the way, we get to meet Irina's boss Teddy, her trainer Sally, the Italian man who was able to procure the original manuscript of Dr. Zhivago, the author himself, and the woman who helped to inspire the story.
Especially for a debut novel, this book was pretty good. It moved a little slow at times but at the same time, encompassed years. You start out with the gossip of the typing pool, but quickly move on to Olga, the mistress and the muse of Boris Pasternak, as she's taken prisoner by the Gulag. The characters were not particularly easy to connect to, and one in particular infuriated me with the choices they made. The secrets that these women kept, at first glance, appear to be the secrets within the Agency but as you delve deeper you realize that there are more personal, sometimes more dangerous, secrets that they keep in their personal lives. What seems like a story about espionage turns out to be more about love and loss and being true to yourself.
I'm giving The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott 3.75 stars out of 5. For a book about spies during the Cold War, it was a bit boring at times but mostly enjoyable. I did really like Sally.
To keep up with Lara Prescott, check out https://www.laraprescott.com/
Pairs well with a plate of orechiette alla crudiaola and a splurge at the closest designer retail store.
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