The Secrets We Kept: Reese's Book Club

A Novel

By: Lara Prescott

Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Cynthia Farrell, Mozhan Marnò, Saskia Maarleveld, Jonathan Davis, David Pittu, James Fouhey

A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK

A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice--inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago.

At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak's magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and sophisticated Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world--using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Irina is a complete novice, and under Sally's tutelage quickly learns how to blend in, make drops, and invisibly ferry classified documents.

The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story--the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who was sent to the Gulag and inspired Zhivago's heroine, Lara--with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. From Pasternak's country estate outside Moscow to the brutalities of the Gulag, from Washington, D.C. to Paris and Milan, The Secrets We Kept captures a watershed moment in the history of literature--told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail. And at the center of this unforgettable debut is the powerful belief that a piece of art can change the world.

This audiobook features performances by Mozhan Marno as Olga, Carlotta Brentan as Irina, Cynthia Farrell as Sally, Saskia Maarleveld as The Typists, Jonathan Davis as Boris, David Pittu as Sergio, and James Fouhey as Teddy.

Riveting

Hooked me in the first two minutes. Great story telling by the author and the audio performances were so good I felt like I was watching a film.
Highly recommend.

Intriguing

I wish the characters were more closely linked. it is as if the book had two plot lines who two groups of characters that were only distantly related.
I wanted to know more about some of the characters disposition, i.e. Henry.
This opened my desired to listen to Dr. Zhivago.

This book has it all

An intriguing story of strong women, their places in history and the effects and consequences of lives well lived

So intriguing

Love the book! Not at all what I thought it would be about. Starts slow but keep with it. It gets good.

Absolutely perfect

I loved this book and all the characters in it. The style it was read and written. I simply couldn’t turn it off. Thank you for such and amazing book!