Elvira Baryakina has 2 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 1 narrator. The most-rated is Russian Treasures: A Novel.
White Ghosts: A Historical Novel About Shanghai in the Roaring 1920s
Summary
From an internationally acclaimed author Elvira Baryakina, who masterfully blends in multicultural backgrounds, flamboyant characters of differing nationalities, and mesmerizing plot, comes a new historical novel about an unthinkable turn of events in the early 1920s. White colonialists in Shanghai see themselves as an impregnable supreme race. But then, a horde of strangers enter the city and ruin the perfect world Europeans and Americans built for themselves in China. Fleeing the Bolsheviks, Russian refugees arrive in thousands, noblemen and common laborers alike, ready to take any job and get their hands dirty. They don’t care if it makes other white people look not so exceptional in front of the locals. Klim Rogov, a Russian journalist famous for his wit, used to be a rich man who won the heart of a brilliant, passionate young business woman Nina Kupina. Now, they find themselves in a rusty refugee ship anchoring in Shanghai harbor without money, documents, and any prospect in the near future, but Klim believes that he and Nina can cope with any challenge as long as they are together. One night, Nina disappears from the ship amidst strange circumstances, and Klim’s fellow refugees suspect that she ran away with another man. Once in the city, Klim is rejected by both the Whites and the Chinese, and his only dubious ally is a difficult teenage dancer who decides to seduce him for sport. Klim knows that the “fallen gods” should keep a low profile, but he is obsessed with winning his life back and finding out what happened to Nina. He writes a diary, which becomes a whimsical China travel guide to the world of weapon smugglers, opium traders, corrupt police, and communist agents doing everything possible to ignite a civil war in China. But when Klim discovers Nina’s dark secret, he begins to doubt if he can handle it. And to make things worse, the Chinese nationalists gather an army and launch an attack on defenseless Shanghai. White Ghosts is a testament to the endurance of the human spirit and a totally new look at Chinese history during the roaring 1920s. Based on extensive research and memories of the author’s family members, it tells the story of the unlikely heroes - the people who, consciously or unconsciously, played a significant role in destroying the racist ideology and eventually the decolonization of China. This book is a must-listen for fans of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes, and The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.
©2018 Elvira Baryakina (P)2020 Elvira Baryakina
Russian Treasures: A Novel
Summary
If this novel came out in Russia during the Soviet era, the author could get a 10-year sentence just for writing it. The myth of the Bolshevik Revolution and its aftermath was tightly controlled by the KGB. Historical records were changed beyond recognition and newsreels passed as original were actually fakes, shot at the government-controlled movie studios years later. The only thing the Party couldn't erase was people's memories. Based on thorough research in private and public archives all over the world, the Russian Treasures series propelled Elvira Baryakina into the international spotlight. Today, she is one of Russia's most beloved authors, known for captivating novels about neglected historical events that shaped the future of the world. The year is 1917. Ten years after leaving his home on bad terms, Klim Rogov returns to Russia to claim his inheritance after his wealthy father's death. He meets Nina, a young businesswoman, and falls in love with her, but all of his plans are ruined during a gloomy October night when the Reds seize power in the country. As a famous foreign journalist, Klim has a chance to escape the civil war unleashed by the Bolshevik Revolution, though now he feels like a first-class passenger on the Titanic, who has to save only himself or die. Time is running out, and Klim must make a fateful decision that will cost him dearly either way. Relive the Bolshevik Revolution as a free-spirited man who refuses to desert the woman he loves and decides to remain in the Land of the Soviets, fighting for their lives throughout the bloody struggles of the Russian civil war.
©2018 Elvira Baryakina (P)2019 Elvira Baryakina